Sick Product of a Sick System

Purely Joyful Movie!

Memorable, crazy movie

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

John Wayne as Singin' Sandy. If that doesn't make you snort milk out of your nose, I don't know what will. If you're a fan of the Duke but not very familiar with his early B westerns, the opening moments of this will probably have you staring at the screen in disbelief. I have seen quite a few of Duke's movies from this period and still my mouth hung open in shock. The plot is about government agent Singin' Sandy Saunders (audible groan from me just typing that) trying to put a stop to a bad guy withholding water from ranchers. Sandy also catches the attention of Andy Hardy's sister (Cecilia Parker), who's the daughter of Gabby Hayes.Now, as shocking as John Wayne doing the Gene Autry routine is, the bigger shock is that this actually isn't a bad movie! For a B western of the time, it's better than average. Wayne is personable and believable as the hero, of course. Parker is pretty and likable; one of Duke's better love interests in these cheapies. Some highlights are Gabby Hayes' enthusiasm for biscuits, Yakima Canutt's stunts, and all of the laughable scenes where Duke lip-syncs. But the single best scene is when Sandy is called out for a shootout and the townsfolk suddenly realize who he is. "Why, that's Singin' Sandy," someone says with a straight face. Unreal.

not a bad little western.. once again the "Duke" is teamed up with George Gabby Hayes.. this time,, the good people are being harassed by a villain who is sucking the town dry.. literally,, he built a dam to hog up all the water in town,, so it's either pay up to the man,, to get the water , or you ain't getting any water,,, a man and his daughter however have the only other water in town,, course they were smart enough to dig a well, therefore don't need mr. businessman's precious water,, when he finds out about this he tries to go and root them out of their land and get their water as well.. the local townspeople decide they have had enough and write the federal government,, and the town get's the "Duke" just in time so save the day.

"Riders of Destiny" was the first of several westerns Wayne made for the Lone Star arm of Monogram Pictures between 1933 and 1935. In this entry, the producers try to make the Duke into a singing cowboy called "Singin' Sandy Saunders with hilarious results. Any Wayne fan knows that the Duke couldn't have carried a tune if his life had depended on it. His voice was apparently dubbed by Smith Ballew whose deep baritone sounds nothing like Wayne. Wayne looks awkward and uncomfortable in "performing" the musical numbers. Thank heavens the singing cowboy experiment soon ended.As for the movie itself, it contains a standard "B" western plot of the fight over water rights between the villain (Forrest Taylor) and the local ranchers. Duke, of course plays the hero. He had not yet developed his on screen character and still looked like a poverty row cowboy.Also cast in the film were George (pre-Gabby) Hayes as the heroine's father, Cecilia Parker as the heroine and Yakima Canutt as "one of the boys" who performs his "falling from the racing horses under the wagon" stunt while doubling Wayne. Both Canutt and Hayes would go on to appear with Wayne in most of the other entries in the series. Canutt, in particular would have a profound effect on Wayne's future development teaching him, among other things, how to move, fight and look comfortable on a horse.As "B" westerns go this one isn't too bad, however, I have to give it a failing grade because of the "singing".

I happened to catch it in television and surprised myself by sitting through it all! I enjoyed the story, action and corny humor; it was balanced throughout. Seeing John Wayne's few stunts was fantastic-- nothing as far-out as Buster Keaton or Jakcie Chan, but impresive nonetheless. Overall, a well tempered genre film.