Moonlight on the Prairie

Moviecut—Moonlight on the Prairie

source: Moonlight on the Prairie

Moonlight on the Prairie

Dick Foran is "Ace", in this typical western from 1935. and Smoke the wonder horse gets second billing! Galloping, galloping. mistaken identity. false accusations. and singing cowboys. we did say this was a typical western. Ace is trying to get the widder Roberts (Sheila Bromley) back to her property, but has to dodge his accusers to do it. Filmed in the beautiful rocky hills of Lone Pine. Check out the old western filming sets and the western film museum if you haven't been to the Alabama Hills. Beautiful country. George Stone is supporting role Zeno in a comic role (sort of). There seems to be no law in this corner, so even when they think they have things worked out, troubles keep popping up! Joe Sawyer is the bad guy here, and keeps bouncing back to cause more trouble. It's all pretty okay. moves along. ends kind of corny. more singing cowboys. Directed by old pro Ross Lederman.

It was sometimes said that, contrary to the popular view, Hollywood consisted of western movies with a thin layer of 'A' pictures and almost all of the major studios had a western unit or sometimes two. For Warner Brothers from 1935-1937, they had a series of Dick Foran starring in singing cowboy westerns -- a kitchen sink genre if there ever was one, with western action for the boy and singing for the girls. This one, the first of the series, has a plot with something for everyone, as Dick helps a small boy and his pretty widowed mother make good his claim to his father's ranch. Dick is a bit stagy for the movies at this point, but the direction by Ross Lederman is typically efficient and the cinematography by Fred Jackman Junior -- he started out at the Roach studio -- is exceedingly handsome. It's the pictures that make this one worthwhile, not Foran's deep baritone.