Lightning Range (1933) User Reviews

Which Roosevelt is your buddy?

[JohnHowardReid · 6/10 · 3 February 2018]

Grapevine offer a double feature DVD of Lightning Range and Range Riders - both 1934 and both starring Buddy Roosevelt.

Lightning Range isn't too bad at all. The girl is Patsy Bellamy (I like her), her dad's executor is Lafe McKee (I like him), and the villain is the hissable Olin Francis (a really mean piece of work). Admittedly, the comedy relief (from Mr. Jenks, naturally) is more than a bit wearisome, but Roosevelt himself is both a personable and daring hero (he seems to be doing his own stunts) and Dixon's direction has pace if nothing else and makes effective use of real locations.

Range Riders is even better, although the director is once again Mr. Dixon, this time using his real name, Victor Adamson. The attractive location photography is the work of Byron Baker, the editor is Frances Burroughs and the story is credited to an L.V. Jefferson. In this one, the amiable, well-spoken Buddy plays Dick Sutton, a college boy, who decides to do a Zorro. Barbara Starr who can't act for toffee plays Elsa/Elsie, but she's a reasonably attractive girl, and the rest of the players are not too bad at all. The movie certainly moves fast, and if the editing is a bit scrappy, other credits and production values are well above the usual Dixon line.

Though I enjoy old westerns, even very old westerns, this one had so many silly things in it that I would place it in the "Plan 9 From Outer Space" category.

[taillefer · 21 October 2000]

This is one of a handful of starring roles for Buddy Roosevelt (real name Kenneth Sanderson), who actually had a very long Hollywood career (his last film was "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" in 1962). Unfortunately, it was neither a good vehicle for him, nor did it show him to good advantage. I recently saw a chopped up version of it on the new America One network. Chopped-up or not, the production values were so paltry that the viewing of this film soon had me laughing aloud. And I am sure laughter was not the original intent of the movie-makers. Just some of the moments I could not help snicker at (and, mind you, I am quite the opposite of a mean-spirited person, so this is not some attempt to make fun of anyone long gone and unable to defend themselves): * Some camera transitions were done with what must have been some kind of shade pulled sideways across the camera lens, opening and closing certain scenes, but done with such a shaky hand that it looked like someone was dragging a piece of cardboard across the lens. * A fire set in the weeds (to burn down a house with Buddy Roosevelt inside) suddenly moves completely inside with no trace of a fire outside at all -- and the outside of the house is completely untouched by fire. Did the fire climb in through the window? * Buddy goes to fetch his horse that has run away, and retrieves it by "untying" the reins from a bush -- who exactly tied this horse to the bush? * Someone really should have coached Buddy Roosevelt physically. He seemed like a skillful rider (he performed stunts for Marion Davies in the silent films), and he performs a couple of really dangerous stunts near the end, as he fights with the bad guy on a buckboard that is clearly racing along an actual cliff with the actual actors aboard. But the man ran like Jerry Lewis screaming "Hey, Lady!" and he fought with little noodly punches and leapt down a cliff like a four year-old jumping into a pool full of cold water. I was embarrassed at myself for how much I laughed out loud. There are moments like this literally every couple minutes of the film. All in all, I would want to own this movie for its unintentional humor, as in "Plan 9 From Outer Space." The big fight at the end made me laugh so hard I pulled a muscle in my lower back. I'm not kidding.