By Richard Harland Smith
The Saddle Buster
Brief Synopsis
A rodeo rider can't face the game after he's almost killed by a wild bronco.
Cast & Crew
Read More
Fred Allen
Director
Tom Keene
Montana
Helen Foster
Sunny Hurn
Marie Quillan
Rita
Robert Frazer
Rance
Richard Carlyle
Bible Jude
Film Details
Also Known As
Montana Rides
Genre
Western
Release Date
Mar
19,
1932
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
RKO Pathé Pictures, Inc.
Distribution Company
RKO Pathé Pictures, Inc.
Country
United States
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 4m
Sound
Mono (RCA Photophone System)
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Film Length
6 reels
Synopsis
After growing up in the hills with his foster father, Bible Jude, young Montana rides to a rodeo ranch run by an old friend, Dan Hurn, and asks for work. Impressed with Montana's considerable riding skills, which were developed catching and taming wild hill mustangs, Dan eagerly accepts Montana into the group. Top rider Rance, however, resents Montana's success and bets the other riders that Montana cannot ride "Wild Fury," Hurn's most notorious horse. Although the other men and Hurn's daughter Sunny beg Montana not to ride Wild Fury, Rita, a rodeo rider who has abandoned Rance in favor of Montana, encourages him. Montana's ride on the wild stallion is cut short when his cinch, which has been cut by Rance, breaks and he tumbles to the ground. While he is down, Wild Fury paws him viciously, causing him serious injuries. During his recuperation, Montana is haunted by the terrifying image of Wild Fury, but is comforted by the devoted Sunny. Soon after, Montana returns to the saddle but, upon seeing the spectre of Wild Fury before his eyes, is thrown after a short ride. Humiliated by his fears, Montana slips away from the ranch and finds a deserted cabin in the hills. There, Montana discovers a mustang, which Hurn had previously tested and rejected as "yellow," and snares it. Sure that the horse will be an easy ride, Montana mounts it, but soon realizes that the stallion, like himself, is no coward. Now determined to confront Rance, Montana goes to Coulee City where Hurn's company is participating in their first rodeo of the season, but discovers that Wild Fury has put his rival in a wheelchair. His anger deflated, Montana then finds out from Sunny that the crippled Rance, who has married Rita, needs money for an operation in Cheyenne. With a final burst of courage, Montana decides to ride Wild Fury in the rodeo and wins a $1,000 prize. After donating his winnings to Rance, Montana proposes to a proud Sunny.
Director
Fred Allen
Director
Cast
Tom Keene
Montana
Helen Foster
Sunny Hurn
Marie Quillan
Rita
Robert Frazer
Rance
Richard Carlyle
Bible Jude
Charles Quigley
Cladgett
Fred Burns
Dan Hurn
Harry Bowen
Calgary
Charles Whitaker
Keno
Ben Corbett
Shorty
Al Taylor
Blackie
Crew
Film Details
Also Known As
Montana Rides
Genre
Western
Release Date
Mar
19,
1932
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
RKO Pathé Pictures, Inc.
Distribution Company
RKO Pathé Pictures, Inc.
Country
United States
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 4m
Sound
Mono (RCA Photophone System)
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Film Length
6 reels
Articles
The Saddle Buster
This RKO-Pathé release features cowboy star Tom Keene in a change-of-pace role, as a rodeo rider who must repair his body and restore his reputation after being thrown by a wild horse. Not as flamboyant as his rivals on horseback, the New York-born Keene never developed the following hoped for by his RKO bosses, nor would he transition with complete success to straight dramatic roles - though King Vidor did make him Karen Morley's leading man in the Depression drama Our Daily Bread (1934). Playing Keene's rodeo antagonist in The Saddle Buster (1932) is Robert Frazer, perhaps better known to fans of classic horror as the weak-willed secondary villain manipulated by Bela Lugosi in White Zombie (also 1932). Like Frazer, Tom Keene would be remembered by future generations of movie-lovers less for his signature work than for his chance cult film casting in Ed Wood's Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959), in which the actor appears as an army colonel attempting to suppress reports of flying saucers. One member of the Saddle Buster crew who did considerably better for himself was assistant director David Lewis. Later a protégé of Irving Thalberg at MGM, Lewis left Metro upon Thalberg's death in 1936 and found work at Warners, associate producing Dark Victory (1939) and King's Row (1942) before returning to MGM in style as producer of Edward Dmytryk's Technicolor epic Raintree County (1957).
By Richard Harland Smith
By Richard Harland Smith
The Saddle Buster
This RKO-Pathé release features cowboy star Tom Keene in a change-of-pace role, as a rodeo rider who must repair his body and restore his reputation after being thrown by a wild horse. Not as flamboyant as his rivals on horseback, the New York-born Keene never developed the following hoped for by his RKO bosses, nor would he transition with complete success to straight dramatic roles - though King Vidor did make him Karen Morley's leading man in the Depression drama Our Daily Bread (1934). Playing Keene's rodeo antagonist in The Saddle Buster (1932) is Robert Frazer, perhaps better known to fans of classic horror as the weak-willed secondary villain manipulated by Bela Lugosi in White Zombie (also 1932). Like Frazer, Tom Keene would be remembered by future generations of movie-lovers less for his signature work than for his chance cult film casting in Ed Wood's Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959), in which the actor appears as an army colonel attempting to suppress reports of flying saucers. One member of the Saddle Buster crew who did considerably better for himself was assistant director David Lewis. Later a protégé of Irving Thalberg at MGM, Lewis left Metro upon Thalberg's death in 1936 and found work at Warners, associate producing Dark Victory (1939) and King's Row (1942) before returning to MGM in style as producer of Edward Dmytryk's Technicolor epic Raintree County (1957).
By Richard Harland Smith
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The working title of this film was Montana Rides. Arthur Lange is listed as the film's music director in some reviews, publicity items and in the copyright records, but Max Steiner is credited on screen. According to modern sources, the budget for the production, which grossed $25,000, was a modest $38,000.
