Review of The Dawn Rider (1935) by Van R — 12 Jun 2012
The same day that John Mason (John Wayne) comes home, he sees his father shot to death during an Express Company hold-up. All that Mason sees of his father's murderer is a pokka-dot bandana as the bad man shoots through a broken window.
Afterward, Mason pursues the villains on horseback and blows a couple of the dastards out of their saddles with his well-aimed shots. The villains sling lead his way and wound him. The chief villain's sister, Alice Gordon (Marion Burns), nurses him back to health.
Meanwhile, the chief villain, Rudd Gordon (Dennis Moore), pits our ten-gallon hero against his best friend, Ben McClure (Reed Howes), and tells him that Mason is stepping out with his girlfriend. Of course, Ben is jealous and takes all the bullets out of his gun before he realizes that Rudd has tricked him.
THE DAWN RIDER is an early John Wayne effort for Lone Star Pictures. The low-budget oater features a couple of fistfights and shoot-outs. The scenery is as rugged as the heroes are virtuous and the villains are nefarious.
Watch the ring that Ben gets for Alice. Christian Slater stars in the 2012 that beefs up the plot but basically sticks to it. The villains in the remake wear flour sacks for disguises. Some of the dialogue is quite good.
This review of The Dawn Rider (1935) was written by Van R on 12 Jun 2012.
The Dawn Rider has generally received negative reviews.
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