skjam

The Adventures of Rex and Rinty (1935) dir. Ford Beebe

On the island of Sujan in the Indian Ocean, the natives worship the horse god. They venerate all horses, but only one is the incarnation of the horse god, the God-Horse Rex, King of the Wild Horses (Rex). Wealthy and unscrupulous polo player Crawford (Harry Woods) has come to buy some of the island's fine horses, but high priest Tanaga (Mischa Auer) would never part with one of the sacred animals for mere money, and especially not Rex! Crawford contrives to steal the God-Horse, and succeeds but abandons one of his henchmen for dead.

No sooner has Crawford gotten Rex to his ranch in the hill country of California than the wily horse escapes. He soon makes friends with Rinty (Rin-Tin-Tin Jr.), a homeless German Shepherd. The two intelligent animals find some refuge at the Bruce Riding Academy, run by Mr. Bruce (Allan Cavan) and his daughter Dorothy (Norma Taylor). The riding academy employs bumbling stable hand Jensen (Smiley Burnette) and also stable the horses of popular and goodhearted polo player Frank Bradley (Kane Richmond).

Frank and Dorothy win over the animals with their kindness and good hearts. But Crawford is determined to have Rex back and break him into a proper polo horse by any means necessary.

To make things more complicated, the abandoned henchman shows up; he's been promised his life with be spared if he helps Sujan native Pasha (Pedro Regas) rescue Rex and restore the God-Horse to the island.

This sets the stage for multiple chases, abductions, fistfights, fires and general excitement before Rex is returned to Sujan, only to face one last test of his godhood.

This 12-episode black and white serial was the next to last produced by the Mascot studio, and the second teaming up the two animal stars. Rin Tin Tin Jr. was of course the son of the great movie star who'd passed in 1932.

While Rex and Rinty are depicted as being smart for their respective species, to the point of uncanniness for Rinty, their stunts are still within the plausible limits of animals. On the other hand, there is a fantasy element. Sujan is depicted as being in the same spot Seychelles is in the real world, but its culture is nothing like the real-world country. Also, Pasha has a mental link to Tanaga, able to report back to the high priest from across the globe. In general, the treatment of the Sujanese isn't bad by 1930s standards.

This is middling stuff as serials go, with okay action but dull characters. Crawford just never makes "evil polo player" come across as over the top as that phrase would indicate. There's at least one blantant cliffhanger copout at the end of Episode 11/beginning of Episode 12.

Content note: Loads of violence, some lethal (first corpse in Episode 6) but no animals die. Be aware though that animals are frequently in peril, and there's what amounts to animal abuse. One child in peril, he's fine though. Sexism only in that Dorothy is the only plot-relevant female character.

This is not the best Rin Tin Tin serial, so you may want to wait until you need it to complete a checklist (Ralph Byrd has a cameo as a forest ranger!)

Adventures of Gallant Bess (1948) dir. Lew Landers

Ted Daniels (Cameron Mitchell) and his pal Woody (Fuzzy Knight) have been sent out to capture a wild horse for their boss Bud Millerick (James Millican) for display in Millerick's rodeo. Ted finds and manages to capture a magnificent chestnut mare he names Bess (Bess). In the days it takes to bring his prize back to the rodeo, Ted falls in love with the horse. Knowing that Millerick is a cruel trainer, Ted chooses to quit his job and keep Bess, much to his former boss' ire.

Bess is highly intelligent for a horse, and Ted teaches her many tricks. Unfortunately, he spends more time training the horse than doing ranch work, and can't hold down a job. Ted learns that Millerick's rodeo is passing through the same town he is, and is offering a cash prize for the best all-rounder. Ted decides to enter the contest, a poor decision.

It turns out that Millerick isn't just mean, he's actively crooked, and he still has that personal grudge against Ted. He has his henchman sabotage the final event. Ted still wins, but his leg is broken. While he's being treated by small town doctor Gray (Harry Cheshire), the rodeo decamps (except the henchman) without delivering the cash prize.

Bess, upset by her rider's absence, accidentally damages an automobile. Since Ted is dead broke, the sheriff is forced to sell Bess at auction to pay the bills. Millerick's henchman manages to bid just a little more than Dr. Gray's pretty daughter Penny (Audrey Long) for Bess and takes her away.

Months later, Ted is fully recovered. Despite having developed a mutual romantic affection for Penny, he is determined to get Bess back from Millerick, regardless of the legalities of the situation.

This 1948 Western is not a sequel to the 1946 film Gallant Bess despite the similarities in title. The previous movie had been based on a true story about a U.S. Navy officer and the horse he saved during World War Two (starring that very horse!) Though popular, various reasons resulted in the planned series of Gallant Bess films being scrapped. The production company still had dibs on this particular title though, so stuck it on to this movie, perhaps assuming that audiences wouldn't realize it starred a completely different "Bess."

Good: The main draw is Bess performing various tricks, and the movie delivers on this premise decently. Also some nice shots of wild horses and rodeo action. While there's a good fistfight about halfway through, there's absolutely no gunplay, unusual for a Western. Fuzzy Winter does a nice version of "The Foggy Foggy Dew," and I would have liked more of that. Towards the end of the film, Ted is forced to understand that Bess is not his horse, but her own horse.

Less good: The movie is often bland, and the romantic couple don't have chemistry. (Nor does the male lead have chemistry with Bess, which is a pity because that's the more important relationship.) The acting in general is so-so.

Interesting: The precise era this film is set in is clearly shown by a bar's large advertisement that they have a television set. (But we don't actually see the TV.)

Content note: Cruelty to animals. Ted smokes and drinks, which may be offensive to some parents who are looking for clean movies for their kids. Ted is acting illegally through much of the movie, and gets off by a dubiously legal method.

Overall: A mediocre movie with a few good bits. Maybe check out the original Gallant Bess film instead.