SYNOPSIS:
Ken “Hell-Fire” Austin [Ken Maynard] along with his pal Bouncer [Nat Pendleton] are old Army buddies who head out for adventure after the war – which war is never specified, but who cares?
Austin and Bouncer, in need of nourishment, happen upon a beanery which feeds them greatly. Knowing they cannot afford their eats, Austin and Bouncer stage a fight to evade paying their bill, but the sheriff [Charles Le Moyne] discovers the two celebrating their victory and apprehends them.
While working the rock pile, the two men meet pretty Judy Brooks [Ivy Merton] and her horse Tarzan. Austin takes an immediate liking to Tarzan, but is quickly forced back to work.
In comes Mr. Edmonds [Alan Roscoe], who makes a deal with the sheriff and hires the pair to work on his ranch. While there, they overhear his devious plan to rob Ms. Brooks of Tarzan and her ranch and they flee.
Austin and Bouncer meet up with Ms. Brooks and Austin agrees to ride Tarzan in a sweepstakes race to occur in the coming weeks. Edmonds and his gang arrive on the scene and the two boys book it to town.
Austin and Bouncer hide Tarzan in a hotel room, keeping him there until the big race, but Curley, Edmonds’ right hand [Jack Perrin] sees Tarzan in the window of the hotel and Edmonds and his gang give chase, roughing up Bouncer in the process.
The day of the race comes and Austin, a late arrival, rides at the speed of sound. A few dirty tricks by Edmonds’ rider aren’t enough to keep Ken back and he rides to victory, while Bouncer cheers him on while listening to the event over the telephone.
Austin decks Edmonds and rejoins his pal as we fade out.
REVIEW:
“Hell-Fire Austin” is a great entry in the series of westerns that Ken Maynard made at poverty row Tiffany Studios and is a superb showcase for Ken’s fantastic trick riding. It is just so much fun to see Ken do various stunts with Tarzan, his white palomino horse.
Ken Maynard, one of my personal favorite screen cowboys, came to film in 1923 with his first major role being that of Paul Revere in the Marion Davies film “Janice Meredith.” He then transitioned over to western pictures with the film “$50,000 Reward,” produced for Davis Distributing. Over time, however, Maynard developed a drinking problem and was known to be a hot potato in Hollywood, bouncing from contract to contract. It is of the author’s opinion that his tempestuous nature lent itself more to disrespect from the film industry, Maynard was not respected as a genuine artist but as a western star and nothing more.
Ken was arguably the first singing cowboy of the movies, first singing in the 1929 Universal production “The Wagon Master.” He also lent his voice to records, recording eight songs for Columbia in 1930. His work influenced later star performers such as Gene Autry and Eddie Dean. In fact, in Ken Maynard’s final years of life, where he lived in a rundown, dirty trailer in San Bernardino, he was financially supported by Autry, who made his first film appearance in a Maynard western.
Ken and Tarzan’s chemistry is undeniable. Say what you will about Mr. Maynard, but he and Tarzan had a bond that was unbreakable. It is almost as if Tarzan knew exactly what Ken was thinking and feeling and vice versa, just a great underrated screen partnership.
Nat Pendleton is quite goofy in this, it seems they tried to make him a comic relief character, but the rugged, intimidating frame and features of Pendleton don’t lend themselves to comedy unless he is in the capacity of villain, such as “Horse Feathers” with the Marx Brothers.
It was great, though, to see cowboy hero Jack Perrin, stretch his chapped legs and play a scuzzy villain.
The rest of the film was okay, but the main interest in seeing this one is Ken’s tremendous horse riding and this movie showcases that greatly, including a marvelous scene where Ken rides Tarzan out of the hotel.