The Wagon Master (1929)
Directed by Harry Joe Brown
Genres - Western |
Sub-Genres - Musical Western |
Release Date - Sep 8, 1929 (USA - Unknown) |
Run Time - 70 min. |
Countries - United States |
MPAA Rating - NR
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Synopsis by Hans J. Wollstein
Popular western star Ken Maynard crooned a couple of prairie tunes in this his first (part-)talkie, making Ken the screen's first singing cowboy. He plays a guide hired to escort a group of miners to a presumably prosperous site. Along the way, the group is accosted by a whip-toting villain (veteran bad man Tom Santschi), but Maynard is ready with both vocal chords (although his off-key warbling is no help) and walloping fists. Like most major studios, First National soon curtailed their western division in favor of stage-bound society melodramas, and Maynard had to fend for himself on poverty row. He prevailed and enjoyed a career that lasted through the mid-1940s.
Characteristics
Keywords
bad-guy, cowboy, good-guy, guide, mine, outlaw [Western]