This movie starts with a horse named Duke coming to the rescue of a man being bushwhacked. The man is cracked over the head and killed, so one of the robbers claims the horse went mad and attacked them. So the horse is put on trial for murder. I'm not kidding -- the horse is brought to town and put on trial in front of the whole town! Before he's sentenced to death, a cowboy (John Wayne) shows up and offers to ride the horse to prove he's not wild. After he does and saves Duke, the horse's owner (great character actor Henry B. Walthall) asks Wayne to help the town catch a masked bandit named the Hawk. The first of six B westerns Wayne made for WB in the early '30s. He was named John something-or-other in every movie and always had his horse Duke. They're routine westerns. Forgettable but watchable.
Review of Ride Him, Cowboy
