To state the obvious - no one (absolutely no one) is ever going to mistake this for a great movie. I wasn't even really sure what the title was trying to get at. "Riders Of Destiny"? What does that mean? It is, however, an interesting movie. It's a short (53 minutes) B-Western; probably a secondary feature that would have introduced the main feature at a theatre. Most interestingly is that it's a very early example of John Wayne's work (he became such a legend that many probably didn't know that he started in low budget B-movies.) As far as I know, this is actually the earliest John Wayne movie I've ever seen (my previous exposure to his earliest work would have been 1934's "Blue Steel.") He was 26 years old when this was made, and - not exactly in keeping with his later persona that everyone is more accustomed to - he plays Singin' Sandy Saunders (you have to promise not to laugh) who sets out to help local ranchers whose water is being cut off by a greedy businessman in town who owns all the water rights. Now, in fairness, the story isn't actually all that bad. As befits a movie less than an hour long, it moves along crisply and it's pretty easy to follow. You kind of know how it's going to turn out, but there is a brief period of time when Singin' Sandy's identity becomes a bit of a mystery.
Singin' Sandy sings (usually very maudlin and even depressing songs) - except that it was apparently not John Wayne's voice, but someone else (never definitely identified, apparently - probably by their own choice) dubbed over. The big question would be why - if they were going to dub - didn't they find someone who could actually sing? The singing was truly terrible. There's one scene in the Denton's ranch where Singin' Sandy kind of serenades young Fay (played by Cecelia Parker) while her dad (Gabby Hayes) watches. It is truly hard to believe that Fay wouldn't have burst out giggling at the awful sound emanating from Singin' Sandy's mouth (and in fact Parker did seem at one point to grin at whatever sounds if any Wayne was making as he mouthed the words) and the viewer has to laugh a bit as Singin' Sandy finishes the song and Denton (Hayes) looks at him, apparently in awe, and says "I could listen to that all night." I'm sure there wasn't a lot to do for entertainment in the Old West - but, seriously, I don't think so.
The singing aside, I'll concede that it isn't awful. It tries to incorporate some slapstick humour every now and then, usually featuring Al St. John and Heinie Conklin, two veterans of the silent movie scene whose slapstick in this looked like silent movie stuff as Bert and Elmer - the "henchmen" of the evil business man Kincaid (played by Forrest Taylor.)
Watch it as a curiosity with a decent story but lots of problems. (4/10)
Singin' Sandy sings (usually very maudlin and even depressing songs) - except that it was apparently not John Wayne's voice, but someone else (never definitely identified, apparently - probably by their own choice) dubbed over. The big question would be why - if they were going to dub - didn't they find someone who could actually sing? The singing was truly terrible. There's one scene in the Denton's ranch where Singin' Sandy kind of serenades young Fay (played by Cecelia Parker) while her dad (Gabby Hayes) watches. It is truly hard to believe that Fay wouldn't have burst out giggling at the awful sound emanating from Singin' Sandy's mouth (and in fact Parker did seem at one point to grin at whatever sounds if any Wayne was making as he mouthed the words) and the viewer has to laugh a bit as Singin' Sandy finishes the song and Denton (Hayes) looks at him, apparently in awe, and says "I could listen to that all night." I'm sure there wasn't a lot to do for entertainment in the Old West - but, seriously, I don't think so.
The singing aside, I'll concede that it isn't awful. It tries to incorporate some slapstick humour every now and then, usually featuring Al St. John and Heinie Conklin, two veterans of the silent movie scene whose slapstick in this looked like silent movie stuff as Bert and Elmer - the "henchmen" of the evil business man Kincaid (played by Forrest Taylor.)
Watch it as a curiosity with a decent story but lots of problems. (4/10)