Man's Country (1938) On DVD

Sinister cattle rancher Lex Crane is suspected of heading a gang of thugs responsible for a reign of terror in the territory. After Crane's son Ted is arrested for murder, Ranger Jack Hale and his pal Snappy go undercover to gain the cattleman's confidence while secretly conducting an investigation. Before long, they discover the motive behind the crime wave - a secret zealously guarded by the gang's leader.

In his second year as a leading man in Monogram "B" Westerns, Jack Randall (whose brother Bob Livingston was a top cowboy star over at Republic) was reportedly getting up to a thousand fan letters per week. Man's Country upholds the high standard of his 1938 vehicles, which sport solid plots and exhibit fine production values. It also has a plum role for venerable heavy Walter Long, whose screen treachery dated all the way back to 1915's Birth of a Nation. Director Bob Hill staged exterior scenes in his favorite location, the picturesque Alabama Hills near Lone Pine, California, at the base of Mount Whitney.

Although Monogram claimed that Jack Randall received an average of over 1,000 fan letters a week, the studio was quietly losing interest in the star's Westerns. Despite fine location filming at Lone Pine, CA, MAN'S COUNTRY was saddled with indifferent direction by veteran hack Robert F. Hill and a less than inspiring story by Poverty Row regular Robert Emmett Tansey. Silent screen villain Walter Long played twin brothers, one a rancher and the other a bandit. The good Long is unaware that there is oil on his land, a fact the bad Long uses to his own advantage. Enter ranger Jack Hale (Randall) who saves the good Long from being kidnapped by his evil brother and foils the plans to take over the property. Marjorie Reynolds, destined to star opposite Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire in Paramount's HOLIDAY INN (1942), appeared as good Long's lovely daughter, and moon-faced Ralph Peters supplied a bit of stale comedy relief. MAN'S COUNTRY was the first Randall Western under the aegis of Scott R. Dunlap, whose budgets were even leaner than those of the series' previous producer, Maurice Conn.