Copyright 23 August 1932 by Vitagraph, Inc. U.S. release through Warner Bros: 27 August 1932. No New York opening. U.K. release by Warner Bros: January 1933. 6 reels. 56 minutes. SYNOPSIS: John Drury (Wayne) is a wandering cowboy who saves a spirited wild horse ("Duke") from being put down after a killer, whose identity the horse knows, tries to cover up his crime by laying the blame for the rancher's death on the animal. But what the townsfolk didn't know was that their fellow citizen is actually a mysterious but ruthless bandit known as "The Hawk". NOTES: A re-make of The Unknown Cavalier (1926), starring Ken Maynard as Drury, Kathleen Collins as Ruth Gaunt, David Torrence as Gaunt, and James Mason as the marauder. Albert Rogell directed for producer Charles R. Rogers. Wayne did not make the list of top ten money-makers until 1949, when he suddenly jumped into 4th place. However, he did rank 7th in the first annual survey of western stars in 1936. The first of six "B" westerns Wayne was to make for Warner Bros, all of them co-starring "Duke" (variously billed as "The Devil Horse" and "The Miracle Horse"). COMMENT: A fascinating little western with great production values (augmented by a few stock shots from the 1926 Ken Maynard version), a suspenseful story, a few offbeat characters and some great acting, particularly from "Duke" the horse, "Duke" the star, Otis Harlan the judge (repeating his role from the 1926 film), and Frank Hagney the villain. Director Fred Allen shows occasional flashes of genius. A less imaginative director could well have made this movie into just another routine little oater. But aided by Ted McCord's superlative camerawork and the availability of some inspiring locations, Allen has created a minor gem. In short, a very pleasing effort from all concerned. Wayne is already an engaging personality.

"Ride Him Cowboy" was the first of six westerns that John Wayne made for Warner Bros. for the 1932-33 season. Most were remakes of Ken Maynard silent westerns pf the 1920s thus giving the studio the opportunity to use stock footage from those films (which they did). This one is a remake of Maynard's 1926 film "The Unknown Cavalier". To match any stock footage used, the studio costumed Wayne in Maynard's costume and used a horse ("Duke") that looked the same as Maynard's "Tarzan".This first film gets the series off to a good start. Directed by Fred Allen (No, not THAT Fred Allen), the story moves along and holds the viewer's interest. Since the series was made at WB, the production values were far superior to those in Wayne's later "Lone Star" westerns.The story centers on how Wayne came to acquire his horse "Duke". The Hawk, aka Henry Sims (Frank Hagney) and his gang are robbing and pillaging the local ranchers. One particular night they hit the Gaunt ranch. The foreman, Bob Webb (Edmund Cobb) is attacked. The attack, for some reason, is made to look like Webb was trampled by Gaunt's prize palomino "Duke".The horse is about to be destroyed after a "trial" in town when a stranger, John Drury (Wayne) rides into town. He pleads with the Deputy Sheriff (Henry Cribbon), the owner John Gaunt (Henry B. Wathall) and his daughter Ruth (Ruth Hall) for a chance to ride the horse and tame him. He does this and the horse takes a shine to him. Gaunt allows Drury to take the horse as he also becomes attracted to Ruth.Drury offers his services to the town to track down the mysterious bandit. He and Sims who offers to be his guide set out in search of "The Hawk". In the desert, Sims reveals himself to be "The Hawk" and ties up Drury and leaves him for dead. "Duke", however, is able to free his master.While attacking another ranch, Sims plants Drury's harmonica and later cites him as "The Hawk". A mock trial before Judge Clarence "Necktie" Jones is held, Drury is found guilty and..................................A good series opener with little obvious use of stock footage.

I figured this would be a very dated, corny and dumb B-cowboy movie, but was wrong. It was a very interesting short film that was done very well.It had action, comedy, romance and suspense all packed into a movie less that lasted only 55 minutes. It had a convincing nasty villain, a pretty girl, a talented horse named "Duke," and a crooked-but-funny judge. The horse was able to untie rope and acted almost human.The only thing that looked a bit dated - but applied to all classic westerns - is when they broke chairs over the good guy's head and it never seemed to faze him. Only in the movie can a guy get punched flush in the jaw and have a wooden chair broken over his skull, and the victim is no worse for the wear!

Worth watching Duke (the horse)...Duke (the human) leaves a lot to be desired. As a fairly early Western, this picture has many of the classic ingredients...bad guys, good guys, romance, lively crowds of town folks,and even a horse for a hero. The problem is sub-par acting, a ridiculous script, and amateurish direction. However, even with these faults whatever possible enjoyment Western fans might have found is ruined by the incredibly poor acting of John Wayne. It's impossible not to be distracted by his low level of performance and even a cowboy fanatic like myself could not suffer more than a few of his awkward scenes before fleeing the scene myself.