Movie Review: Water Rustlers (1939)
Synopsis: Shirley Martin and her father run a cattle ranch that, along with others in the valley, is in danger of drying up after a mining company owned by Robert Weylan dams and redirects the only source of water in an elaborate scheme to buy the land at a reduced cost. After her father is killed by Weylan's men, Shirley attempts to fight him in court and, when that fails, works to find another solution that won't result in people being hurt or killed.
Who's in it? The movie stars Dorothy Page, Dave O'Brien, Stanley Price, Vince Barnett and Warner Richmond.
Review: I was undecided about which movie to watch this morning and ended up picking Water Rustlers because it was one of the first that popped up on my list and a class western starring a "singing cowgirl" seemed somewhat unique. After seeing the movie, my opinion of it is mostly positive.
I will admit, I wasn't expecting all that much from Shirley Martin (Page), based mostly on when the movie was made. She had the star billing, but I honestly expected her to be reduced to live interest/damsel in distress, especially with well-known actor Dave O'Brien sharing the screentime. That, however, proved not to be the case. While Shirley did leave the fist fighting to O'Brien, she was a strong starring character overall, proving to be both intelligent enough to come up with a strategy to beat the main bad guy, Weylan (Price) while also being brave enough not to back down in a face-to-face confrontation.
O'Brien, for his part, was a solid supporting player as Shirley's ranch hand/love interest. He provided the muscle when needed (though I think it would have been awesome to see her punch out someone) but also took a step back to make it clear Page was the star of the film.
As far as the plot was concerned, I thought it was OK. The whole "bad guy terrorizing ranchers" thing has been done tons of times. However, I did like how Shirley insisted on trying to follow the law, especially after her father was killed. It predictably didn't work, but it at least made it clear who the good guys were when the violence inevitably happened.
My only real complaint about the movie is one I have with most films from this era and genre - there is a whole lot of filler in a movie that is less than an hour in length. This includes multiple musical performances (though, to be fair, Page does have a great singing voice) and what had to be one of the longest, non-eventful horse rides I've ever seen. It wasn't anything that necessarily hurt the movie, it just was time that could have been better spent by adding more action.
Final Opinion: The overall plot isn't anything I'd describe as special. The movie is still entertaining though, and I'd describe it as being somewhat unique just because it has a woman in a role that would normally be reserved for male actors like Tex Ritter, Gene Autry, etc. So, it's worth watching at least once.
My Grade: B+
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Here are some reviews of other Dave O'Brien films:
Movie Review: Flaming Bullets (1945)
Movie Review: Frontier Fugitives (1945)
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