Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch (1976)

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch (1976)** 1/2 (out of 4)This here is a rather interesting tribute to the countless "B" Westerns that were so popular back in the day. The gimmick of this film by Robert Patterson is that he took clips from dozens of movies and edited them together into one movie so that the various cowboy heroes of the past could be in one movie, working together to get the bad guys.John Wayne, Rex Allen, Gene Autry, Don Barry, William Boyd, Johnny Mack Brown, Buster Crabbe, Eddie Dean, Hoot Gibson, Tim Holt and Monte Hale are just some of the stars that are show here and we also get some famous sidekicks too.MEANWHILE BACK AT THE RANCH is a film that I respected more than I really enjoyed. I say that because it was pretty fascinating seeing them do a Frankenstein type of picture meaning that they took clips from dozens of other movies and made their own out of them. There's some new narration that is meant to help us know what's going on and I thought this was an interesting way to tell a story.With that said, the film simply doesn't work because the footage is obviously from different movies and it just never really flows as one movie. Again, on a technical level I thought they did a good job but it was just impossible to really get a flow to the picture when you know you're watching one movie this second and then another the next. The gimmick was an interesting one but I just don't think it fully worked in the end.I will say that fans of these "B" movies will want to check it out as a curio but that's about it.

"Meanwhile Back at the Ranch" is a compilation film of clips from old "B" westerns from the 30s through the 50s. Skillfully edited, it contains like scenes from various films molded into a cohesive (almost) story about the exploits of a bad guy named "The Rattler" and his gang. It's all tied together through a narration by "B" veteran side kick Pat Buttram who oddly enough doesn't appear in the movie.Buttram's narrator claims to have sent for the 25 best frontier marshals to help rid the town of the villains. Riding into town is everyone from Roy, Gene and Hoppy to Bob Steele Buck Jones, Tim McCoy, Tim Holt Charles Starrett, The Durango Kid, Lash Larue (in a bullwhip duel) et al. Roy, Gene, Fred Scott, The Sons of the Pioneers, Eddie Dean, Tex Ritter and John "Singin' Sandy" Wayne "croon" some long forgotten songs as well.And yes the side kicks (Gabby Hayes, Smiley Burnette, Raymond Hatton among others) are there too. And don't forget the bad guys (Charlie King, Roy Barcroft, George Cheseboro, Edmund Cobb and others) provide the menace to our heroes. What! No Harry Woods?The film is well done and very funny within it's context. It's a "B" western lover's (of which I am one) dream. Highly Recommended.

*Spoiler/plot- Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch, 1976. A Western taking place in a small town where the locals can't fight the local villain and Pat Buttram calls in some favors from his lawman Cowboy friends to help the town get bake to lawfulness.*Special Stars- All archived footage of every Western star, side-kick, and baddie in the 30's through the 50's. *Theme- Friends help friends. *Trivia/location/goofs- B & W. Get over the major changes in visual & audio levels between differing & aged clips to tell the weak story. Most of the locations are recognizable as the Chatsworth CA, Iverson Movie Ranch.*Emotion- An interesting idea for a Frankenstien cobbled together film made up of 'clips' or archived footage to tell a boring pedestrian story from the old West. Good guys against the baddies.*Based on- Every movie & TV Western plot ever produced.