Strawberry Roan (1933)
Ken Maynard stars as a roving cowboy who tells the tale of taming the stallion that inspired the titular poem.
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Best movie ever!
As Good As It Gets
Your blood may run cold, but you now find yourself pinioned to the story.
There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.
Made in 1933 while cowboy star Ken Maynard was under contract at Universal, this film has better production values than some of his other sound films. For those curious about Maynard and his famous horse Tarzan, this is really a great, enjoyable and unusual Western. This is not really a shot 'em up Western. There is plenty of action, however, in this story of how a Wild Strawberry Roan comes to be tamed. If you know the famous song, you know the plot of this film. In fact, part of the plot involves a fictionalized account of how the catchy song came to be. Ken displays his limited but real cowboy-like singing abilities. Maynard is sometimes credited as the first singing cowboy in the movies, although Gary Cooper sang a tune in the 1929 Virginian.Tarzan also shows why he became the famous horse he once was, and has somememorable and exciting scenes. Tarzan does not play the Strawberry Roan as he is Ken's horse and the Roan is a Wild Horse.
Some B western fans consider this to be Ken Maynard's best movie, that's why I picked it as the first Maynard movie I've watched since childhood. It's quite disappointing. Ken is a poor actor, worse than most of the B western stars of his era. If you like singing cowboys, you may enjoy him a little bit more, because he does sing as well or better than most of the cowboy singers of the time. Overall acting in this movie was fair, with Ken noticeably having the most trouble with his lines. His horse, Tarzan, is featured in the two best parts of the movie, horse fights. The horse fights looked quite realistic, & either they were real, or Tarzan is quite an accomplished actor. Fairly thin plot, later used by Gene Autry. Save your money on this one, & buy any Hopalong Cassidy movie instead!