The Devil's Saddle Legion (1937) User Reviews (4)

Dam the Defiant!

[bsmith5552 · 6/10 · 14 July 2018]

"The Devil's Saddle Legion", whatever that is, was the second last of the Singing Cowboy movies starring Dick Foran for Warner Bros. It has a complicated plot, at least for me, involving the building of a dam to divert the Red River for some reason or other.

The film opens with Tal Holladay (Foran) ridin' along, singin' a song when he comes upon an injured man Chip Carter (Carlyle Moore Jr.). Carter as it turns out is an escapee from a prison camp for prisoners building a dam for rancher John Ordley (Gordon Hart). It seems that sheriff Duke Gorman (Ray Bennett) and his cohorts have been railroading innocent men into prison for the purpose of building a dam.

Holladay is charged for the murder of Carter and is sentenced in a mock trial to 10 years at hard labor and is sent to the prison camp run by the sadistic Red Frayne (George Chesebro). There he meets among others, Pewee (Glenn Strange) with whom he forms a friendship.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch we learn that Ordley's son Hub (Willard Parker) is in with the gang but, he also has a young daughter Karan (Anne Nagel) who takes an interest in Holladay. She manages to have him released to train a horse under the watchful eye of brutal guard Butch (Max Hoffman Jr.). She somehow manages to smuggle guns to Holladay for all the convicts to aid in their escape attempt.

Apparently the crux of the plot is the establishment of a permanent borderline between Northern Texas and the Indian Territory by the Secretary of the Interior. I think that the purpose of the dam and the diverting of the Red River has to do with the bad guys gaining additional property. What we know is that Holladay's father had been murdered for his ranch which figures in the borderline.

Anyway, Holladay and the prisoners escape and flee to re-organize. The plan is for Holladay to steal a case of dynamite and blow up the dam, but he gets caught and................................................................................

Foran as usual, gets to serenade the heroine in the barnyard and the boys around a campfire before riding off at the end with another song. By the way, I never did figure out how John Ordley nad his daughter Karan figured in the plot. Were they good or bad? Anyway, Foran rides off with Nagel at the end so they couldn't have been all bad.

This was Willard Parker's film debut. He would go on to a lengthy career playing mostly second leads and/or villains for many years.

Diverting the Red River

[bkoganbing · 4/10 · 23 March 2019]

Bearing in mind that films like The Devil's Saddle Legion were marketed for the Saturday afternoon kiddie trade, still I had a lot of problems with this Dick Foran oater from Warner Brothers.

Foran is a pleasant chap come home to Texas and not knowing yet that his father has been bushwhacked and killed. He gets framed for murder of yet another old friend by a crooked sheriff. But in this town the sentence is always one of hard labor. And the crooks have a nefarious scheme to dam up the Red River and steal Texas land when the river changes course and puts said land into the Indian territory later Oklahoma. That includes Foran's former spread.

I have to say though Foran is a true cowboy hero. While working on the construction gang he saves the girl Anne Nagel when her horse bolts. Quick as a flash he steals a horse and runs down the runaway and saves Nagel. So what does he then do? He takes her back to the gang where once again he's slapped in custody. I mean, really. I'll bet the Saturday matinee kids had trouble swallowing that one.

Definitely not one of Foran's better westerns for Warner Brothers.

This film apparently is taking place in Texas sometime in the 1800s . . .

[tadpole-596-918256 · 5/10 · 24 March 2019]

. . . back in the days BEFORE our brave ICE agents were putting the chill on miscreants attempting to cut the entry line waiting to legally enter America. Naturally, viewers expect to see THE DEVIL'S SADDLE LEGION referring to and exposing some sort of nefarious Underground Railroad featuring the ill-fated sort of which Leader Trump warned us against the day he announced his candidacy and won the election on that Golden Escalator. However, modern day consumers of THE DEVIL'S SADDLE LEGION will be sorely disappointed to find out that it takes place somewhere on Texas' NORTHERN border. Therefore, the dispute covered here is pretty picayune, of little interest to the Modern Viewer. About the only incident that stands out comes at the very end of THE DEVIL'S SADDLE LEGION, when the corrupt, inattentive, know-nothing politico U.S. Secretary of the Interior turns up with a logical cortex as full of holes as a Swiss cheese. This, at last, will make those who have stuck with this boring flick to the bitter end thankful that Leader Trump has ridden into Washington, DC, like the Night on a Pale Horse, and drained the swamp of buffoons such as "Secretary Logan."

typical (short) western

[ksf-2 · 5/10 · 4 April 2019]

Dick Foran is Holladay, the "singing cowboy", and yodels his way through the opening theme. He comes across a man who has been shot by a group of bandits, so now he's accused of the murder. It all seems to hinge on the crooks running the local prison. and the local girl (Anne Nagel) seems to want to help Holladay, but he's not sure ....a whole lotta story in 52 minutes... it's a short shortie from warner brothers. Directed by William Bobby Connolly, who died quite young at 46. wasn't able to find anything on why he died so young. had directed 13 films, and was nominated for four oscars! all for best dance. it's okay. very typical western. wrongly accused cowboy has to try to prove his innocense. for all the trouble he's in, its pretty surprising that he keeps breaking out in song, but he is the singing cowboy, after all. There is a film from 1927 with the same title, but unknown if it this one is related to that one... not much info on the earlier version.