Being a gun for hire is not always what
it is cracked up to be, as the one Sundown Saunders is in
“Powdersmoke Range”(1935). Maybe it
is because Tom Tyler's role demands that he be vicious and
unforgiving, acted in a dramatic manner but not too over the top.
Sandwiched between “A Rider of the Plains” (1931) and
“Stagecoach” (1939), “Powdersmoke Range” remains one of the
top three of Tom's performances in a western, from that decade, if
only because his role is essential to the plot's development. From
the opening scene of the movie where the main players are seated in
their acting chairs, to the climactic range war, Tom delivers the
best performance in the movie, despite being up against some of the
biggest names in B-westerns of the mid-1930's: Harry Carey, Hoot
Gibson, Guinn “Big Boy” Williams, and Bob Steele. The first three
actors on the list portray the Three Mesquiteers, while Bob is Jeff
Ferguson, also known as The Guadalupe Kid, a close friend of the
trio. Unlike “Stagecoach” (1939), all five actors including Tom
himself have firmly established backgrounds as leading men in silent
film. Needless to say, Tom as usual held his own quite well in this
star-studded B-western from RKO. It is worth noting that most of
scripted interaction he has is with Harry Carey, who portrays Tucson
Smith, and the onscreen chemistry between them is what really adds
substance to “Powdersmoke Range” with its common western theme of
cattle rustlers and gunslinging.
Written by William Colt MacDonald (the
screenplay is by Adele Buffington), “Powdersmoke Range” is about
a crooked saloon owner who also happens to be a cattle rustler and
ranch deed thief named Steve Ogden (Sam Hardy). Ogden confiscates the
livestock and deed to the ranch belonging to the Three Mesquiteers
and their friend Jeff Ferguson (Bob Steele), also known as he
Guadalupe Kid. To make matters worse, the town deputy, Glascow
(Adrian Morris) is in cahoots with Ogden. The Three Mesquiteers fight
to get their property back, but not without a fight from Sundown
Saunders, hired by Ogden to engage Tucson Smith (Carey) in a duel at
sundown.
The opening credits of “Powdersmoke
Range” depict the main players are seated in their chairs, backs to
the camera, their names clearly printed on the back of each chair,
introduce their faces with some personality: the heroic, craggy face
of Harry Carey; Hoot Gibson taking a bite from an apple; Guinn “Big
Boy” Williams spitting in a classy manner; and Tom Tyler, slowly
turning his head, eyes narrowed, eyebrow raised with a “don't give
a” expression. Tom comes across as being a tough, lean, mean,
fighting machine whether it is in armed or unarmed combat. As Sundown
Saunders, Tom delivers a memorable performance on film; in the Big
Little Book of “Powdersmoke Range” (Whitman Publishing, Racine,
WI: 1935) Sundown is described as a “tall dark man in a black
hat...His face was lean and stern. His eyes were dark, cruel slits
under his hat brim.” (pp. 98-100) This highly collectible book
contains many stills from the movie, and is the only Big Little Book
I have come across that has Tom Tyler as a main character in the
story.
Sundown Saunders makes his first
appearance in the film when Ogden is with Glascow in his room above
the Red Bull saloon. The bartender knocks on the door before entering
and informs Ogden there is someone downstairs to see him. Once the
bartender leaves, Sundown arrives, opening the door to the room,
asking which man is Ogden. Sundown is adamant about his business
being between Ogden and himself, wanting no one else to hear the
conversation that transpires. So he orders Glascow to leave, which he
does. Ogden offers Sundown a drink, and Sundown, sitting on the edge
of the desk, responds with “Gunplay and liquor don't mix”.
Sundown is one who likes to be sober and always alert, sharp on the
draw. At no point does Sundown ever let his guard down. Ogden's plan
is to frame Tucson Smith, accusing him of stealing cattle off the
local ranches and wants Sundown to plug him. As a hired gun, Sundown
Saunders demands Ogden pay him his price of $2500.00 on the spot
before he does the job. Sundown knows Tucson Smith all too well, is
taken aback when he learns why he has been asked to plug Tucson, and
in turn accuses Ogden of lying. Yet Sundown never breaks his word to
anyone, no matter what the character of the person might be. In
maintaining his reputation as the Fastest Gun in the Southwest,
Sundown agrees to go up against Tucson Smith, just for game.
Successfully going through with the gun match is no problem for
Sundown, as he prepares himself mentally and physically for the role,
when he spends time outside behind Red Bull saloon cleaning his gun
and thinking.
The Three Mesquiteers first meet
Sundown in Happy Days saloon across the street from Red Bull saloon.
The owner Happy (William Desmond) is busy tending the bar, with only
Tucson Smith, Lullaby Joslin (Williams), and Stony Brooke (Gibson).
While the men chat, Sundown enters the saloon and saunters up to the
bar, requesting a shot of whisky. Happy whispers to the three men
that the guest is Sundown Saunders. Tucson starts to leave and as he
walks towards the front door, is stopped as Sundown casually grabs
him by the arm. Sundown and Tucson exchange a few words, the
conversation eventually being softened by Tucson in response to
Sundown's snarl, while Sundown challenges him to a duel at sundown.
Tucson is right in thinking Sundown is being paid to fight him, but
of course Sundown won't admit it. Soon after Sundown leaves the
saloon, Jeff comes in and tells Tucson he plans on discouraging
Sundown in fighting him, afraid he might lose a close friend and
mentor. Being young, with a propensity towards impetuousness, Jeff
does not heed Tucson's warning, telling the boy that it is his fight
alone.
Jeff finds Sundown outside behind Red
Bull saloon, cleaning his gun while sitting by a tree. Jeff implores
Sundown not to engage Tucson in a gunfight, explaining how close he
is to the oldest of the Three Mesquiteers, looking up to him like a
father. Should anything happen to Tucson in this match, Sundown would
have to deal with Jeff personally. Jeff is hoping that deep down,
Sundown understands how he feels about Tucson – and he does, yet
conceals it very well. The only reason Sundown is going through with
this is because of the bargain he made with Ogden and being paid for
the job, refuses to back down. If there is a crisis of conscience on
Sundown's part, there is no visible evidence of it, as he moves
mechanically, acting like a killer in every sense of the word. Still
seated in front of the tree, Sundown's expression is grim, cold and
calculating, as is his every word with Jeff. As if to deliberately
provoke Jeff, Sundown tells him that he will eventually forget about
his hero worship of Tucson, when Jeff suddenly punches him in the
face. Startled, Sundown stands up, his eyes squinting, moving towards
Jeff, who takes a step backward. To Sundown, Jeff is just an
impetuous kid with misplaced feelings. The duel at sundown is still
on, and there really is not much Jeff can do to stop it. After
Sundown gives Jeff the brush off, he finds himself dealing with
Tucson Smith, who went to Red Bull looking for Jeff. Sundown enters
the saloon through the back door of the saloon. With Ogden nearby,
Sundown reminds Tucson of his date at sundown in the center of town.
Once Tucson leaves, Ogden tells Sundown that he missed the chance to
plug Tucson then and there. Sundown looks at him in horror, sneers
“You're lower than a rat” before turning his back on him.
Like a red seal is the
setting sun
On the good and the evil
men have done,-
- Longfellow
At sundown Tucson and Sundown meet up
at opposite ends of the road in the middle of town. Once they come
within shooting range, Sundown draws and fires but is too late;
Tucson already fired, but instead of using regular bullets in his 45
frame revolver, used 3220's – a size meant to only knick his
opponent from a certain distance. Tucson had no desire to kill
Sundown, and is the first to arrive by Sundown's side when he
collapses in the middle of the road. Sundown looks up at Tucson with
widened eyes and replies “You took me by surprise”, taking a hit,
especially from someone who he did not consider to be truly a bad guy
but rather a good guy. After Sundown is taken away and fixed up at
the doctor's, Tucson and the boys face a bigger challenge: the real
cattle rustlers. Later on, Sundown leaves the doctor's office, when
Tucson manages to catch hold of him. Tucson encourages Sundown to
join in on the fight against the rustlers. Sundown listens to him
even though he looks off into the distance, clearly detached from the
entire situation, and wanting to go home to his ranch. Tucson tells
Sundown to think about it and turns his attention to the cattle rustling, as the Three Mesquiteers head towards to rocky hills on
horseback.
Once the Three Mesquiteers arrive in
the hills, gun play starts against the cattle thieves. Well concealed
by outcroppings of rocks, they take their turns, while not far off in
the distance, Sundown is making his way to their destination, on
horseback, crossing a riverbed. In an attempt to repay Tucson for his
kindness, Sundown looks around, trying to find where Tucson is
located among all the large rocks. He finds him, shooting away, and
crouching down, the two men come face to face, looking at each other
in a manner of faithfulness and understanding to each other. Of
course, Tucson is happy that Sundown decided to join them, and right
as one of the cattle rustlers sends a bullet in their direction,
Sundown leapps up, ready to shoot back, but instead takes the bullet
meant for Tucson right in his chest. Sundown falls back towards the
ground, his hat falls off, Tucson looking on in horror, grabbing him.
Sundown's last words to Tucson were “I guess it wasn't in the cards
for me to stay on the ranch”, looking up at Tucson and smiles
broadly, a smile that Tucson hoped he could one day see from Sundown.
Sundown finally expires, smile disappearing, still held in Tucson's
arms, his face turning towards Tucson's chest. As a rather poignant
moment between Tom and Harry, the two finally become friends at the
end – a friendship that required the final sacrifice.
Directed by Wallace Fox, “Powdersmoke
Range” offered Tom Tyler and Harry Carey the chance to work
together for the first time, and as an installment for the Three
Mesquiteers, is top notch viewing even though it is a B-western of
the mid-1930's. What the movie does offer is the standard western
fan's chance to see Carey, Gibson, Williams work with Tom Tyler on
equal billing, as well as observe Tom on the other side of the law
(at the time this movie was made, Tom was also under contract to
Reliable, having just released “Rio Rattler” in 1935), a
temporary diversion from his good guy leading man roles in B-westerns
at the time. As stated earlier, it is the onscreen chemistry between
Harry Carey and Tom Tyler that really make the picture. Their
personalities play off each other quite nicely: Tom Tyler being the
more enigmatic figure, while Harry Carey is the tough guy with a
tender heart, always being on the right side of the law. This
chemistry would later be seen in “The Last Outlaw” (1936),
another western also starring Hoot Gibson. All things considered,
“Powdersmoke Range” remains one of William Colt MacDonald's best
western stories translated to the silver screen, bringing the
memorable Three Mesquiteers and their friends to life.
