McKenna of the Mounted

1932· 67 min★ 6.4· Western

One of Columbia's favorite and most-recycled plots involving a "disgraced" lawman crossing the border to clear his name which on five occasions (twice previously with Jones) involved a Texas Ranger crossing the Mexican border to accomplish his goal, but this one and two other versions with Charles Starrett and later with Russell Hayden (who also had a Ranger version), has the lead as a Mountie turned bad to join the gang and stays on his side of the border. This one has the Northwest Mounties at Elkhorn failing to catch the perpetrators of a series of robberies, and catching much heat from a citizens band of vigilantes headed by Morgan. After being discharged from the service for robbing a rancher, Sergeant Tom McKenna ups and robs the Elkhorn bank, and is followed by Pierre, a member of the gang, who takes him to the outlaws' hideout as a new gang member. The robberies and drummed-from-the-service discharge were part of a plan to capture the gang and its secret leader, who is always the head of the vigilance committee protesting the loudest against the inability of the sometime Mounties and more-often Rangers to do their job.

Cast: Buck Jones, Greta Granstedt, Walter McGrail, Mitchell Lewis

Director: D. Ross Lederman