The Two Gun Man (1931) User Reviews

Crowding The Small Ranchers Off Government Land

[bkoganbing · 5/10 · 6 July 2010]

Ken Maynard and Lafe McKee are both considered The Two Gun Man and both have walked in on a nice range war. Cattle baron Tom London has hired himself a whole army of gunslingers and he's aiming to bring in enough beef cattle to crowd the other small ranchers off the US government grazing land.

Of course Maynard and McKee take the side of the small ranchers, cowboy heroes always fight for the underdogs. There are two women interested in Maynard in this film, rancher's daughter Lucille Powers and saloon chanteuse Nita Martan. Guess who Maynard winds up with?

The Two Gun Man moves at a nice pace and the appropriate amount of action is there for any kid devotee of the Saturday matinée. One thing that was interesting was the senior citizen sidekick that Lafe McKee played. He's not around for laughs for the hero, he's pretty good in a pinch.

Not too bad a B western for a poverty row product.

The Two Gun Man review

[JoeytheBrit · 5/10 · 19 May 2020]

Decent enough Ken Maynard programmer in which he and ageing sidekick Lafe McKee go to war with a ruthless cattle baron who is threatening to drive local small ranchers out of business. Lots of speeded up fist-fights which, as bad as they are, are probably more realistic than the more polished fights seen in bigger-budgeted movies, and a horse that understands English.

Slick indie western

[JohnHowardReid · 7/10 · 1 March 2018]

Available on a really superb tinted print from Alpha (not a mark on it, not even a scratch), this is a really enjoyable "B" western that is incredibly slick in all departments. And especially from an independent movie made in 1931 by a low budget outfit like Tiffany!

Under Phil Rosen's polished direction, Ken Maynard acquits himself well as the title character and receives excellent support all the way down the line, but particularly from Lucille Powers, Charles King and Lafe McKee.

By the standards of the independent "B", and particularly one from Tiffany Productions, production values are remarkably solid with lots of location filming and plenty of action.

Quite a large cast too! All the players acquit themselves with honor. I'm tempted to go through the cast one by one, but I will content myself by stating that Lucille Powers makes a really attractive heroine!

Early Maynard has lots going on: horses, chases, and guns

[glennstenb · 5/10 · 21 November 2018]

I found this film to be only a fair entry in the Maynard list. It has its charm as an early 30's effort, but the acting is a bit stilted for a film that tried to present a fairly complex story. By the next year Maynard will have a more easy going and realistic acting approach. There is a lot of horse action and a plenty of chases and gunplay in this movie. Two attractions of note: first, we see a slender Charles King, and second, we have a role for Lafe McKee where he actually has a meaningful and continuing presence. The film was enjoyed, but probably not worthy of a second spin.