Home on the Range (1942)

★★★★ · Great reading! · longfade · 2010-07-02

Oh, this is one of my very favorites just for the narration. What a wonderful reading, slowly-paced but very emphatic. There are times where he sounds almost disdainful but it’s so hard to tell what the intent is. Some interesting choices of words, too. I think my favorite line is: “You don’t make a top cowhand in a month. No, nor in year either. You sure hate to see one leaving, but Uncle Sam’s got first call ‘em. So, we just look around for what help we can find”. It takes a really bellicose, overly patriotic turn toward the end though, unfortunately, but it’s still a great joy to watch…

★★★ · No Deer. No Antelope. Just Range. And Cows · Dodsworth the Cat · 2023-12-02

That thar narrator feller shore is a might chatty. There are times where it would be nice to let the footage tell the tale, but cousin Zeb flaps his mouth more than a calf that's just backed into a campfire. After endless praise for the range country and the people who work on it, the narrator launches into the real point of this film--as subtly as a mule kicking aunt Martha at a quilting bee. Our fighting men sending Hiter to Heil need beef more than you. The music and arrangements are good. I reckon some of the tunes you'll have heard in them thar movin' pictures.