This is the first of the two sound westerns Louise Brooks made. The films she made in the sound era are almost uniformly bad, with the exception of "Prix de Beaute," the film she made in France, shot as a silent with sound added later. In that film her voice was dubbed by a French actress who sounded only modestly like Brooks. Seeing as how Paramount tried to ruin her when she came back to the states after her creative sojourn in Europe by spreading the rumor that her voice recorded badly, I was certainly curious as to hearing what she sounded like on film in those days.
"Empty Saddles" is essentially a Buck Jones film, apparently a big cowboy star of the mid 30s. In this film, unlike her lackluster performance alongside a young John Wayne in "Overland Stage Raiders," Brooks is really trying hard to create a decent character from a script that doesn't deserve it. Although the character she plays in "Empty Saddles" was pretty much supposed to be the standard love interest, Brooks takes the role and runs with it.
The nice thing about this film is that while it's not a great film, it's actually pretty entertaining. There's some fun cowboy songs and a plot that somewhat resembles "City Slickers" (with a ghost thrown in!). It also has a wonderful dude ranch atmosphere. The other interesting thing about this film is that Brooks has a fairly large and even pivotal role with plenty of dialog to boot. Even her difficult personality comes across here. It was fascinating to watch and hear her. And her voice is wonderful, clear as a bell and every bit the match for her iconic face and jet black hair. For a big portion of the film there are plenty of cowboys on horseback, but Brooks wasn't one of them. I was beginning to think she couldn't ride. Was I wrong! At one point she barters for a horse, jumps on and rides like blazes. Not a stand in. It was clearly her. This is all the more amazing to me, because in the Wayne film, she never once gets on a horse.
This film is not officially released on DVD, but it can be tracked down online if you look for it. For those interested in Louise Brooks this film is the best showcase of her voice.
"Empty Saddles" is essentially a Buck Jones film, apparently a big cowboy star of the mid 30s. In this film, unlike her lackluster performance alongside a young John Wayne in "Overland Stage Raiders," Brooks is really trying hard to create a decent character from a script that doesn't deserve it. Although the character she plays in "Empty Saddles" was pretty much supposed to be the standard love interest, Brooks takes the role and runs with it.
The nice thing about this film is that while it's not a great film, it's actually pretty entertaining. There's some fun cowboy songs and a plot that somewhat resembles "City Slickers" (with a ghost thrown in!). It also has a wonderful dude ranch atmosphere. The other interesting thing about this film is that Brooks has a fairly large and even pivotal role with plenty of dialog to boot. Even her difficult personality comes across here. It was fascinating to watch and hear her. And her voice is wonderful, clear as a bell and every bit the match for her iconic face and jet black hair. For a big portion of the film there are plenty of cowboys on horseback, but Brooks wasn't one of them. I was beginning to think she couldn't ride. Was I wrong! At one point she barters for a horse, jumps on and rides like blazes. Not a stand in. It was clearly her. This is all the more amazing to me, because in the Wayne film, she never once gets on a horse.
This film is not officially released on DVD, but it can be tracked down online if you look for it. For those interested in Louise Brooks this film is the best showcase of her voice.
