Riddle Ranch (DVD)

Rancher Jim Riddle refuses to allow his niece Helen to marry Bob Horton, believing she's too good for an ordinary cowboy. When Bob is falsely accused of murdering a saloon gambler, Riddle withholds knowledge of the victim's dying declaration, which would exonerate the innocent cowpuncher. While hiding in the desert, Horton discovers a clue that would prove his innocence. But with both the sheriff and the real killer - Mexican bandit Don Carlos - hot on his trail, it appears unlikely that Bob will survive long enough to clear his name.

One of several mid-1930s movies produced by filmmaker Mitchell Leichter, Riddle Ranch is a pleasantly offbeat horse opera that compels interest precisely because it eschews B-Western cliches. - Ed Hulse

• western