Although Larry "Buster" Crabbe earns top billing, the hero of Drift Fence is former Western star Tom Keene as Jim Travis, who, at a rodeo, meets city dweller Jim Traft, who has come west to erect a fence that will prevent Clay Jackson from continuing his cattle rustling business. A tough Western type, Travis suggests that he impersonate Traft and the building of the fence soon begins. But Travis is opposed by Slinger Dunn and his family, whose small ranch will suffer from the division of the land. A romance between Travis and Slinger's sister, Paula, paves the way for a meeting of the minds, however, and Slinger switches sides completely upon learning that Travis is a Texas Ranger in disguise.
"He Was a One Man Man-Hunter in a Ruthless Fight for Land...And a Girl!"
Popularity
0.8
Unknown
User score
4 / 10
2 votes
1 USER REVIEW
CinemaSerf
5/8/2024
5 / 10
This was made in the same year that star Buster Crabbe was off fighting Charles Middleton's menacing "Emperor Ming" and he should maybe just have stuck to that? After a bit of quite exciting rodeo action, we meet "Travis" (Tom Keene) who is chatting with the check-clad "Traft" (Benny Baker) who isn't prepared to risk his hat to run his uncle's cattle ranch, so maybe he could manage it for him? What "Traft" doesn't know is that his new friend is really a Texas Ranger and this plan could work well as he is chasing an outlaw believed to be rustling the cows. Crabbe's "Slinger" owns the adjacent property and is soon embroiled in a plot designed to make people suspicious that it's actually him that's doing the thieving, so he's going to have to act. That's really the bit that lets the whole thing down. None of them are really very good at that, and it misses the cheeky, curmudgeonly, character usually employed to inject a little comedy into it too. Crabbe is just way too earnest and although Effie Ellsler has some fun as the granny wielding a gun easily as long as she is tall, it's all a rather procedural drama with little to remember about it. I think it's called "drift" for a reason.
