Jack Perrin and Harry Tenbrook, WWI Marine Corps vets, head out west to visit the father of their deceased buddy and get involved in a fight over water rights.

There used to be a large genre of 'modern' western, some examples of which survived through the collapse of the B Western in the 1960s. But while the modern western by the 1960s had become nostalgic to the point of depression for the Good Old Days of Open Spaces -- think of THE MISFITS -- the modern western of 1927 did not even recognize that the good old days were gone -- think of one of the characters in SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL Sheriff, on being told that James Garner was heading to the frontier of Australia: "I thought we were the frontier." It would take another forty or fifty years before the Western became a closed, nostalgic art form, its vision of freedom, growth and frontier shifting to science fiction.

In the meantime, you got these mixed genre works. This is a pretty good B picture, done with occasional gusts of comedy -- Tenbrook digging a trench in eight seconds, or Perrin trying to thread a needle. It's a movie for people to have fun with and it succeeds.

The drama genre is a broad category that features stories portraying human experiences, emotions, conflicts, and relationships in a realistic and emotionally impactful way. Dramas delve into the complexities of human life, often exploring themes of love, loss, morality, societal issues, personal growth, with the aim to evoke an emotional response from the audience by presenting relatable and thought-provoking stories.

Mahershala Ali and Alex R. Hibbert in Moonlight (2016)

The Western genre features stories set primarily in the 19th-century American Old West and often depict the rugged frontier life, exploring themes of individualism, justice, morality, and the clash between civilization and the untamed wilderness. The genre has its roots in the historical context of westward expansion and the challenges faced by pioneers, settlers, outlaws, and lawmen.

John Wayne and Harry Carey Jr. in The Searchers (1956)

After WW I, two marines visit the family of one of their comrades in New Mexico. Learning that after the family bought a ranch the water supply was cut off, they take up the fight. To settle the matter the Marshal agrees to a boxing match to decide who will get the water rights.

Buzz Barton, Jack Perrin, Harry Tenbrook, and Rex the Dog in Thunderbolt's Tracks (1927)

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Thunderbolt's Tracks

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