''Partners'' is a 1932 American

Western film The Western is a genre set in the American frontier and commonly associated with folk tales of the Western United States, particularly the Southwestern United States, as well as Northern Mexico and Western Canada. It is commonly referred ...

directed by

Fred Allen John Florence Sullivan (May 31, 1894 – March 17, 1956), known professionally as Fred Allen, was an American comedian. His absurdist, topically pointed radio program ''The Fred Allen Show'' (1932–1949) made him one of the most popular and for ...

, from a screenplay by Donald W. Lee. The film stars Tom Keene, with Nancy Drexel and Bobby Nelson in supporting roles. It made a profit of $30,000.

Plot

Dick Barstow owns a horse ranch. When he comes upon a traveling salesman, Carry-All Roach, and his grandson, Bud, being harassed by Chet Jarvis, he intervenes, breaking up the incident. He invites the salesman to his ranch to recover. Dick is visited by Mr. Morgan, his daughter, Jean and Jarvis. Both Dick and Jarvis are attracted to Jean. Jarvis purchases a gift for Jean and sees the large amount of cash Roach has. Roach loans Dick $1,500 after he learns Dick owes Mr. Morgan. The next day, returning to his ranch after paying off Mr. Morgan, Dick finds Roach dead by the side of the road, and Bud injured. Dick reports the murder to the local sheriff, and breaks the news of Roach's death to Bud, promising to take care of him. The sheriff suspects Dick of Roach's murder based on circumstantial proof. Dick evades arrest in order to prove his innocence. Jarvis is appointed Bud's guardian as a means to access the rest of Roach's money. Jarvis lies in wait for Dick to return to his ranch where Jean is caring for Bud. Dick convinces Jean he didn't murder Roach despite his evading arrest. Dick escapes as the sheriff and Jarvis breach his house. He returns to the site of the murder, where he finds a distinctive piece of a boot, which matches the brand worn by Jarvis. Dick breaks into Jarvis' motel room where he finds Roach's empty wallet. Roach's estate is auctioned off at Dick's ranch with Jarvis acting as administrator. Dick rides back to his ranch, to implicate Jarvis with his proof. When confronted with the empty wallet, it is further discovered that Jarvis has a military medal of Roach's which he used to carry in his wallet. Revealed as the murderer, Jarvis attempts to flee, but is captured by Dick. Returning to his ranch, Dick cements his relationship with Jean and reaffirms his intention to rear Bud.

Cast

* Tom Keene as Dick Barstow *

Nancy Drexel Nancy Drexel (born Dorothy Kitchen, April 6, 1910 – November 19, 1989) was an American film actress of the late silent and early sound era. She was sometimes credited by her birth name in films. She appeared in 29 films, generally B-film West ...

as Jean Morgan *

Otis Harlan Otis Harlan (December 29, 1865 – January 21, 1940) was an American actor and comedian. He voiced Happy, one of the Seven Dwarfs in the Disney animated film ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs''. Early years Harlan was born in Zanesville, Ohio ...

as the Auctioneer *

Victor Potel Victor Potel (October 12, 1889 – March 8, 1947) was an American film character actor who began in the silent era and appeared in more than 430 films in his 38-year career. Career Victor Potel was born in Lafayette, Indiana in 1889, and his ...

as Deputy Lem *

Bobby Nelson Bobby Nelson, born Charles Karass (17 April 1917 - 20 February 2002) was a Canadian-American professional wrestler and businessman who appeared frequently in the National Wrestling Alliance midwest territories beginning in 1936 and continuing t ...

as Bud Roach *

Lee Shumway Lee Shumway (March 4, 1884 – January 4, 1959), born Leonard Charles Shumway, was an American actor. He appeared in more than 400 films between 1909 and 1953. He was born in Salt Lake City, Utah and died in Los Angeles, California. Select ...

as Chet Jarvis *

Billy Franey William Gerald Franey (June 23, 1889 – December 6, 1940) was an American film actor. Born in Chicago in 1889, Franey appeared in more than 400 films between 1914 and 1941, mostly playing comedic roles. He was an actor of disheveled appea ...

as Carry-All Roach * Carlton S. King as Mr. Morgan *

Ben Corbett Ben Corbett (February 6, 1892 – May 19, 1961) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 280 films between 1915 and 1956. He was born in Hudson, Illinois and died in Hollywood, California. Corbett was a trophy-winning rodeo part ...

as Shorty *

Fred Burns Frederick D. Burns (born September 6, 1889, in Nevada, Missouri; died December 22, 1971, in Cincinnati, Ohio) was an important figure in Midwest amateur tennis in the early part of the 20th century. Burns was a journalist by profession from 1911 ...

as the Sheriff (cast list as per

AFI AFI may refer to: * ''Address-family identifier'', a 16 bit field of the Routing Information Protocol * Ashton Fletcher Irwin, an Australian drummer * AFI (band), an American rock band ** ''AFI'' (2004 album), a retrospective album by AFI rele ...

database)

References

External links

''Partners''
at

IMDb IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

1932 Western (genre) films 1932 films American Western (genre) films American black-and-white films Films scored by Arthur Lange Films directed by Fred Allen (film editor) 1930s American films 1930s English-language films {{1930s-Western-film-stub