Riders of the Purple Sage

I would like to call the attention of viewers of this fine film to the unusual use of camera movement. In most B westerns of the 1930s the camera was very static except in chase scenes. Not so here. As a for instance, note the scene where George O'Brien rides into town - the camera picks him up and is pulled backward around a corner and then pans to catch his dismount. Not easy to execute but fun to watch. There seems to have been an informal "contest" in the 1931 - 1932 time frame to break away from cameras nailed to the ground and get them moving. Many examples exist but few were done in this type of film. Although some outdoor shots are obviously Southern California, many more were made closer to the scene of the original book, Utah. No buttes and mesas in SoCal! The themes addressed in this film are enjoyably adult and the ending thankfully avoids the cliché of the hero kissing his horse and riding off into the sunset.