Tom Dale (Buck Jones) and his employee, Swede (John Oscar), come across a stage coach robbery.  Though the robber gets away, Tom and Swede recover a stolen mailbag.  Tom finds a letter to himself and it is revealed that his real name is Cuthbert Chauncey Dale.  After explaining that he goes by Tom because that was his uncle’s name, Tom says that he’ll shoot anyone who calls him Cuthbert and he’s the movie’s hero!

When the local posse comes upon Tom and Swede, they accuse them of having robbed the stagecoach.  Tom and Swede manage to escape from jail during the dead of night and ride to a neighboring town, where Tom has inherited his uncle’s ranch.  Tom and Swede work on the ranch, building fences and branding cattle.  Tom starts to fall for Lou Preston (Ethel Kenyon), earing him the enmity of Joe Moore (Albert J. Smith), who is also in love with Lou.  Joe frames Tom and Swede for cattle rustling.  Tom and Swede attempt to clear their names with the help of their new friend, the same man (Wallace MacDonald) who previously robbed the stage coach!

This short but complicated B-western has its share of gunfights and chases on horseback but it still has some slow spots.  There are a lot of scenes of Tom and Swede working around the ranch.  When you’re ready for another gunfight, Tom and Swede have to go work on the fence.  Still, fans of early westerns will probably enjoy Branded.  Wallace MacDonald is a likable rouge as the Stagecoach Robber and the movie ends on a little more of a serious note than the typical poverty row western.  Buck Jones was an authentic cowboy before he went into the movies and he’s believable whenever he’s riding a horse, shooting a gun, or just walking around his ranch.  Just don’t call him Cuthbert!