The Local Bad Man

I found this film to be quite entertaining. Especially appreciated were the varied locales, captured well in the camera angles and scene setups. Curving railroad tracks and rights of way, a nicely atmospheric and melodic barn dance, the old train depot with requisite telegraph office, a picturesque small and dusty old West village, on-board train action, hard-walled jail cells, and wide-view chases with horses and riders easily come to mind in fond recollection. The opening scene where the camera draws back from a closeup of Hoot's beaming face as he rides his horse through town is memorable. This is not a strongly comedic ride for Hoot this time, his humorous approaches pretty much under control, but his uniquely warm presence in combination with a good and plausible story assures this film is very satisfying.

Hooper Atchley and Edward Hearn are the local bankers, and not very good ones. The bank is almost broke, so they ship the money by railroad, rob the train and get the money and the insurance. They blame Hoot Gibson, who has a grudge against the railroad; he has driven the last railroad agent out of town. However, when pretty Sally Blane turns out to be the new one, he is more interested in her than his vendetta.

It's a fairly good B western, but for most of its length, Gibson's humorous charms are wasted. It's only in the last half of the movies, and in the exciting end sequence, when he thwarts the latest scam, that he shows off some trick riding and athletics. I thought that another of the good actors in the B westerns, could have starred in this movie just as well. Clearly, Hoot is present largely for marquee value. The movie seems to concentrate largely on filmizing Peter B. Kyne's novella than on making it a vehicle for Gibson -- not necessarily a bad thing, but not what I -- or, doubtless, its audience, was expecting.

Instead, director Otto Brower seems to focus more on Miss Blane, and who can blame him? Despite the obvious haste with which this was shot, it's very watchable.

The Murdock boys Joe (Hooper Atchley) and Ben (Edward Hearn) need $20,000 in their bank. So they hatch a scheme to ship money on the train and rob it to get back the money plus the insurance. This is where Hoot Gibson comes in like gangbusters at a rodeo with his two wild sidekicks Skeeter (Skeeter Bill Robbins) and Horstail Wright (Milton Brown). They manage to run the first railroad agent out of town but Marion Meade (Sally Blane) is not going down without a fight. As Skeeter quips, "That newest one has me buffaloed." As other reviewers have noted, Hoot has that "Everyman's Hero" charm and it's not lost on the lovely Blane. Being a sister of Loretta Young charm obviously runs in the family. Silent era leading man Edward Peil Sr. Does a great job as Sheriff Hickory and plays off the antics of Hoot and the Murdock boys wonderfully. Local Bad Man has many great scenes, good acting, humor and amazing stunts by Hoot himself.

Hoot Gibson was an odd film star during the 1930s. While the silent era seemed to have its share of ordinary looking western heroes (William S. Hart is a great example) and he was a big star in the 20s, the 1930s and 40s saw a proliferation of a new sort of cowboy hero--the pretty guy who, in many cases, loved to sing. Yet, unlike the likes of Roy Rogers, Hoot Gibson continued making films despite being a very ordinary looking guy--and he never sang a note in any of the films I have seen. To make up for this lack of flash, many of Gibson's films have a dash of humor tossed in and the results stack up very well to the pretty-boy films of the era--and, in my opinion, are a bit better.

Here in "The Local Bad Man", Hoot plays an odd role--the community hot-head. While he isn't evil he does have more than his share of brushes with the law. Because of this and his reputation for a man who hates the railroads, two evil jerks decide to frame him for a train robbery in order to hide all the funds they've misappropriated from the bank. Can Hoot stop them before it's too late AND get the girl? Tune in and see.

Gibson once again turns in a likable performance as his 'everyman hero'--the sort of guy folks in the audience could relate to and possibly become. In addition, nice dialog and some good action (Hoot appears to be doing his own stunts--some of which look pretty dangerous) make this a fun outing. Not a brilliant film by any stretch, but far, far better than you'd expect from yet another low-budget B-western. Worth a look.

A deadly dull Poverty Row western starring Hoot Gibson as a cattleman who is framed for a train robbery by the crooked owners of a bank. A few decent stunts from Gibson liven up the final few minutes, but otherwise this one is a real chore to get through.