God's Country and the Man

Gabby with an Irish accent and Betty Mack as a French floozy adds a certain flair to this undercover western especially with a violin playing Al Bridge. It starts with Tom Tyler making an unusual pick of harden criminal Stingaree Kelly (Gabby Hayes) as his partner to break up a criminal gang. Unbeknownst to the principles, Ted Adams is sent undercover by the Mexicans. Tyler makes a play for the head bandito's girl and the suspense mounts from there. Definitely a must watch for Tyler and Gabby fans and Bridge shows he has a flair for writing also.

My copy uses the alternate "Trail of the Law" title, & runs 62 minutes. George Hayes (pre-"Gabby"), in a short beard & ragged clothes, is the best thing about this movie. His acting is way superior to the rest of the cast, & he uses a convincing Irish accent. Betty Mack, on the other hand, is completely unconvincing in her phony French accented character, Rose. Tom Tyler is OK as Tex & the action is also OK (two gunfights at the end are nice), but the plot is very simple. Al Bridge, as the violin playing main bad guy, is too stiff, & there is far too much screechy violin playing!

Sure it is silly stuff and the print is only middling but I enjoyed it a lot. Tom Tyler was just what he was hired to be and oh, that Betty Mack! She should have had much better roles, another victim of Hollywood stupidity. I am betting that they all had good laughs cranking this out in a few days. Here's hoping that they spent the money foolishly on San Fernando Valley real estate and the soon to be available Ford V-8s. A wonderful time to be alive and in show biz.