Scattergood Baines

It's a little startling to see Guy Kibbee in a toupee -- actually two toupees, since the movie begins with a prologue with him as a young man -- but once you grow used to him, he looks perfectly natural.

By the time the main story begins, Kibbee, or Scattergood Baines, the eponym of this movie, is the owner of a hardware store and the leading citizen of Cold River -- good, folksy advice is free. This is the first of a small series done from a series of story by Clarence Buddington Kelland and while it not a great movie, it is very pleasantly directed by underrated old hand Christy Cabanne, who manages to insert the occasional interesting shot when the mood calls for it. All in all, a pleasant second feature.

Despite the weird title and the film being made on a shoestring budget, "Scattergood Baines" is a pretty enjoyable movie. It stars Guy Kibbee...an actor who often managed to elevate B-movies just by his natural and enjoyable acting.

Scattergood is a salesman who arrives with very little in a small town. Despite this, through hard work and wisdom, he soon creates a small empire--with a store and railroad serving this community that he's made his own. Years pass and a group of shrew investors have decided to offer Scattergood a tempting deal...to sell out and retire. But Scattergood is more than just a man who wants to make a buck...he wants to offer good jobs to his friends in the community and he's loathe to sell out to people who have little regard for anything other than the bottom line. What follows next is an occasionally sad look at human nature at its ugliest....as well as best.

The writing, direction and acting are all much better than B-movie quality. Despite the economy and short running time, the film leaves you wanting more. On the positive side, there are several sequels which also star Kibbee...but on the negative, I cannot find them! This first film is currently on YouTube.