A Holy Terror

The only reason that most people will track down this minor Western is the presence of Humphrey Bogart in one of his earliest roles.

The Old West was never really looked right on Bogie and this performance, his first with Stetson and Six-gun, could be seen just as a dry run for his appearance as Whip McCord in the James Cagney vehicle 'The Oklahoma Kid'. In fact it was the first time Bogart ever appeared on the wrong side of the law and his depiction of a violent, shiftless man with no moral centre shows that he had this kind of role down pat five years before his breakthrough in 'The Petrified Forest'. He even manages to engage a little audience sympathy when constantly rejected by the virtuous heroine, a fact that also provides a little character motivation, unusual in a picture of this type. It almost goes without saying that he is really the only reason to watch.

Elsewhere George O'Brien tries hard to be handsome and charming in the lead role but is merely stiff and wooden, whilst Sally Eilers does a little better as the heroine. The story holds few surprises, and very little in the way of action or thrills, but the resolution is more original than expected. Technically, it's a little basic but some location work and the use of a few crane shots help a little.

If it weren't for Bogart this picture would probably be long forgotten and it really won't hold much appeal outside of his loyal fanbase.

I wound up with a copy of this film by accident--and figured I'd watch it before sending it back to the collector who made me a copy of this instead of the film I'd actually requested, so I had little or no expectations...just wanted to see what it was. The first few scenes take place back east and feature Robert Warwick, so I was thinking "oh no, another of those 'dude goes West' films." However, the film soon shifts into high gear with Warwick's death, which motivates George O'Brien to go out to Wyoming. There's some well-placed humor in the film, such as when O'Brien lands his plane in a lady's bathroom (!), but the film is as much a mystery as it is a western. There's also a nice "Bad Day At Black Rock" kind of feel to the small town in which O'Brien arrives, asking questions. The way the plot develops is suspenseful, and the finale, which ends cold right after the climax, is powerful. The film, as with most 1931 productions, has no music, so ending the film abruptly and in silence is a powerful technique. The heavy in the film is played by the young Humphrey Bogart, in what must have been one of his first significant roles, and he is menacing and intense, just as he would be a few years later in PETRIFIED FOREST. George O'Brien, best known today for the silent classic SUNRISE and for his work in John Ford films, can play an upper-class polo-playing young man, but he is also genuinely tough (not a surprise, considering he was a boxing champ earlier in his life), has a keen sense of humor, and has a warm screen presence. He's also a fine horseman. In under one hour, this film tells a complex story, yet is exciting and plays like a good mystery, though in a western setting. Some who aren't that familiar with early-sound films may find it a bit slow going, but it's actually quite fluid for a 1931 film, and I give it a full 10 star rating. It completely achieved what it set out to do and holds up well today. (interestingly, my copy had "fade in" and "fade out" on the screen in between a number of films--was this a television print with those meant for the local TV station projectionist???). I don't get the Fox Movie Channel, but as this was a Fox film, maybe it will be shown there sometime. Watch for it...and don't get up to get a soda or a snack. Watch it uninterrupted.

The copy of this movie that I looked at was in poor condition. A five-minute chunk was missing, the image was dark and every once in a while the title "Fade In" would appear. Nonetheless, it was interesting for reasons having nothing to do with the production.

James Kirkwood comes to visit Robert Warwick. They talk about Warwick's dead wife and his son, George O'Brien. When O'Brien comes home from his polo match, he finds his father shot dead. The only clue is in his vault: a name change and a detective's report stating they are ending a quarter of a century's surveillance on "William Drew." O'Brien heads out, crashing his plane into Sally Eiler's bath room while she's taking a shower. Drew's cow hands, Humphrey Bogart and Stanley Price, take a dislike to O'Brien. Miss Eilers and Rita Laroy are sort of interested.

It's derived from a Max Brand novel that had been filmed with Tom Mix a decade earlier as TRAILIN'. O'Brien is interesting to old movie fans. In this one, it's clear that Fox had him leading a programmer. Stanley Fields gives a fine, psychopathic performance, but Bogart, while he shows plenty of menace, seems miscast. Even so, it's Bogart who holds the most interest for the modern viewer, and he gives a clear and recognizable performance.

Humphrey Bogart made his western debut in this film A Holy Terror based on the Max Brand novel Trailin'. It had been filmed ten years earlier as a silent under its original name with Tom Mix in the lead. Western star George O'Brien is in the lead with Bogey as one of the villains.

Interestingly enough this might have been Bogart's best outing in a western. He was a villain later in Warner Brothers big budget westerns The Oklahoma Kid where he's too much of an eastern gangster and Virginia City where he sounds laughable as a Mexican bandit. Here he's just right as the foreman of a western ranch who gets a case of the green eyed monster when easterner George O'Brien starts eying Sally Eilers.

But that's just a sidebar to the main story. O'Brien is a polo playing easterner whose dad, Robert Warwick, is found shot to death. Searching his papers O'Brien finds that Warwick's original name was changed and that he had kept tabs on the whereabouts of a certain Wyoming rancher for years.

O'Brien goes to Wyoming to investigate and by the end of the film all his questions are answered. He might be an eastern dude, but his polo training makes him ride with the best of the cowboys as they learn to their regret. In fact O'Brien whose big break came in the John Ford silent western classic, The Iron Horse, got his start in the army horse cavalry before World War I.

As for Bogart he's the foreman who gets his boss's intentions all wrong as far as O'Brien is concerned. He's not bad in the part though and is noticed, especially by his legion of fans for whom he's an existential legend.

On returning home, a polo player discovers that his millionaire father has been killed. He heads West to confront a rancher who may be at the heart of the mystery.

An uninteresting pre-code adventure film that lacks a decent script. George O'Brien stars as the son who is seeking answers to his father's death but the film is only interesting thanks to an early appearance by Hollywood legend Humphrey Bogart in a supporting role.