Wild Horse

This was a fairly intense program for ol' Hoot Gibson, with the story propelled by a tragic occurrence in Jim Wright's (Hoot's character's) life. The humor that so often shines through in Hoot's films is minimal here, except for the overly-ample and now cringe-worthy antics of Stepin Fetchit (it is interesting that although this was fairly early in Fetchit's film career he was given third billing in the opening list of players). The settings are few (cabin, main house, corral, jail, rodeo grounds, open range) but authentically basic and dusty, while the horse action is plentiful, including some majestic and exciting running scenes. The acting is honest and the editing seems pretty good. There were a couple of odd elements, however; one was when Hoot finds his dear friend on the floor of the cabin and doesn't bother to take a closer look to evaluate his condition, and another was to see this little rodeo draw thousands of attendees with arriving cars lined up forever outside of the arena. Nonetheless, fans of early 1930s westerns, Hoot Gibson, or horses will probably find "Wild Horse" worth their attention. And yes, if you like horse laughs, this film has a pretty darned good one.

Jim Wright & Skeeter Bill are two buddies who go from the rodeo circuit to horse wranglers on a ranch. Their boss says he'll give $1000 for the capture of the Devil, a wild horse, the boss hopes to use in his upcoming rodeo. Jim & Skeeter take the challenge, as does Gil Davis, riding champ and all around skunk. Jim & Skeeter capture the horse, but while Jim is away rounding up his horse, Davis kills Skeeter and takes the horse and Jim is framed for his murder. Jim escapes from the sheriff on two occasions and tries to prove his innocence & find the real killer. At times this moves with a good pace & at times its like molasses, like its lead, Gibson, who at times turns in a good role and at times you can clearly see he isn't the greatest thespian, but does have all the fun he can with the role. Cobb doesn't appear to be the lowest of the low horse thief, but does make you believe he's a buzzard. Watching Stephin Fetchit however makes you just want to fast forward your tape/DVD, since he is so blatantly sterotypical & annoying, he can make anyone cringe. The plot point with the escaped bank robber isn't utilized all that well either. Rating, based on Bwesterns- 4.

"Wild Horse" is a problematic film if seen today. This is because the black actor Stepin Fetchit is featured in the movie...and he represents the worst of an old film stereotype that is considered VERY offensive today. Considering that he played an almost sub-human sort of character, I can agree that he was a sad product of his time and is pretty offensive. Now I am not in favor of banning anything or telling someone not to watch the film. But I am making you aware of his presence in the film so you can make your own choice as well as not being surprised. An extremely politically correct sort might just have a heart attack if they watch him in this movie!! And, even understanding Fetchit without captions is pretty difficult...if not impossible.

An interesting character in this and many of the Hoot Gibson films is Skeeter Bill Robbins. How is he interesting? Well, originally he wasn't an actor but worked on Hoot's real life farm...and actually managed the place! But from 1926 until his untimely death in 1933, he also was in many of Hoot's films.

And, now that I think about it, this film is important because it marks the screen debut of Glenn Strange. Strange played villains in LOTS of B-westerns and in the 1940s he became Universal Studio's final Frankenstein monster. He ended his career by playing a regular character, a good guy, on TV's "Gunsmoke". Here, he's just in a small scene and, surprisingly, isn't a baddie!

When the story begins, the Colonel is offering $1000 to anyone who captures a wild 'Devil Horse' that's been roaming free. Not surprisingly, Jim (Hoot Gibson) and Skeeter Bill both go in search of the illusive horse. They are successful, but shortly after, Gil Davis arrives and murders Skeeter Bill and takes the horse....and Jim is blamed for the killing. Can Jim possibly clear himself or will he face a hangman's rope?

Having Fetchit playing his usual dopey character is a major hit against the film. It's a shame, as otherwise it's a decent B-western...with Hoot playing his usual relaxed sort of good guy. There also are some scenes with him at a rodeo....and I don't know if it's him on the broncos or not...but it likely was. This is because unlike many movie cowboys, Gibson WAS actually a cowboy and a rodeo star. But he is a bit older here...and the filmmakers might not have wanted him to risk his health doing this. Who knows? I sure don't!

Overall, a film that has a lot of good but also a lot of divisive content as well....which wasn't all that unusual for 1931, as Fetchit was a very popular supporting actor in his day. Apart from that, the rest of the movie is well made and compelling.