The Thrill Hunter

When Buck Jones talks movie star Dorothy Revier off a runaway horse, shoots some bank robbers and then tells some tall tales, he finds himself believed and in Hollywood -- until it turns out he can't fly a plane and has to beat it out of town.

This comic western is given the class treatment, with director George Seitz wielding the megaphone and Teddy Tetzlaff behind the camera. There's a plethora of good stunts, not only on horseback, but with racing cars and biplanes.

If Buck's line reading seems a trifle stiff, that's appropriate to the character. His physical acting is as good as it was in silent days. Miss Revier is also good as is Eddie Kane as the enthusiastic studio head.

I was unfamiliar with Buck's movies until I saw this on TCM this morning. All I had known before was that he had been a popular cowboy star who died in a famous fire at the Coconut Grove. This tale about a blow-hard who winds up capturing the heart of a movie starlet and gets whisked to Hollywood is little more than a live-action cartoon. But, I've always enjoyed good cartoons and this one is easy to take.

Here he has to make good on all the things he said he could do. The bits with him trying to fake being experienced at race car driving and flying are amusing. Jones' affable charm move the events along. The direction is rather primitive, using reaction-shot techniques from the silent era. But, that's also part of the fun. I glad I spent an hour with The Thrill Hunter this morning. I enjoyed his company.

Whatever else Buck Jones is he's not your typical cowboy hero in The Thrill Hunter. Jones plays a big blowhard of a man who gets a chance in Hollywood only to blow it when he's exposed.

But he gets another chance with star Dorothy Revier when some robbers are interested in a most valuable jewel she has.

The climax has Buck in a shootout with the crooks as they kidnap Revier and flee in a car while he gives chase in a plane. Good stuff too.

Lots of action packed into this hour long film.

Despite being killed at age 50, cowboy actor Buck Jones managed to make over 150 films. He was incredibly prolific...and most of this is due to the sorts of cheap B-westerns he usually made. They were made fast and often one after the other. A few are very good...and "The Thrill Hunter" is among his best that I've seen...mostly because it's NOT a typical cowboy picture.

When the story begins, a Hollywood actress is in trouble when her horse is out of control. Acting quickly, Buck is able to save her. Later, when he has dinner with the lady and the crew, he regales them with all sorts of lies about his supposed exploits. The problem is that they DO believe him--that he was a top pilot and race car driver. His heroism is solidified when he claims credit for killing two wanted bandits. The truth is, he came to their cabin just as they shot each other....and Buck claimed credit as well as the reward!

Once in Hollywood, Buck is able to fake his way through part of the picture but ultimately he's proven to be a big bag of wind. Disheartened, he returns west hoping to put all this behind him. Little did he realize that he really IS an action hero....and he soon gets the chance to prove himself.

This is a very fun movie. But in addition to being enjoyable, it's such a wonderful change of pace for Jones that I couldn't help but love the film....and a score of 8 is tremendous for a simple B-movie.

He was always accepted as a hero, in part because he looked and fit the part, and maybe acting ability was not expected because it was not needed, but, in "The Thrill Hunter," Buck Jones shows he could act.

His leading lady should have become a major star. I don't know the whole story as to why she didn't. It wasn't for lack of looks or ability, but some people just don't have the luck or timing.

A fair number of other players also show that Columbia, the Poverty Row denizen, could turn out a quality picture even with a low budget.

Watch especially for the ubiquitous Hank Bell in a delicious part. Far too often Mr. Bell got no screen credit, and often didn't even get any lines.

Usually movies about movies exaggerate and trivialize the production, but this movie looks pretty realistic -- for a movie -- in its movie- making.

Again, all the smaller-role players are just about perfection, with no hamminess, no mugging, just genuine acting.

The story runs about as, I guess, we would expect, and the one flaw I found was in one climactic scene of pistol-shooting, but watch the movie. No spoiler here.

There is a first-class print at YouTube, excellent quality, but it is rudely (and unforgivably) interrupted by commercials. Commercials are bad enough, but these are popped in not just in the middle of a scene, but sometimes in the middle of a sentence. Terrible.

The good news is that when the movie picks back up, it starts at a point before the rude interruption.

I highly recommend "The Thrill Hunter," and thank my friend ZL for telling me about it.