Clearing the Range

Unlikely Western hero Hoot Gibson comes over all Zorro in this cheap B-picture. He plays the brother of a murdered banker who returns to his home town as an ineffectual wimp in order to put those he suspects of the killing off his scent. These bad guys aren't exactly master criminals, however - even though he doesn't wear a mask, they fail to recognise Hoot simply because he's dressed in his black Zorro outfit. At least there's no annoying comedy sidekick in this one - unless you count the Mexican lad who spends a worryingly large amount of time dressed as a woman.

Mediocre oater, at best. Some good skyline shots, along with picturesque Vasquez Rocks north of LA, but also lots of rather pointless posse riding around scrubby LA area hills. Bad guy Kildare embezzles money from his bank and kills Jim Fremont when latter discovers the theft. Soon Jim's brother Curt rides into town but seems strangely uninterested in who killed his brother. Good thing Zorro-like El Capitan mysteriously arrives to make sure justice is served.

Gibson makes for a rather affable hero, no tough guy poses for him, but not very convincing either. Still, it's a stretch to have a mere change into black costume make him unrecognizable to the whole town. Good thing Eilers is there to offer plenty of attractive eye candy. The storyline may be hard to follow (it was for me) with all the characters coming and going. One thing for sure, the producers spared no expense in hiring an army of extras. Anyway, the flick's an antique (1931) which may be the best reason to catch up with it.

When his brother is shot dead by crooked bank cashier Lafe Kildare, Curt Fremont poses as a weak-kneed scaredy-cat. In reality, he is vengeance-seeking "El Capitan".

The script sounds promising enough, but it's given an economy-budget treatment -- and worse, it's full of holes. One moment, Sally Eilers (Gibson's wife in real life when this movie was made) is telling us how she remembers the hero's act of bravery in saving her life, and next minute she's convinced he's turned coward. Maybe the screenwriter is trying to portray the heroine as a dumb cluck, but that's not the way Sally Eilers plays the part.

It's also rather odd to see Robert Homans, that perennial policeman on the contemporary city beat, transferred to a role as an avuncular rancher in the Old West.

Nonetheless, despite script flaws (including scenes that run too long and others that seem short-changed), director Otto Brower manages to invest the movie with a bit of pace and atmosphere, despite an obviously limited budget. Of course, he's helped by the fact that Hooper Atchley is playing the slimy villain with all stops out, while Edward Peil makes a convincingly sympathetic sheriff.

We could have done without George Mendoza and his occasional weak attempts at comic relief, but Hoot Gibson himself does a good job in both his characterizations. He's also admirably agile on his feet and performs at least two of his own stunts

"Clearing the Range" is pretty typical of many of Hoot Gibson's films. It has a comic element and certainly doesn't take itself very seriously. This helps, as the portion where Gibson pretends he is the Mexican bandit 'El Capitan' is very weak and laughable--and so I was willing to cut it some slack.

The story begins with Kildare murdering his partner at the bank. This is because Mr. Fremont discovered that Kildare was embezzling funds--and Fremont even told Kildare this when there were no witnesses around in case Kildare reacted violently. And, naturally, Kildare does EXACTLY what the audience expected! What Kildare didn't plan on was Fremont having a brother. Curt Fremont (Gibson) soon arrives in town. He has a note from his brother that explains that Kildare is probably embezzling funds. However, Curt plays it cool and behaves like a very peaceable man--a guy who hates danger or arguments. He even treats Kildare like an old friend when he knows the real Kildare is scum. However, using his alter-ego of 'El Capitan', he avenges the murder and in many ways behaves like Robin Hood or, more likely, like Zorro. The only problem is that Gibson's Mexican accent is lame and he can barely speak Spanish!! It was ridiculous and was a far cry from the amazingly good performances by Tim McCoy when he, too, played a Mexican bandit as a disguise in several of his films.

If this doesn't sound silly enough, one of Curt's friends, Juan, spends much of the movie in drag--hiding from Kildare and making an amazingly convincing Senorita! Because of all this silliness, it's hard to hate the movie--even when it is AMAZINGLY ridiculous. Worth seeing but certainly not a very believable western!

When a bank robber/murderer escapes into the desert, simple and innocent-appearing fremont dresses up as the masked hero el capitan, and goes after him. The usual western horse chases, on horseback and on the rockpiles. Not much new in this one, but to be fair, it was a pretty early talkie, so there probably hadn't been too many westerns filmed yet. It's okay. No big surprises here. Directed by otto brower... died young at 50 of a bad heart.