The Local Bad Man

Why some people think simply telling the story is a "review" is beyond me. And not even warning us they're giving away the plot is worse.

It annoys me because I want you to watch and enjoy this, another very good B Western starring the excellent Hoot Gibson.

Hoot had been a real cowboy, and a rodeo star, so when you think you see him performing his own stunts, some of which do indeed look dangerous, well, that really is Hoot Gibson.

All his movies, at least the ones I've seen so far (and I intend to see every one, somehow, some time), have him playing an unusual character for B Westerns: He usually does not even carry a gun; there is very little gun violence; there might be some fights, and Hoot might not always win.

One reviewer here called him an "Everyman Hero," and I like that. Hoot was not especially pretty, was not even very tall, but he seemed always like a real person one might actually run into on a ranch or in a ranch town.

As usual, in "The Local Bad Man" Gibson is surrounded by top-of-the-line fellow actors. Except for Sally Blane, who came from a family of stars, including Loretta Young, most of the players are known only to B Western aficionados. But by gosh they were actors, always believable in their roles.

And they were all helped immensely by another excellent script, this one by Philip Graham White from a story by the prolific Peter B. Kyne.

Hoot is always -- again, in the many films I've seen -- likable; he is not the rough, tough, gun-ready, on-the-prod cowboy, but knows what's right and wrong and tries to stand up for the right.

I have only two complaints about "The Local Bad Man": Sally Blane, a really beautiful woman, had one of the worst make-up jobs I've ever seen, absolutely wrong in every way, from the excessive black stuff around her lovely eyes to the ridiculous drawn-on (badly!) eyebrows; the print I watched at YouTube was in pretty bad shape.

Still, I will come back and watch this again. It's that much fun.

Oh, one more thing: One of the sidekicks is billed as "Skeeter Bill" Robbins. This is in the "trivia" about him here at IMDb: "All of his film appearances were in Hoot Gibson westerns, which isn't surprising since Robbins was in real life not an actor but the manager of Gibson's ranch."

Except he was an actor. Watch him in "The Local Bad Man." And weep with me that he died the year after this film.

Oh, one more one more thing: The directing and camera work are A quality, just excellent, and really help make this worth the 10 rating.

A deadly dull Poverty Row western starring Hoot Gibson as a cattleman who is framed for a train robbery by the crooked owners of a bank. A few decent stunts from Gibson liven up the final few minutes, but otherwise this one is a real chore to get through.

I found this film to be quite entertaining. Especially appreciated were the varied locales, captured well in the camera angles and scene setups. Curving railroad tracks and rights of way, a nicely atmospheric and melodic barn dance, the old train depot with requisite telegraph office, a picturesque small and dusty old West village, on-board train action, hard-walled jail cells, and wide-view chases with horses and riders easily come to mind in fond recollection. The opening scene where the camera draws back from a closeup of Hoot's beaming face as he rides his horse through town is memorable. This is not a strongly comedic ride for Hoot this time, his humorous approaches pretty much under control, but his uniquely warm presence in combination with a good and plausible story assures this film is very satisfying.

Hoot Gibson was an odd film star during the 1930s. While the silent era seemed to have its share of ordinary looking western heroes (William S. Hart is a great example) and he was a big star in the 20s, the 1930s and 40s saw a proliferation of a new sort of cowboy hero--the pretty guy who, in many cases, loved to sing. Yet, unlike the likes of Roy Rogers, Hoot Gibson continued making films despite being a very ordinary looking guy--and he never sang a note in any of the films I have seen. To make up for this lack of flash, many of Gibson's films have a dash of humor tossed in and the results stack up very well to the pretty-boy films of the era--and, in my opinion, are a bit better.

Here in "The Local Bad Man", Hoot plays an odd role--the community hot-head. While he isn't evil he does have more than his share of brushes with the law. Because of this and his reputation for a man who hates the railroads, two evil jerks decide to frame him for a train robbery in order to hide all the funds they've misappropriated from the bank. Can Hoot stop them before it's too late AND get the girl? Tune in and see.

Gibson once again turns in a likable performance as his 'everyman hero'--the sort of guy folks in the audience could relate to and possibly become. In addition, nice dialog and some good action (Hoot appears to be doing his own stunts--some of which look pretty dangerous) make this a fun outing. Not a brilliant film by any stretch, but far, far better than you'd expect from yet another low-budget B-western. Worth a look.

Hooper Atchley and Edward Hearn are the local bankers, and not very good ones. The bank is almost broke, so they ship the money by railroad, rob the train and get the money and the insurance. They blame Hoot Gibson, who has a grudge against the railroad; he has driven the last railroad agent out of town. However, when pretty Sally Blane turns out to be the new one, he is more interested in her than his vendetta.

It's a fairly good B western, but for most of its length, Gibson's humorous charms are wasted. It's only in the last half of the movies, and in the exciting end sequence, when he thwarts the latest scam, that he shows off some trick riding and athletics. I thought that another of the good actors in the B westerns, could have starred in this movie just as well. Clearly, Hoot is present largely for marquee value. The movie seems to concentrate largely on filmizing Peter B. Kyne's novella than on making it a vehicle for Gibson -- not necessarily a bad thing, but not what I -- or, doubtless, its audience, was expecting.

Instead, director Otto Brower seems to focus more on Miss Blane, and who can blame him? Despite the obvious haste with which this was shot, it's very watchable.