Frontier Justice (1935)

 

Starring: Hoot Gibson

Director: Robert McGowan

Studio: Diversion Pictures

PLOT SUMMARY: 

Samuel Halston (Joseph W. Girard) is locked up in an insane asylum by crooked Gilbert Ware (Richard Cramer), so that Ware can seize control of the Halston's land and water rights. Halston's son, a practical joker named Brent (Hoot Gibson), comes to town and is told by old friend Ben (John Elliott) that a new regime has taken over his father's range and is forcing cattlemen out. Brent and Ben must produce a five hundred dollar bond before moving forward with their plans to reclaim the ranch. In order to put up the bond, Brent must find his father's five thousand dollar bonds. Brent finds the bonds and receives word from pretty painter Ethel Gordon (Jane Barnes) that he ranch is soon to be overtaken by sheep. Brent, not wanting to stand for this, plans his revenge. Unfortunately for Brent, evil James Wilton (Roger Williams) frames Brent for murder and Brent is promptly arrested. However, Brent escapes, kidnaps Ware, holds him prisoner a the ranch and forces him to write out a confession. However, Wilton and his gang of sheepherders is on their way to the ranch and it's a race against time as Brent gathers his own posse to fight off the sheepmen. 

FILM REVIEW:

Hoot Gibson had been a cowboy hero dating back to the silent era, starring in such Universal Jewels as Chip of the Flying U, The Texas Streak and The Calgary Stampede. When sound entered the motion picture landscape, Gibson made the transition quite well, starring in a handful of westerns for M.H. Hoffman's Allied Pictures Corporation. However, by the mid-1930s, Gibson found himself appearing in lesser pictures for both First Division and Walter Futter's Diversion Pictures. Frontier Justice was one of the Diversion films.

For many years, it has been said that Frontier Justice was Gibson's worst talkie and some would even go so far as to say it was the worst production he ever appeared in. I'm hard-pressed to disagree. Frontier Justice, while featuring some convincing performances, lacks the charm or the verve of other Gibson pictures. Gibson does his best with the tepid material he's been given, but even he can't rise above the overall poor quality of the picture. There is very little of the Gibson charisma on display here, the usually humorous Gibson is given little opportunity to use his brand of humor to progress the plot. Indeed, the only notion we have of that famous fun he injected into so many of his pictures are the practical jokes he plays early in the film's runtime. Even these fall by the wayside by the midway point of the film.

There is also the grating cowboy singalong which comes during Gibson's imprisonment. It comes out of nowhere and serves no purpose other than to have some singing cowboys, which were becoming popular around this time. The entire film moves along at a snail's pace and would be more at home in the early, creaky talkie era than the progressively more advanced mid-1930s. Scenes go on for far too long and the entire proceedings wear out their welcome by the thirty minute mark.

I take other reviewers at their word when they say that Frontier Justice is singlehandedly the worst film Hoot Gibson ever starred in. Not recommended.

Until next time, pardners!