The Local Bad Man (1932)

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.