The Man from Hell's Edges (1932) Online

This film stands out for three reasons: 1) The opening escape from prison is shot at night and by torch light. 2) Good physical action and stunts by Bob Steele, himself a stuntman. It may be Yakima Canutt who did the horse and rider jumping off a cliff into a lake far below. Either way, great! 3) And of course, the 'gay scene' with George (not yet 'Gabby') Hayes and 'Pewee' holding hands and skipping across the street, with another cowboy on the side walk making fey gestures at them with his hands, body and eyes. No 'Brokeback Mountain' this-- Shamrock and Pewee start shooting at him!

The shoot out at the end "Make it fast...this is your last draw," with Flash shooting Lobo in both wrists (shown bloodied), is used again in "Riders of Destiny" (1933) with John Wayne, one of his "Lone Star" westerns.

"Man From Hell's Edges" was a routine Bob Steele western for producer Trem Carr except for a couple of things. First there is a scene where Steele's two sidekicks, Shamrock (George "Gabby" Hayes) and Half Pint (Gilbert (Pee Wee) Holmes) skip-pity hop arm in arm down the middle of the street. As they are doing this a townsman makes eyes at the pair and waves feminine like to them. A scene like this with its homosexual overtones would never had made it past the censors one the industry Production Code was adopted in 1934.

The other thing that sets this one apart is the apparent stunt work of Yakima Canutt. Although I couldn't verify that it was Canutt's work, several of the stunts bear his mark. First there are several horsetails then a high dive off a cliff followed by a horse and rider doing likewise. It could have been stock footage but I'm sure that Canutt was involved.

The story has Flash Manning (Steele) escaping from prison trying to find the boss of his cell mates, whose identity he does not know. It seems that the gang had been responsible for a $100,000 robbery and the location of the money is known only to one of Steele's cell mates. To learn the identity of the leader, Manning (as Bob Williams) takes the job of sheriff and takes an interest in heroine Betty (Nancy Drexel). He also suspects local gunman Lobo as being the leader of the gang. Well, the rest of the gang is released from prison and they all meet up and.............

The production team on this series was also responsible for the John Wayne "Lone Star" series of 1933-35.

Copyright 5 June 1932 by World-Wide Pictures. Inc. U.S. release through Sono Art-World-Wide Pictures: 15 June 1932. No New York opening. 6 reels. 61 minutes. (An Alpha DVD).

SYNOPSIS: Cowboy gets himself inside prison in order to ferret out the gang that killed his dad. COMMENT: Here we find young Bradbury directed by his dad in a plot that had loads of whiskers in 1932 (which didn't prevent even major producers like Warner Bros using its gimmick again and again throughout the thirties and forties).

Nonetheless, this entry has some novel features, including Hayes doing an Irish version of "Gabby" and a clowning Hayes and Peewee shooting at an effeminate cowpoke (a scene that would not have been tolerated by the censors a few years later).

Nancy Drexel, our heroine, is a peach, but greasy sidewinder Julian Rivero displays more ham than a delicatessen. And here's Bob Homans, exiled from the city streets or station house for once, now playing the western sheriff, a major role which he handles with aplomb.

However, from a fan's point of view, the picture's main assets are the rough-house action scenes. Certainly those with our Bob are nothing if not vigorously handled.

Bob Steele may not be tops in the dialogue department, but he offers a fine physical performance in a good story. He escapes from prison in a fine, shot-by-torchlight night shoot, ahead of his buddies' release, and makes his way to his side kicks: Gilbert Holmes and Gabby Hayes -- the latter sporting an Irish accent. While the sidekicks hang back, Steele heads into town, where someone is about to kill the sheriff, until Bob wings him and the assassin high-tails it. The sheriff offers him a deputy's badge, and Steele accepts after he meets the sheriff's pretty daughter, Nancy Drexel. It's clear there's something going on, but that's something for the plot to work on.

There's a great extended action sequence about twenty minutes into this western, involving a fight on a roof, a dive into the water and a lot of rough riding. Julian Rivero, who usually played tiny roles, has a sizable part as the main villain, and he is wonderfully oily. If you enjoy B westerns, you'll like this one a lot!