Edward Hearn Movies

Rest assured that star Hoot Gibson is not the "local badman" of the title. He is, however, accused of being a desperado by a pair of unscrupulous bankers. Hoot, you see, is a railroad detective, and the crooks are up to their necks in a train insurance scam. But the old Hooter isn't as slow on the uptake as he seems to be, as the villains discover to their grief. Local Badman was inspired by the Peter B. Kyne story All For Love. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Every so often, western star Buck Jones got it in his head that he could play a Mexican, and never mind that his accent wouldn't have convinced a prairie dog. In The Avenger, Jones plays a man determined to track down the three men who lynched his brother. As "The Black Shadow," our hero robs the rich, gives to the poor, and romances heroine Dorothy Revier. By film's end, he has not only accomplished his various goals, but has earned a full pardon. As for Jones's overall performance, "B"-western historian Don Miller summed it up beautifully when he wrote "When Buck had to passionately proclaim Mi Amore, as he did to Dorothy Revier in The Avenger, the jig was up." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Filmed at Newhall, CA, with exteriors shot at Universal City, Mascot Pictures' The Vanishing Legion became the little company's signature serial. Producer Nat Levine had managed to sign veteran cowboy star Harry Carey, blonde starlet Edwina Booth, and Olive Fuller Golden, Carey's wife, all of whom had recently just barely survived the travails of filming MGM's Trader Horn (1930) under extremely difficult conditions in what was then termed Darkest Africa. Now they were employed in a typical serial story of young Jimmy Williams (Frankie Darro) and his wild stallion (the famously intemperate Rex, King of the Wild Horses), both searching for the mysterious gang that framed Jimmy's father (Edward Hearn) in a murder scheme. The two get assistance from leathery old Happy Hardigan (Carey), who has discovered a plot by the lawless Vanishing Legion to sabotage Caroline Hall's (Booth) ancestral oil company. Behind the shenanigans is a master criminal, heard but never seen and known only as "The Voice." The identity of the villain is revealed only in the 12th and final chapter, "The Hoofs of Horror." Said identity, which of course shall not be revealed here either, was that of a venerable, old character actor who usually played kindly fathers. Of course, Mascot engaged in a bit of skullduggery themselves by having Boris Karloff as a "voice double." Also released in a re-edited feature version, The Vanishing Legion has become synonymous with Mascot Pictures and is the title of a groundbreaking biography of the little studio by Jon Tuska. Sadly, the serial proved the final film for silent screen cowboy Dick Hatton, who was killed in a car accident later in the year. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

The ubiquitous Robert North Bradbury directed this low-budget Bob Custer Western, with his trademark "swish-pan" technique very much in evidence. Custer plays Bob Brent, a sheriff's deputy suspecting that his future father-in-law, Dan Farrell (J.P. McGowan), may actually be the notorious "Polka-Dot" bandit. He isn't, of course, a fact that becomes increasingly clear after the arrival of one Buck Brokaw (Edward Hearn) and his female accomplice Roxie (Eve Humes). Slowing the already lethargic pace even further, saloon girl Jane Crowley performs an especially woeful rendition of Paul Dresser's famous "On the Banks of the Wabash." Watch for future Western sidekick Al St. John as a barfly. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

In this western, an orphan who is discovered alone in the desert is raised by a kindly family. The only dark spot in their lives comes from a long-standing feud with another family, something that eventually comes to an end when the orphan grows up and falls in love with the enemy family's daughter. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In the first of eight Hoot Gibson Westerns produced by poverty row company Allied, The Hooter sets out to avenge the murder of his brother (Edward Hearn), the town banker. Pretending to have no interest in revenge, Gibson is derided for cowardice. Unbeknownst to the townsfolk, however, the young man masquerades as "El Capitan," a notorious Mexican bandit at night, righting the wrongs done by Hooper Atchley, the man he suspects of killing his brother in the first place. Like in Gibson Westerns of yore, none of the derring-do was meant to be taken too seriously. And although cheap-looking compared to The Hooter's silent Universal Westerns, the Allied series at least gave the star more autonomy. Gibson main demand was that his then-wife, Sally Eilers, be cast in the female lead, a decision producer M.H. Hoffman had good reason to celebrate when the beautiful starlet became an overnight sensation in the Fox melodrama Bad Girl (1931). ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide

This third film version of Rex Beach's rugged Yukon novel The Spoilers was also the first talkie adaptation. This time, Gary Cooper and William "Stage" Boyd are cast as gold prospector Glennister and crooked Alaska politician McNamara. In partnership with Dextry (James Kirkwood), Glennister is the proud owner of the Midas gold mine, but McNamara and the corrupt Judge Stillman (Lloyd Ingraham) conspire to gain control of the mine, using legal but highly unethical maneuvers. Preparing to shoot each other full of holes, Glennister and McNamara are temporarily dissuaded by Glenister's sweetheart Helen (Kay Johnson), who suggests that the courts handle the dispute. But saloon owner Cherry Malotte (Betty Compson), jealous of Helen, lies to Glennister, telling him that Helen and McNamara are conspiring to cheat him again. Matters come to a head when Glennister and McNamara settle their differences with a spectacular fistfight. During filming of The Spoilers, the stars of the 1914 version William Farnum and Tom Santschi showed up frequently on the set, ostensibly to serve as "technical advisers" for the climactic set-to (one suspects that their advice was merely for the benefit of the Paramount publicity department). The Rex Beach story would be filmed again in 1942 with John Wayne and Randolph Scott, and yet again in 1955 with Jeff Chandler and Rory Calhoun. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

An innocent maid stands accused of killing her employer in this courtroom melodrama from the silent era. During the trial it is revealed that the maid was actually the ex-wife of her wealthy late boss' new husband, but that doesn't necessarily mean she committed the crime. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This comedy-mystery is famed director Frank Capra's first all-talking film. It tells the story of a bungling police inspector who tries to re-enact a murder scene with disastrous results. The first killing occurred within a darkened dining room. Unfortunately, when the inspector resets the scene, someone else is murdered. The poor inspector is terribly embarrassed, but this does not stop him from trying one more time. The original guests assist him and the murderer is finally captured. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Buster Keaton plays Johnny Gray, a Southern railroad engineer who loves his train engine, The General, almost as much as he loves Annabelle Lee (Marion Mack). When the opening shots of the Civil War are fired at Fort Sumter, Johnny tries to enlist -- and he is deemed too useful as an engineer to be a soldier. All Johnny knows is that he's been rejected, and Annabelle, thinking him a coward, turns her back on him. When Northern spies steal the General (and, unwittingly, Annabelle), the story switches from drama and romance to adventure mixed with Keaton's trademark deadpan humor as he uses every means possible to catch up to the General, thwart the Yankees, and rescue his darling Annabelle -- for starters. As always, Keaton performs his own stunts, combining his prodigious dexterity, impeccable comic timing, and expressive body language to convey more emotion than the stars of any of the talkies that were soon to dominate cinema. ~ Emru Townsend, All Movie Guide

The Tim McCoy western Winners of the Wilderness was shot simultaneously with McCoy's War Paint, using the same locations for both. Boasting a larger budget than the average "B"-western, the film casts McCoy as a courageous Indian scout, determined to negotiate an honorable peace between the white settlers and his Native American friends. Though his efforts are undercut by various villains pursuing their own agendae, our hero finally prevails. The film's most startling sequence finds a nude male prisoner being burned at the stake by hostile tribesmen -- hardly the sort of thing one might expect in a film essentially designed for preteen moviegoers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide