Hoot Gibson Movies
Actor Edmund "Hoot" Gibson is said to have been given his unusual nickname because of his boyhood habit of hunting owls. After joining a circus at age 13, Gibson became stranded in Colorado and there began work as a cowpuncher. By age 16 he was a skilled performer in Wild West rodeo shows, going on to win the title of "World's All-Around Champion Cowboy" in 1912. It was about that time that Gibson began working in films as an extra and stunt man, frequently acting as a double for Harry Carey and other western stars; during the teens he appeared in many western two-reelers, but his career progressed slowly. In 1917 Gibson started getting supporting roles in John Ford-Harry Carey westerns at Universal, but this work was interrupted by service in the Army Tank Corps during World War I. Gibson was discharged in 1919 and went back to supporting roles in Ford westerns, soon landing his own two-reel series in which he was billed as "The Smiling Whirlwind."After starring in his first feature films, John Ford's five-reelers Action and Sure Fire, Gibson skyrocketed to fame and went on to become the cowboy idol of millions of American kids in the '20s and well into the '30s. However, Gibson was an atypical western hero as he rarely carried a gun and was more of a comedian than action hero. Universal's #1 cowboy star throughout the '20s--earning $14,000 a week as star and producer--Gibson's only significant rival was Fox's Tom Mix. Gibson's popularity continued until 1936, the last year in which he was on the Top Ten Money-Making Western Stars list; Gene Autry's cowboy style took over after that, and Gibson retired from the screen after making a serial in 1937. He occasionally did a little more film work, though, including the low-budget 1944 Trail Blazers series as well as guest appearances in a few movies. Edward "Hoot" Gibson married and divorced silent-screen actress Helen Wegner Gibson and actress Sally Eilers. ~ Rovi
- 1921
Universal's rather dishevelled cowboy hero Hoot Gibson once again played a cowpoke with girl trouble in this above-average silent Western directed by John Ford. Gibson depicted Jeff Bransford, whose girlfriend Marian (Molly Malone) rejects him because he lacks ambition. Unbeknownst to Marian, however, Jeff prevents the girl's married sister (Fritzi Brunette) from running away with a bounder. The latter instead steals $5,000 from Elinor's husband, kidnapping Marian along the way. She is rescued by Jeff and finally realizes how much she loves the shy but brave cowpoke. Comedy relief in this Western was provided by 7-year-old Breezy Eason, Jr., the son of director B. Reeves Eason. Little Breezy died tragically later that year after being hit by an out-of-control vehicle on the set of the Harry Carey Western The Fox. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi
- 1921
Based on Peter B. Kyne's The Sheriff of Cinnabar, this fine silent Western starred Hoot Gibson as Pinto Peters, who with his friend Chuckwalla Bill (Joel Day take over the newspaper in the town of Cinnabar. Their crusade against the rougher elements in town is so successful that Pinto is elected sheriff, much to the dismay of gambling house proprietor Blackie Holloway (Joe Harris). Pinto's girlfriend Jane Reedly (Molly Malone), meanwhile, stands by her crooked uncle (Joseph W. Girard) when Pinto accuses him of bothering the judge's daughter Eliza (Mary Philbin). When the uncle is mysteriously murdered the blame falls on Eliza's boyfriend Nathan (Arthur Hoyt), but Pinto suspects Blackie and catches him trying to flee with Jane and her inheritance. Red Courage was directed by B. Reeves Eason, nicknamed "Breezy," who had replaced John Ford as Universal's ace Western specialist. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi
- 1921
With this picture, Western star Hoot Gibson graduated to full-length features. He plays Sandy Brouke, one of three prospectors who wind up buying a ranch from Molly Casey (Clara Horton), whose father has been killed. But some bandits believe that there must be gold on the property and manipulate circumstances to ship Molly off to an Eastern school and wrestle ownership away from Brouke and his pals. The battle is on, and by the end of the last reel, gold really is found on the property, the villains are vanquished and Brouke wins the heart of Molly. The directing reveals the fine hand of John Ford, whose brother Francis Ford had a co-starring role. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi
- 1919
Dorothy Gish stars as a superstitious young miss in this silly farce comedy. Frances Wadsworth (Gish) keeps her eyes on the stars, her hands on the cards, and a rabbit's foot in her pocket. She encourages her friend to elope because "Venus is on the ascendant" and then discovers that there is a light-haired young man in her own future. The man, Malcolm Dale (Ralph Graves), is the best man at her friend's wedding, but Frances balks when he proposes to her on Friday the 13th. The news is even worse when Frances also divines the presence of a dark-haired rival for her blond man's affections. The young lady is Sally Smith (Emily Chichester), daughter of Rockaway Smith (George Fawcett), a Western millionaire who Dale is forced to squire around town. But Frances is reunited with Dale when she spends the night at her friend's home. Burglars break in, as does Dale. The crooks blackjack the lovers into unconsciousness, and it apparently knocks some sense into them because when they come to, they reconcile. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi
- 1918
In what is perhaps one of his lesser vehicles, Douglas Fairbanks plays a Canadian Royal Mounted Policeman who impersonates a notorious bandit, "Headin' South," in order to infiltrate the lair of bandit Frank Campeau. The outlaw has kidnapped a pretty young thing (Katherine MacDonald), who at first spurns Fairbanks' romantic overtures, thinking he is a bandit, but soon falls for the energetic charmer. Leading lady MacDonald was an untalented but spectacular young actress known as "The American Beauty." She was reportedly the mistress of President Woodrow Wilson. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi
- Starring:
- Douglas Fairbanks, Frank Campeau, (more)
- 1917
Western star Harry Carey and director John Ford worked together on quite a few films. Not all of them were winners, however, and this one was definitely below par. Cheyenne Harry (Carey) escapes from prison and hops on a train. He is aided by ranch owner Henry Beaufort (Morris Foster), who gives him some clothes and lets him sleep in his stateroom. Harry goes on to find a job as a cowboy but is forced to flee when he is seen by the sheriff (Vester Pegg). Beaufort has a little girl, Elizabeth (Elizabeth Janes), and he asks Pedro (Steve Clemente), who is taking care of her, to take her to another town. But Pedro is drunk and loses control of the wagon, and is killed in the ensuing accident. Harry finds the wreck and takes charge of Elizabeth. Because the child is hurt and dying of thirst, he lets himself be captured so that she will get help. The town decides to raffle the girl off to the highest bidder, but she recognizes her mother in Molly, the sheriff's sister (Edith Sterling). Mother and child are reunited, but the sheriff goes in search of the man he believes ruined his sister. He heads for Beaufort, and Molly confides her dilemma to Harry. With the help of Chuck, the deputy (Hoot Gibson), Harry escapes and keeps the sheriff from shooting Beaufort. When Molly arrives, she explains that they were secretly married so that it wouldn't affect Beaufort's status in his uncle's will. Since the uncle has just died, they no longer need to keep quiet. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi
- 1917
John Ford -- then billed as Jack Ford -- had recently begun directing his own features when he made this Western with Harry Carey. Harry wakes up one morning in jail with a hangover, and is informed by the sheriff that because of his wild behavior the night before he is to get out of town. On the road Harry comes upon an Indian attack, during which a young minister, John Marks (Jean Hersholt), hides his little daughter (Elizabeth Janes) before being killed by his attackers. When the Indians have gone, Harry rescues the little girl, who insists that he dress like her daddy. He obliges, finding a note to John from his sister-in-law Jane (Fritzi Ridgeway) asking him to come to the town of Buckhorn. Harry does as the letter instructs, the child in tow. Jane assumes that he is John at first, but when he gets in a fight with one of the town's bad guys, it becomes clear that he is no minister. Harry, however, is willing to give it a try and he forces the saloon's patrons to attend a sermon, which he gives cowboy-style, guns and all. Unfortunately, the town's ruffians blame Jane for being forced to go to church, and they kidnap her, compelling Harry to shoot it out with the bad guys and rescue Jane. He returns victorious and closes down the saloon. Carey and Ford would make films together for several years, and the blend of action and humor here is typical of their output. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi
- 1917
Long thought lost, the 1917 western Straight Shootin' was rediscovered in the vaults of the Czech Film Archive. Thus, and thankfully, was safely preserved the very first feature-length effort of director John Ford. Harry Carey stars as a "good badman" type, slightly emulating William S. Hart without ever sacrificing his own distinct style. A professional gunman, Carey intervenes on behalf of the downtrodden homesteaders during a violent range war. Expanded from its intended two-reel length to five reels during production, the film allowed Ford to invest a great deal of humanity in his characters. The fact that no one is shown as wholly good or wholly evil adds to the overall veneer of realism, as do occasional on-screen "accidents" such as supporting actor Hoot Gibson's obviously unrehearsed tumble from a horse. Many of the locations utilized in Straight Shootin', notably a thin trail through a deep gorge (not a natural formation, as has often been assumed, but a man-made trail created for a never-completed railroad line), would pop up time and again in Ford's silent and talkie films. Though only 22 at the time of Straight Shootin', John Ford directed with the self-assuredness of a man twice his age; the result was a film that looked more like a slick product of the 1920s, rather than an assembly-line star vehicle of 1917. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1917
This Western was one of the early collaborations between actor Harry Carey and John Ford, then a fledgling director. Cheyenne Harry (Carey) is a bandit on the run from a posse, but for years he has been deceiving his mother, writing her that he owns a ranch and is happily married. He finds refuge at the home of rancher Grant Young (Harry Rattenberry). Young's daughter, Molly (Molly Malone), recognizes Harry as the train robber who allowed her to keep a brooch belonging to her dead mother, and convinces her father to give him a chance. Harry enters a rodeo but his former associate Ben Kent (Vester Pegg) forces him to participate in a stage robbery. Over Harry's protests, Kent shoots the messenger dead. The sheriff (William Gettinger) takes the two men into custody and they are condemned to be hanged. A telegram from Harry's mother arrives which says she is coming to town to visit. The sheriff gives him a two-week reprieve and Young allows him the use of his ranch. His mother has a nice visit, and after she has left, Harry gives himself up. But one of the coach's passengers tells the sheriff that it was Kent who killed the messenger. Harry is freed, and he returns to the Young ranch, and to Molly. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi
- 1916
Silent screen western hero Harry Carey and his future off-screen wife Olive Fuller Golden starred in this Universal western, in which he takes the blame for a stage robbery to protect her no-good fiance. Interestingly, supporting actor Hoot Gibson, who also doubled both leads, later usurped Carey's position as the company's top western star. Carey and Golden wed in 1920; their son, Harry Carey, Jr., nicknamed "Dobe" because of his adobe-colored hair, became a top Hollywood character actor and, like his father, a favorite of director John Ford. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi
- 1915
The Wild Engine was episode 26 in the long-running The Hazards of Helen series of railroad two-reelers starring Helen Holmes and featuring such future genre stars as Leo Maloney and Hoot Gibson. The series was released by the Kalem Company between November 4, 1914 and February 26, 1917. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi
- Starring:
- Helen Holmes
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