Clearing the Range (1931)

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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… More 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, Rovi