Well I was surprised to see three reviews already posted for this film by the time I got here; it's not unusual to find one of these obscure B Westerns that no one has opined about yet. This one seems to have been written for a bit of tongue in cheek humor, but a lot of it falls flat with the uninspired performances of the principal players. Hoot Gibson had already had a successful career in silents, but at thirty nine years old, he doesn't look much like a cowboy hero, much less a 'Hard Hombre'. The casting for a lot of these older flicks manages to raise a head scratcher or two, in this one, Gibson's character looked like he was about as old as his mother, while in fact, actress Jessie Arnold portraying Mrs. Patton was only about eight years older. Which means on the flip side, Lina Basquette (Senora Martini) in her mid-twenties didn't seem like a reasonable match for her heartthrob hero.
Of course the crux of the story rests on a case of mistaken identity, as William Penn 'Peaceful' Patton (Gibson) assumes the identity of an outlaw called Hard Hombre after he goes to work for Senora Martini. The thing that gets me is that at any time, a dozen tough guys in the proximity of the Hombre could have taken him down whenever they would have wanted to. Having Gibson posture with his squinty eyes and mean look would never have worked with a real hard case, and for half the picture, he didn't even wear a gun! Didn't Barlow (G. Raymond Nye) or any of his henchman notice that? Geesh!
Aside from the actual story, keep an eye on the scene right after Gibson grabs Miss Martini off her horse and rides over to the old settlers' place. Gibson ties his horse to a tree, but as the group of folks walks out of camera range, the horse simply follows - the tether to the tree is simply gone! By the way, Gibson rode a variety of horses in his movie Westerns; the name of his sharp looking palomino in this one was appropriately named Goldie. No screen credit though, you just have to look these things up.
The biggest kick I got from this otherwise bland film was when the 'real' Hard Hombre (Frank Winklemann) showed up and made the mistake of pushing Mrs. Patton around. In stand up fashion, Gibson's character brings the fight to his namesake, shouting out at the top of his lungs - "Keep your hands off my mother"! Yeah, that'll show him.
Of course the crux of the story rests on a case of mistaken identity, as William Penn 'Peaceful' Patton (Gibson) assumes the identity of an outlaw called Hard Hombre after he goes to work for Senora Martini. The thing that gets me is that at any time, a dozen tough guys in the proximity of the Hombre could have taken him down whenever they would have wanted to. Having Gibson posture with his squinty eyes and mean look would never have worked with a real hard case, and for half the picture, he didn't even wear a gun! Didn't Barlow (G. Raymond Nye) or any of his henchman notice that? Geesh!
Aside from the actual story, keep an eye on the scene right after Gibson grabs Miss Martini off her horse and rides over to the old settlers' place. Gibson ties his horse to a tree, but as the group of folks walks out of camera range, the horse simply follows - the tether to the tree is simply gone! By the way, Gibson rode a variety of horses in his movie Westerns; the name of his sharp looking palomino in this one was appropriately named Goldie. No screen credit though, you just have to look these things up.
The biggest kick I got from this otherwise bland film was when the 'real' Hard Hombre (Frank Winklemann) showed up and made the mistake of pushing Mrs. Patton around. In stand up fashion, Gibson's character brings the fight to his namesake, shouting out at the top of his lungs - "Keep your hands off my mother"! Yeah, that'll show him.