The Mounted Stranger (1930) User Reviews

Too Noisy

[boblipton · 5/10 · 25 January 2011]

This early sound film for Hoot Gibson shows a shaky fear of the sound gear. Hoot is a little slow in speaking his sides, and quite declamatory; and the sound people keep filling in the background as if they are afraid of the hiss of sound-free pictures.

If you ignore the soundtrack, what you are left with is a fine silent western; this was also released in silent form -- in 1930, a lot of small town movie theaters hadn't converted to sound and Gibson was very popular for Saturday matinées. Director Arthur Rosson, who did a lot of second-unit work for Demille, has cinematographer Harry Neumann shoot it in late-silent style, frequently from a child's point of view and usually with strongly framed figures against dark backgrounds.

Hoot gets to perform a couple of his nice comic turns, particularly with Louise Lorraine. But at this stage he is still getting used to the microphone. Fans of old B westerns will enjoy themselves, but those less dedicated might do better with the silent version or with Gibson vehicles from a couple of years later.

Watch the silent version!

[JohnHowardReid · 10/10 · 14 January 2018]

Copyright 28 January 1930 by Universal Pictures. U.S. release: 8 February 1930. 65 minutes (sound). 50 minutes (silent).

SYNOPSIS: Young boy witnesses his father (a nester) being shot down by a rancher and his cowhands. Years later, he dubs himself "The Ridin' Kid"and sets out for revenge.

COMMENT: Despite its stark storyline, this is a typical Hoot Gibson vehicle with as many laughs as thrills - and both rather cleverly balanced. Most of the humor is provided by Hoot's run-ins with lovely heroine, Louise Lorraine, (the plucky star of silent serials such as The Great Circus Mystery, The Silent Flyer, The Final Reckoning). But it's character actor, Francis Ford, in a really meaty role, who steals the picture from both of them. However, my main reason for drawing attention to this film, is that it's available (an 8/10 DVD from Grapevine) in both its silent and talkie versions. To my surprise, the silent version, which runs a tidy 50 minutes (and has tinted sequences to boot) is far superior to the talkie account, which runs 65 minutes, and often seems rather leaden-footed. True, Francis Ford needs his voice and tends to be somewhat less than charismatic in the silent footage. He's okay, but nothing special. In the sound version, however, Ford uses his voice most beguilingly. On the other hand, the rest of the players seem more at home in the silent sequences. And of course, the whole film moves faster by dispensing with loquacious scenes that were added simply to provide dialogue. And as stated above, the silent is also far more attractive to look at - due to a mistaken belief at the time that tinting would interfere with the sound track and compromise its quality.

P.S, As I would rate the silent and talkie versions differently, I have compromised with an overall 10/10.