Hoot Gibson and the Weird Asylum Plot in Frontier Justice

Is this worth your time today?

If you have a soft spot for dusty old westerns and you like seeing a hero who looks like he's actually having fun, then yes.

You should probably skip this if you can't stand grainy black-and-white footage or the sound of horses that sounds like someone hitting a coconut on a table. 🥥

It's a movie for people who miss the days when a hat told you everything you needed to know about a man's soul.

I sat down with this one on a rainy Tuesday, and honestly, it was exactly what I needed.

Hoot Gibson is the star here, and let me tell you, the man has charisma for days even when the script is thin as paper.

He plays Brent Halston, a guy who comes back home only to find out his dad has been tossed into an insane asylum.

That part actually caught me off guard. 😮

Usually, these movies are about stolen cattle or a missed mortgage, but starting with the dad in an asylum feels surprisingly dark for 1935.

It’s not quite as moody as The High Hand, but it has its moments.

The villain is a guy named Wilton, played by Richard Cramer with a mustache that looks like it was drawn on with a very determined Sharpie.

Wilton wants to bring sheep onto the cattle range, which in movie logic back then, was basically the worst thing a person could do.

The way they talk about sheep in this movie makes it sound like they're bringing in man-eating monsters. 🐑

There's a scene early on where Brent is just looking around his old house, and you can see the actual dust floating in the air.

It doesn't look like a set; it looks like a place that hasn't been swept in a decade, which I appreciate.

A lot of these old flicks look too clean, but this one feels... gritty? In a cheap way.

Then we get the murder. Wilton kills a rancher, and of course, Brent gets the blame.

The framing happens so fast you might blink and miss it.

One minute he's talking, the next he's behind bars looking confused.

The jailbreak is probably my favorite part because it's so casual.

He just kind of leaves? It's not exactly Mission Impossible.

The pacing is a bit weird, like they realized they only had 58 minutes and had to speed up the middle.

There's a group called The Beverly Hillbillies in the cast, but don't get excited, it's not the TV show people.

They're a musical group, and they show up to sing a bit, which really kills the tension of the murder plot.

But hey, that's just how they did things back then. You gotta have a song.

I noticed one extra in the background of the town scene who just stands there staring directly at the camera for like five seconds.

It’s hilarious once you see it. 🎥

Jane Barnes plays Ethel Gordon, and she's fine, I guess, but she doesn't have much to do except look worried and help Brent out at the end.

She does have a very nice hat in the final scene, though.

The movie gets way better once Brent stops being a victim and starts actually punching people.

Hoot Gibson isn't the best fighter—he kind of flails his arms around—but he looks like he means it.

The script by Scott Darling is very wordy in places where it should be silent.

They explain the sheep-vs-cattle thing about four times too many.

I think the audience got it the first time, Scott!

If you've seen The Scarecrow, you know how these shorter films can sometimes feel like they're rushing to a finish line.

This one definitely does that.

The way they resolve the whole "dad in the asylum" thing is so fast it's almost insulting to the dad.

"Oh, you're sane now? Great, let's go home."

I wish they had spent more time on the actual mystery of who paid to have him committed.

Ware, the guy who confesses, does it so easily. Brent barely has to ask.

It’s like the movie was tired and wanted to go to sleep. 😴

But despite the sloppy writing in the third act, I still liked it.

There’s a charm to these B-westerns that you just don't get anymore.

The horses look like they're actually working hard, and the scenery is beautiful in that old-California way.

I also spotted Fred 'Snowflake' Toones in a small role.

He was in everything back then, usually playing the same kind of character, which is a bit uncomfortable to watch now, but he was a pro.

The final confrontation with Wilton is satisfying but way too short.

I wanted a big brawl, but we got a quick shootout instead.

Anyway, it’s not a masterpiece like some of the bigger westerns of the era.

It's more like a comfortable old pair of boots. They have holes, they smell a bit, but they fit right.

Check it out if you're bored on a Sunday afternoon. 🤠

• Hoot Gibson's smile is the best part of the movie.
• The sheep are actually kind of cute.
• The music is way too loud compared to the talking.
• I'm still not sure how that jail door was so easy to open.

Overall, Frontier Justice is a solid 6 out of 10 if you're grading on the B-movie scale.

It doesn't try to be anything other than a quick distraction.

And sometimes, that's exactly what you need when the real world is too loud.

I might watch it again, but maybe in a few years when I've forgotten the plot twists.

Actually, I already forgot some of them. 😅