Galloping Thru is a weirdly mean-spirited little western

You should probably watch this if you have an hour to kill and like seeing Tom Tyler stand around looking incredibly tall. It is a standard 1931 B-western, so if you hate shaky audio and people falling off horses in slow motion, stay away.

The movie starts with a robbery. Tom’s dad gets killed because he was the express agent, which is a pretty common way to start these things.

Tom goes on a chase and gets shot himself. His buddy Sandy takes him to Janice Warren’s place to get better.

Janice is nice. She looks concerned in almost every scene she is in. Too concerned, maybe.

Tom falls for her fast. But Sandy is also in love with her, which makes the whole thing feel like a middle school drama with guns.

The brother, Cliff, is a real problem. Tom thinks Cliff was part of the gang that killed his father.

There is a scene where they are all just sitting around and the tension is so thick you could cut it with a dull spurs. You can tell Sandy is losing his mind just by how he holds his hat.

It reminds me a bit of The Gay Buckaroo, but that one felt a little more light on its feet than this. This one feels dusty and a bit mean.

Sandy does something truly terrible. He empties Tom's guns before a duel with Cliff.

I sat there thinking, "with friends like these, who needs outlaws?" It is such a petty, murderous move for a 'friend' character.

The actual shootout in the street is filmed in a way that makes the town look completely empty. Like everyone just evaporated five minutes before the cameras started rolling.

Cliff challenges Tom, and Tom just walks out there with an empty gun. It is kind of stressful if you forget it’s a movie from ninety years ago.

Then Sandy has a change of heart. He jumps in the way and shoots Cliff. It is very melodramatic.

Then the saloon owner, Willis, shoots Sandy from an ambush. Willis is played by Stanley Blystone, and he looks exactly like a guy who would hide in a bush.

The villain reveal isn't really a reveal because Willis looks evil from the first second he appears on screen. He has that 'I kick puppies' vibe that was popular for villains back then.

The fight between Tom and Willis is okay. A lot of rolling around in the dirt. A lot of dirt.

I noticed that the horses in this movie seem more interested in what’s happening than some of the extras. One horse in the background of the final scene is just staring at the camera like it knows it’s in a B-movie.

Cliff confesses before he dies, which is convenient. It clears up the plot just in time for the credits.

Tom and Janice end up together, but I kept thinking about how her brother just died and her other friend got shot too. Not the most romantic ending when you think about it for more than two seconds.

The pacing is actually pretty good for 1931. It doesn't linger on landscapes as much as Soft Shoes or some of the other silents that were transitioning to sound.

It’s not a masterpiece. The sound is a bit fuzzy in spots and sometimes the acting feels like they are reading off a giant board behind the camera.

But Tom Tyler has a presence. He doesn't do much with his face, but he fills the screen. 🤠

If you’ve seen No Man's Woman, you know how these low-budget things can feel a bit hollow. *Galloping Thru* has that same hollow feeling, but the betrayal plot gives it a little spice.

It’s a short watch. Good for a Sunday afternoon when you’re folding laundry and don't want to think too hard about the moral vacuum of a guy emptying his friend's gun.

The ending happens so fast you might blink and miss it. One minute they are shooting, the next minute everything is fine and the music is playing.

Anyway, it's fine. Not great, but fine.