In Line of Duty (1931) review - A dusty Mountie movie with a very distracted horse

If you love old-school melodrama and blocky 1930s acting, In Line of Duty is a fun, dusty little relic to spend an hour on. Don't watch this if you need fast pacing or actual Canadian accents, because you won't find them here. But for fans of early talkie outdoor adventures, it has a weird charm. 🌲

The story is about as simple as it gets.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of In Line of Duty (1931) through its definitive frames.

James Murray plays the Mountie, and he looks very handsome but also incredibly stiff in his uniform. He is hunting down a woodsman played by Noah Beery, who supposedly killed a guy.

But then the woodsman saves his life, which is always awkward when you are trying to arrest someone. And then our hero meets the woodsman's daughter, played by Sue Carol.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of In Line of Duty (1931) through its definitive frames.

Love in the Dusty Woods

Of course he falls in love instantly. Because that is what you did in 1931 movies after talking to someone for three minutes.

I noticed that Sue Carol's hair stays perfectly curled even though she is supposed to be living in the rugged wilderness. It is quite funny actually, she looks like she just walked out of a salon in Los Angeles.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of In Line of Duty (1931) through its definitive frames.

There is a scene where they stare at each other near a cabin and the silence goes on for so long I thought my audio had cut out. It reminded me a bit of the silent melodrama in Boston Blackie's Little Pal, where people just emote with their eyes until they look dizzy.

But here, they have sound, so they just stand there awkwardly breathing at each other. It is amazing.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of In Line of Duty (1931) through its definitive frames.

The Good Stuff

The outdoor shots are actually pretty nice, though.

They filmed it in some real forests, which gives it a better vibe than those cheap stage sets. It has that same dusty, cold-water feel as The Rapids, another northern adventure that didn't quite know what to do with its outdoor space but still looked pretty.

• Noah Beery is easily the best part of the whole thing. He plays the gruff but secretly good-hearted fugitive with so much energy.
• He looks like he wants to eat the camera in some shots, which is great because everyone else is so quiet.
• The Mountie looks like he is trying to remember his next line half the time.

There is this one incredibly weird moment where a horse just stands in the background looking directly at the camera for like two minutes. I couldn't stop watching the horse. 🐴

Honestly, the horse gave a more believable performance than the lead actor in that scene.

The ending wraps up so fast you might blink and miss it. Suddenly everything is resolved and everyone is happy, even though ten minutes ago they were pointing rifles at each other's faces.

It is definitely not a masterpiece, but it's a harmless way to spend an afternoon if you like old B-movies that don't try too hard.