The Flyin' Cowboy (1928) - Hoot Gibson, Horses, and a Very Confused Radio Hero

If you have an hour to kill and a soft spot for dusty silent westerns, you might actually enjoy The Flyin' Cowboy. It is not going to change your life or anything, but it is a fun enough ride for Hoot Gibson fans.

People who want a deep, emotional story should probably skip this. It is mostly just guys in big hats running around and looking busy.

The plot is kind of all over the place. Bill Hammon is this rodeo king who decides to host a Wild West show at his ranch.

I am not really sure why he needed the show there. It feels like a convenient excuse to get a bunch of people into the frame for the camera.

Then we get the jewel thieves. These guys are about as subtle as a brick to the face.

They show up to "ply their trade" during the exhibition. I love that phrase, but in this movie, it just means they stand around looking vaguely sinister near some jewelry.

The weirdest part is the hero who goes after them. He is described as a "radio champion."

How do you even show a radio champion in a silent movie? You just have to take the intertitles' word for it, I guess.

There is a scene during the rodeo where the dust gets so thick you can barely see Hoot Gibson’s face. It feels like the camera operator just gave up and kept cranking anyway.

It has that raw, unpolished feeling you don't get in something like The Waltz Dream. It feels like they just filmed whatever happened that day.

Hoot Gibson is the only reason this works at all. He has this smirk that makes it look like he knows the script is a bit silly.

He is way more likable than the lead in The Perfect Clown, that’s for sure. Even when he isn't doing much, he just fits the landscape.

The jewel heist itself is pretty underwhelming. It happens fast and then we are back to the horses.

I noticed a background extra in the ranch scene who looked like he was genuinely scared of a horse. He keeps backing away every time the animal twitches its ear.

The movie is a bit like The Gasoline Buckaroo in how it tries to mix modern-ish things with the old west. But it doesn't quite commit to the bit.

The pacing gets really slow in the middle. There are a lot of shots of people just walking up to doors and opening them.

I think they were trying to build suspense, but it just felt like they were padding the runtime. I found myself looking at the furniture in the background instead of the actors.

The action picks up at the end with a chase. It is fine, though the editing is a little jumpy.

One moment a guy is on a horse, and the next second he is ten feet further down the trail. It’s that classic silent movie teleportation trick.

It isn't as moody or strange as something like The Despoiler. It is just a straightforward adventure that doesn't ask much of you.

I did like the shots of the ranch, though. They look like real places, not just sets built on a backlot somewhere in Burbank.

You can almost smell the hay and the old leather. That is the best thing about these old westerns; they captured a world that was already disappearing.

Anyway, it’s a decent watch if you’re folding laundry. 🐎

Don't expect the radio champion to actually do anything related to a radio. He mostly just uses his fists like everyone else.

It’s a bit of a letdown if you were hoping for some 1920s tech gadgets. But Hoot makes up for it with sheer charisma.