Every now and then you find a real gem in the rough among the old genre films.
This is the toughest-minded Western of its type I've ever seen. There are elements here prophetic of the 'adult Western' that would come into its own in the '50s, and some elements are suggestive of what became the 'film noir' of the '40s. As a gambler out to avenge his brother's murder (really a precursor of the 'anti-hero' type that would dominate Westerns in the '60s), Harry Carey gives a bravura performance: Marlin (Carrey) is on his way to meet the gang leader. Mary: Oh, that's dangerous! Marlin: Huh? Mary: That's dangerous. Marlin (pushing his hat forward): Gosh, I hope so.
Mary. BTW, is Marlin's old flame, a woman of questionable repute who has married a bad man after being widowed and who gave her daughter away - a daughter raised by an alcoholic who beats her.
Yeah, this is not one for the kiddies. Consider for instance the fist-fights - typical barrel-house round swinging, broken chairs, etc, right? Wrong. How about close order efforts to get behind the other guy and knock him down with a gun butt. Fighting fair is for people who don't like to win.
Short, dark and handsomely made, this film is light on genre conventions and hard on impact. Absolutely remarkable for it's period. 1932? Absolutely remarkable.