Frontier Scout (1938)

Load of rubbish!!

Crappy film

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

George Houston is a name very, very few people will remember. He made about a dozen movies for one of the crappiest studios of the day, PRC, and even for PRC he was not particularly talented. Here in "Frontier Scout" he has as much charisma as a potato--and the writing and direction certainly didn't help to make him look any more interesting.When the film begins, it's the Civil War and Wild Bill Hickok and his two friends are saving the Union. Historically speaking, this is all poppycock--and, oddly, it really has nothing to do with the rest of the film!!What follows is a typical situation in which baddies are preventing beef from being shipped because they're either killing off the ranchers and re-branding their herds or charging them ridiculous rates to take the cattle to market. So, it's up to the historically inaccurate and dull as dirt Wild Bill to come to the rescue along with his friends.Don't say I didn't warn you about this one--there isn't a lot to recommend it. A super-dull script, super-dull acting and super-dull EVERYTHING make this a chore to finish.

The title "Frontier Scout" is something of a misnomer because our hero in director Sam Newfield's western isn't a scout but rather a lawman. Nevertheless, as Grand National sagebrushers go, "Frontier Scout" is better-than-average as the eponymous protagonist solves the mystery of disappearing cattle herds in the Old West. "Knight of the Plains" director Newfield helmed over two-hundred-and-seventy films so he knew a thing or two about calling the shots on B-pictures. Actually, "Frontier Scout" qualifies as an entertaining if predictable outdoor yarn.The action unfolds during the last days of the American Civil War in 1865 as our hero Wild Bill Hickok (George Houston of "The Howards of Virginia") and his companions, Whiney Roberts (Al "Fuzzy" St. John of "Riders of Destiny") and Stephen Norris (George O'Brien of "42 Street"), return unscathed after Bill has slipped behind Confederate lines on a secret mission. Bill warns General U.S. Grant that the Southerners outnumber them 10-to-1, so Grant dispatches Bill on another mission to summon General Phil Sheridan's troops to even up the odds. Bill is promptly pursued by the Confederates when they spot him leaving Union lines. They blast away at Bill and it appears that they wound him, but he survives the apparent wound. Unfortunately for the rebels, Bill evades them by climbing into a tree while his horse gallops away and drops down on the last man to take his horse. The next thing we see is the New York Herald Tribune proclaiming General Lee's surrender. For the record, during one of Grant's conversations with an adjutant, the famous cigar chomping Grant points out erroneously that Lee was at the head of his class at West Point. In fact, Lee was the commandant.After the war, Bill runs into Steve's sister, Mary Ann Norris (Beth Marion of "Trail of Terror"), at a party and thanks her for saving his life. Bill explains that he had a photo of her in a case over his heart and the metal of the case deflected the bullet. Steve shows up and tells Bill that his sister and he are bound for the lawless town of Milton, Kansas, to embark on the cattle business because the Santa Fe is extending its railroad line into that town. No matter what Steve and his partner, Mort Bennett (Stephen Chase of "The Blob") do they find it impossible to ship cattle from the south to markets. Somebody is not only stealing their beeves, but they also are killing all the drovers. Bill is assigned to cover the territory as a federal marshal and Whitney accompanies him to Milton. Steve explains that they haven't been able to sell many cattle because the herds have mysteriously vanished. Not long after Bill hits town, somebody tries to gun him down. Eventually, Bill uncovers the villain and Steve and Mary are able to resume their profitable business. When they offer Bill a part in their company, our hero turns them down because he has other towns to clean up.Mind you, "Frontier Scout" is a formulaic western, but Newfield puts the cast through the paces and never wears out his welcome during those 61 minutes. The scenery looks pretty good and the land sprawls for miles. There are a couple of gunfights, and our protagonist figures out the identity of the villain, while Newfield tries to lead us astray with an effective red herring. Oddly enough, Al St. John gets few moments to mug for the camera. George Houston makes a rugged hero.

Although it does have its moments, this B-Western just doesn't work very well, despite some real potential. The story had possibilities, with its combination of historical characters and some fictional settings that promised some action, but the pace is uneven, and it never really seems to fit together very well.The plot starts by following Wild Bill Hickok in some rather interesting Civil War adventures, and then after the war it takes him west to show his efforts in dealing with a large gang of cattle rustlers. Though it all gets off to a decent start, it ends up managing to be both predictable and implausible at the same time.George Houston has a little energy in the lead role, and is not all that bad, but you just expect a lot more from a character who is supposed to be Wild Bill Hickok. As his war buddy and sidekick, Fuzzy St. John is all right, but he only gets a couple of chances to do anything interesting.There are some action scenes that are reasonably entertaining, but they don't really stand out, either. There's nothing exceptionally poor or bothersome about "Frontier Scout", but as you watch it, you keep thinking that there ought to be something more worthwhile to it, yet it just never really gets off the ground.

Greetings & Salutations! Mantan Moreland (1902-1973) certainly was the equal to cowboy sidekicks Fuzzy Knight and Gabby Hayes and probably featured in more movies than either man, some 134 all total in 40 years of entertaining America, especially in their darkest hours in World War Two when there was little to smile about. He thrilled us in 1940 in "The Man Who Wouldn't Talk," "Chasing Trouble,' Millionaire Playboy," also known as "Glamour Boy," and in "The Girl in Room 313." He certainly should have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame as he ranks right up there with all the great stars of Hollywood!