When a Man's a Man (1935)

An Exercise In Nonsense

Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

The acting in this movie is really good.

Larry Knight (George O'Brien) arrives in town in time to see the rodeo. Phil Acton (Paul Kelly) is the star of the show...and soon both men end up working together for a rancher who is in trouble. It seems that the nearby ranch has dammed up their water supply...and as a result the nice rancher's cattle are all dying. Larry comes up with a couple schemes to alleviate the problem...during which time the rancher's nice daughter falls for him. Unfortunately, Phil has been in love with the girl for years and this might just bust up the friendship between Larry and Phil. What's to come of all this?While George O'Brien made quite a few westerns, I was surprised to see Paul Kelly in this one. He mostly played in contemporary settings and while it was odd to see him here, he was just fine. Good writing and better than usual production values make this a B- western worth your time.

On a whim, Larry Knight (George O'Brien) steps off a west bound train in Simmons, Arizona, and decides to compete for fifty dollar prize money by staying on a bucking bronco. Not only does he fall off the horse in mere seconds, but he misses the train as well. Not a very promising start for a cowboy hero, but hey, they all have to start somewhere.Aside from the overworked story line involving disputed water rights, this oater is a pretty good one, with O'Brien's character managing to involve himself in a love triangle with rancher Kitty Baldwin (Dorothy Wilson) and her foreman Phil Acton (Paul Kelly). The rivalry is actually fairly laid back, as Phil is more understanding than one might expect in these kinds of situations. It's the villain of the piece, Nick Gambert (Harry Woods), who gets everyone's attention by denying water to the Cross Triangle's parched herd.There's an interesting scene involving O'Brien and Triangle Country, the horse that threw him for a loop in the opening minutes. As an Easterner, there's no way Larry Knight could have known the proper technique for taming a wild horse and getting him into a supine position. The technique was effectively demonstrated in the 2011 documentary "Buck', the story of a real life horse whisperer who tamed many a wild steed and got them to be human friendly. Nevertheless, O'Brien lassos the horse's front legs, gets him under control, and mounts him to ride to the rescue of Miss Kitty in the final minutes of the story. It's an unusual resolution I haven't seen before, and I won't give it away here, but for all intents and purposes, let's just say it was a blast.

Happy-go-lucky easterner George O'Brien steps off a train to stretch his legs and ends up stranded in the middle of nowhere. On a whim, he takes a job at a local ranch and winds up in the middle of a water-rights dispute, as well as a love-triangle involving the foreman and the the ranch-owner's pretty daughter.A very laid back B-western, When A Man's A Man features the often repeated theme of the eastern tenderfoot, who goes west, becomes a man, and gets the girl.There's more melodrama and romance than action this time around. However, the characters are so appealing, with likable performances by O'Brien and leading lady Dorothy Wilson (who's quite charming), that it makes the film pretty compelling and well worth watching. Fans of shoot-em-up action-adventures might be disappointed though.Things heat up considerably, making for a tense climax and a satisfying conclusion.

I ordered this film because I am a big fan of George O'Brien. I loved his silent films, especially "Sunrise" with Janet Gaynor. After silents, he became a western star. Not alot of his western films are available. The story is about a man named Larry who is a drifter. He is traveling by train and at a stop goes to a Rodeo. He sees these guys riding a wild horse and he wants to see if he can do it. Well he falls off and to top it all off, misses his train. So he decides to stay behind and work on ranch.Life on the old ranch is never boring. Case in point, Phil(the forehand) and Kitty(the rancher's daughter) were madly in love, that is until she got back from college. Now she is unsure. Enters new meat Larry who has also been to college. Kitty likes his looks and style. Phil doesn't like this one bit. Add to this Kitty's father is about to lose his ranch to the neighbouring cad. He has control of all the water in those parts and doesn't plan to share it with anyone. Cattle are dying and Kitty's father's money is going down the drain. Should he sell or hold out for hope. Hope comes in the way of a man named Larry. Loved this movie. Just like the movies I saw on Saturday afternoon at the theatre when I was a young boy. Who could resist the charms of George O'Brien. What a man!!