Law and Lawless (1932)

The third in a series of six Jack Hoxie Westerns produced by poverty row company Majestic, this film featured the former silent screen cowboy doing what he did best: ridin' and shootin'. Hoxie plays a gun fighter, Montana, hired by a Spanish landowner, Lopez (Bob Burns), to investigate a series of cattle rustlings. The trail leads Montana and sidekick Pancho (Julian Rivero) to crooked ranch foreman Tex Barnes (Yakima Canutt). Briefly detained for allegedly shooting a guard, Montana and Pancho break out of jail and force Barnes to take them to his boss, evil rancher Cash Hopson (J. Frank Glendon). Cleared of any wrongdoing, Montana can settle down with his sweetheart, Lopez' daughter Rosita (Hilda Moreno). Producer Henry L. Goldstone peppered the cast with former silent screen players, including Canutt, Glendon, Wally Wales, Helen Gibson, Alma Rayford, Charles "Slim" Whitaker, and Ben Corbett. Hoxie's second wife, trick rider Dixie Starr, appeared in an unbilled bit. Leading lady Hilda Moreno, who also acted under the name "Hilda Moore," should not be confused with British-born character actress Hilda Moore (1886-1929).