Review of Gun Smoke

Gun Smoke (1931)
6/10
More A Drama Than A Comedy
20 April 2023
Things are getting hot in the city, so William 'Stage' Boyd and his gang head out west, where they are greeted by the citizens of the small town. The locals think they're big money men, looking to make investors. The sole exception is Richard Arlen, an old-fashioned cowboy. He ekes out his cattle operation by catching and breaking mustangs. This doesn't sit well with the girl he's sweet on, Mary Brian, who points out these newcomers as men who have made something of themselves.

This is listed as a comedy, and there are plenty of comedy pros, including Eugene Pallette, Charles Winninger, Louise Fazenda, Brooks Benedict, and Willy Fung. They play it straight, and do a pretty good job of it; director Edward Slloman shows his facility with the visuals, but the build-up to the inevitable show-down is more tense than a amusing. Even so, it's a good show, demonstrating that good comedy performers are good actors who can also do comedy.
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