The Fighting Marshal (1931)

The Fighting Marshal: Directed by D. Ross Lederman. With Tim McCoy, Dorothy Gulliver, Mary Carr, Matthew Betz. A man wrongly accused of murder escapes from prison to clear his name, but is mistaken for a town’s new lawman.

“Red and Tim break jail and go on the lam. Tim (McCoy) was framed so heu0026#39;s really innocent of wrongdoing. Red, however, is a confirmed criminal and a meanie. Red kills a marshal, and Tim impersonates the lawman so he can better find the guys who framed him and also get a mine payroll that rightfully belongs to him. Naturally, trouble ensues.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eDespite the jailbreak opening, the first part is pretty slow, even taking a couple minutes to show breakfast being prepared. The second part is where the action picks up, but the movieu0026#39;s as much plot as it is action. Director Lederman films with more imagination than usual for these oaters. One sequence is quite striking. Tim pushes Alice (Gulliver) in a swing so that she appears to be flying off the screen and into our laps. Itu0026#39;s an early version of a 3-D effect, but without the 3-D. Anyway, McCoy plays an interesting non-clichéd hero, in the biggest white hat on screen. So thereu0026#39;s no doubt heu0026#39;s really a good guy, even if he keeps Red around. All in all, the matinée special remains an antique, but not without its points of interest.”