Wonderfully offbeat film!

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

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

This oat-er has some novel ideas, is comparatively well made, and best of all, makes plenty of room for Dorothy Sebastian to make a few waves. Admittedly - and perhaps disappointingly for some people - Dorothy is a good girl here. Painfully good in fact. Almost a goody two shoes, who would not dream of even a two-second kiss without benefit of clergy. She is also none too flatteringly photographed, but she still comes over as a watchable lass and at least she has both a sizable and an important role.Now you know why I purchased this quite enjoyable Alpha DVD, grandly titled "Karloff before Frankenstein". Both "Karloff" and "Frankenstein" are presented on the DVD cover in HUGE lettering despite the fact that Karloff's role is so small and inconsequential in this tale of "The Utah Kid" (played by Rex Lease), that if you blink, you will miss out on Karloff altogether. Even Lafe McKee's role is larger. Much larger!I'm not complaining. This oat-er has plenty of action and it's a rare chance to catch Dorothy Sebastian in a sizable role as a goody two- shoes of the outback who wouldn't dream of even giving a man a fleeting kiss without benefit of clergy. The movie is also well photographed on real locations, has plenty of action and was ably directed by Richard "Print It!" Thorpe of all people!

This reviewer won't address the quality of this Tiffany release versus other Rex Lease oaters. My main motivation for seeking out this otherwise forgettable antique was to view Boris Karloff in one of the many different roles he took between 1929 and 1932.The film opens with white-hatted Rex Lease (as Cal Reynolds) being chased by a posse. [Given the number of splices in this print, the film may be missing footage] His crime is never revealed and his horse clearly steals acting honors during this sequence, sending the posse the wrong way. Fortunately, Cal evades the law, gaining sanctuary at the "Crook's Hideout". Karloff (as Baxter) drags in a young woman at this point. Her presence is unexplainable, saying she followed Cal, but not why or how she's a better tracker than the posse. Enter Tom Santschi (as Butch) to claim the girl. Baxter objects and gets punched. Now, there was a time before sound effects made cowboy fists sound like firecrackers and this was it. Santschi punched Karloff. Hope they got it in one take! Anyhow, Cal MARRIES Jennie (played by Dorothy Sebastian) to save her from the black hats. Wish Jennie'd told Cal she's engaged to the sheriff...It's classic antique talkie fodder, complete with scenes filmed at silent speed, out-of-focus shots and the cacophony of early RCA photophone. Karloff's got plenty of screen time and where he rides his horse into a scene watch him crash into Santschi's horse. Makes you wonder why Raoul Walsh's "The Big Trail" didn't clean-up at the ticket window that year.