Idaho Kid (1936) User Reviews

One for connoisseurs!

[JohnHowardReid · 6/10 · 16 November 2017]

Rex Bell (Idaho), Marion Shilling (Ruth Endicott), Lafe McKee (Endicott), David Sharpe (the Kid), Earl Dwire (Clint Hollister), Charles King (Bibb Slagel), Lane Chandler (Jess Peters), Phil Dunham (Tumblebug Jones), Dorothy Woods (Ma Endicott), Francis Walker (Biff), George Morrell (Bascomb, the storekeeper), James Sheridan (Joe), Buck Morgan (Granger), Jack King (Mott), Jimmy Aubrey (Fish- Eye), Ed Carey (henchman), Herman Hack (stage passenger), Curley Baldwin (Marshal Nicolls), Dick Botiller (gunman), Ed Cassidy (bartender), Jack Evans, Murdock MacQuarrie, William McCall, Chuck Morrison (townsmen).

Director: BOB HILL. Screenplay: George Plympton. Story: Paul Evan Lehman. Film editor: Charles Henkel. Photography: Robert Cline. Music director: Lee Zahler. Assistant director: Robert Emmett Tansey. Sound recording: Hans Weeren. Associate producer: Max Alexander. Producer: Arthur Alexander.

Not copyright by Colony Pictures. U.S. release: 6 August 1936. 59 minutes.

SYNOPSIS: A son tries to settle a range feud between his real father and his foster-father.

COMMENT: Although it is a well-directed script that embodies some interesting ideas, and packs in a fair quota of action and then comes to an absolutely staggering conclusion, this entry is, on the whole, a somewhat disappointing little western.

True, it's well acted, particularly by Earl Dwire as the embittered Hollister, but Rex Bell essays a character that is both more serious yet less personable than his usual type. He still smiles a lot, though there is an aura of sadness and almost inevitable failure about his presence that will not carry favor with fans.

On one hand, I applaud Bell's decision to go for more realism, but on the other I regret that the film lacks a lot of the fun we have a right to expect. Admittedly, it starts off that way, but even in the aborted hold-up that Rex turns into a practical joke, there is an unpleasantly realistic sting.

My recommendation: Definitely not for Bell's fans. Connoisseurs, however, will find much to enjoy in this meticulously produced, highly unusual (it breaks at least three cardinal rules) "Idaho Kid".

Surprisingly good.

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 30 September 2022]

"Idaho Kid" stars Rex Bell, an actor who was most famous for marrying Clara Bow. Here, he does what he usually did in films...playing in B-westerns.

The story begins with a young man holding up a stage. Our hero, 'Idaho' (Bell), soon finds the kid and convinces him to return the money...which he soon does. Now, no longer in trouble, the kid becomes Idaho's best buddy and sidekick. Soon, however, the young guy is shocked that Idaho signs on to work for Hollister, a REAL jerk and tough guy. Why would a heroic type like Idaho go to work for such a man? And, what is Idaho's connection with the jerk's enemy, the Endicott family? And, who is Idaho REALLY??

I appreciated how this western was NOT a typical story. Normally, most B-westerns have one of about three different plots...and this one manages to be a bit different. It also helped that Bell was really good and showed a nice emotional range. So, despite being a cheaply made film, it is quite entertaining and showed even the likes of Rex Bell could make a dandy film...not just the big stars like Gene Autry or Roy Rogers.

Standard Issue Oater About Concealed Identities and a Range War

[zardoz-13 · 5/10 · 18 May 2015]

"Tarzan the Fearless" director Robert F. Hill's "The Idaho Kid" is a typical western about concealed identities and a range war.

Itinerant cowhand Todd Hollister (Rex Bell of "Law and Lead") saves a wet-behind-the-ears kid (David Sharpe) from a life of crime. Todd spots the Kid holding up a stagecoach and knows from the Kid's behavior that he isn't a criminal. Todd locates the Kid's horse and loosens the cinch so he can get the drop on him. Meantime, The Kid relieves from Bibb Slagel (perennial villain Charles King) of $7.38 and encounters Todd not long afterward. As it turns out Todd masquerades as the 'Idaho Kid' to get a job on his father's ranch without divulging true identity. We're told Todd's mother died giving birth to him. Todd's father went berserk, and he threatened to strangle the infant if it weren't take from him. Clint Hollister (Earl Dwire of "The Dawn Rider") is also the owner of a ranch who maintains a feud with rival rancher John Endicott (Lafe McKee of "The Mysterious Avenger") and tries to fence him off from his source of water. Clint bears a grudge against John because the latter's wife (Dorothy Wood of "Romance and Rustlers") took Todd and raised him as their own son. When he returns, Todd's secret is safe from everybody except a garrulous old prospector Tumblebug Jones (Phil Dunham) who agrees to keep that secret.

Everything appears to be working out for Idaho. He manages to keep his father from gunning down Endicott in town on the boardwalk in front of the General Merchandise store. Later, as the Kid and he are digging post holes for the barbed wire fence that Clint plans to use to keep Endicott's cattle from water, our hero hears that Endicott's square-shooting foreman, Jess Peters (Lane Chandler of "Samson and Delilah"), has ridden out to parley with them. Todd suspects foul play afoot, but he doesn't reach Peters in time to warn him. Bibb's gunman shoots Peters, but Todd intervenes. When Clint sees what Todd has done, the old man fires him. Todd and the Kid take the wounded Peters back to the Endicott ranch, and Mrs. Endicott nurses him. Secretly, Idaho hopes that Clint will see the error of his ways.

Todd rides into town and guns down Bibb and Mott in the saloon. A furious Clint warns Idaho to clear out of town by six o'clock or suffer death. "The old buzzard must have been eating raw beef," a bystander comments. Later, the Kid summarizes Idaho's predicament: "You can't shoot your own father and you can't let him kill you. What are you going to do?" A baffled Idaho admits that he doesn't know what course of action to take. "Sometimes it takes a lot more courage to run than stay a fight." Todd refuses to let the Kid help him. "I know you want to help me Kid, but there's nothing you can do. It's one of those things a fellow's got to settle for himself." Meantime, Endicott refuses to let Todd resolve his problems for him. A pistol-packing Endicott challenges Clint. "You're aiming to strike at me from the best man I know, but I'm the man you're stepping up against not Idaho." Endicott orders Clint to leave town an hour before sunset. Happily, Clint accepts Endicott's challenge. Todd learns about the duel set to start a half-hour earlier and gallops into town to stop it. He throws himself into the trajectory of Clint's bullet and saves Endicott's life. The Kid reveals Todd's secret to Clint, and Clint has a change of heart. "I'd glad to see you dad," Todd admits. Not long after, Tumblebug strikes gold. Endicott offers half of it to Clint, but Clint is content to have his son back after a 25 year absence.

"The Idaho Kid" is a tolerable, standard-issue, black & white horse opera. Handsome Rex Bell makes a sturdy hero in his dark attire and white sombrero. For the record, Bell went on to marry Clara Bow and serve as Lieutenant Governor for Nevada for two terms before he died from a heart attack.

Reuniting With Dad

[bkoganbing · 2/10 · 31 October 2006]

Rex Bell is probably best known for being the one who finally married that wild child of the Twenties, Clara Bow and eventually making her the second lady of Nevada. Unfortunately if this is an example of his work as a western star, better he did go into politics.

Rex as the title indicates is a young kid from Idaho who became separated from his father as a child. He's come back to join him, but finds dad, played by Earl Dwire, is a ruthless cattle baron. Dwire's methods are none to Rex's liking and he joins forces with Dwire's rival, played by Lane Chandler.

Interesting how some of the most ancient of plot lines can be worked into unexpected situations. This was the problem that confronted Brad Pitt as Achilles in the recent Troy epic. He liked the Trojans who he was fighting far better than the Greek monarchs employing him. Of course things end better for Rex than for Brad.

A rather short lived poverty row outfit called Colony Pictures did this one. They lasted only about four years and their entire output was westerns with one film about the Shadow starring Rod LaRocque. The westerns either starred Bell or Ken Maynard.

The ending is quite unbelievable, I'm not sure why Rex just didn't tell Dwire he was his son right at the beginning.

I hope some of Rex's other films are better than this one.

Remarkable human relations spark what could have been routine Western

[morrisonhimself · 9/10 · 27 June 2020]

Paul Evan Lehman wrote a story about people that could have been set almost any place and any time. But he set in the West we know and love and the incredibly prolific George Plympton produced a screenplay that lifts this B Western above any claim of "routine."

All the main characters are so well played, only a little more money in the budget would have placed this in the "A" category.

There is more plot than usual, and more thought than action for the protagonist.

Rex Bell was a charming, personable screen presence, and apparently in real life, too, being the man who, five years before this film, wed Clara Bow, their three-decades marriage being the only one for both.

He had a slow smile that surely melted a lot of hearts, and surely won over audiences.

It is easy to see why his character won the leading lady, played by the unusually beautiful Marion Shilling. She didn't have much to do, but her expressive face didn't require much action or even dialogue. It's hard to understand why she didn't make many more movies.

Third billed was still-young David Sharpe, who had been in the biz, off and on, since 1922. Before he finally retired, he was in possibly 5,000 films and TV shows, according to some research. Though he became and probably still is better known for stunt work, in "Idaho Kid" he shows his superb acting talent. He too had a very expressive face, and extraordinary athleticism, and they helped make him a superlative actor.

Two of the older generation, Earl Dwire and Lafe McKee, got to play active, even rambunctious characters, old enough to be the father of the Rex Bell character, yet angry enough to walk the street eager to gun down the other. Great roles for the two of them.

All the characters and all their actions and motivations make "Idaho Kid" not only thoughtful but dramatic, somewhat unusual among B Westerns, but all the more watchable for it.

The only complaint I can make is the print at YouTube leaves a lot to be desired, but the story and the performers are too good for the lousy print to bother us long. I highly recommend "Idaho Kid," which is surprising, and intriguing, is well acted and well written. Please take the less-than-an-hour to enjoy it.