JohnHowardReid Harold Bell Wright (1872-1944) was an exceptionally popular novelist in the first and second decades of the 20th century, though only two of his books — The Shepherd of the Hills (1907) and The Winning of Barbara Worth (1911) — will ring any bells today.This version of When a Man's a Man (which does not bear a great deal of similarity to the silent film) was re-made in 1958 by director William Wyler as a big-budget "A" feature, The Big Country. Gregory Peck, Burl Ives, Carroll Baker, Charles Bickford and Charlton Heston enacted the roles here played by George O'Brien, Harry Woods, Dorothy Wilson, Richard Carlisle and Paul Kelly, respectively. COMMENT: The 1941 version of Rev. Harold Bell Wright's The Shepherd of the Hills became an instant cult movie in Australia when it was re-issued by Paramount in the late 1950s. Not unexpectedly, the nation's TV masters failed to capitalize on this success. The picture was allowed to slip back into obscurity until it was aired on pay-TV in 1999 and has since become one of the most requested titles on FOX Movies. The reasons for this success are simply that not only are Wright's characters strong and his plots forceful, but that he has a wonderful knack for turning story clichés on their heads. Thus an in-the-wrong father shoots his innocent son down at the climax of Shepherd; whilst, after besting a very nasty villain (who's tried to kill him, as well as murder, maim and rob the nice little heroine) in A Man's a Man, the hero calmly shakes hands with the fiend, as he exchanges a mild pleasantry — thus letting the monster off scot free, before riding off into the twilight. As brilliantly played by Harry Woods, the sadistic heavy seems even more repugnant to 2017 audiences than he did 100 years ago, on account of his cruelty to hundreds of animals whom he has deliberately deprived of water, causing them to die of thirst.George O'Brien has one of his best roles as the carefree and irresponsible, ex-playboy hero. George plays this part so ingratiatingly, he smooths many of the character's rough and not even particularly sympathetic edges, managing to fully retain audience empathy despite some erratic, quirky and even over-pushy behavior.An unusually fine actress to discover in a "B" western, pocket-sized Dorothy Wilson is not only beautiful but completely believable. It's a rare talent indeed who will allow her face to register such strong emotion.Paul Kelly, of course, needs no introduction to movie fans. Here he portrays the sort of quick-tempered, self-centered, down-to- business, surly yet with a sense of fun, secondary lead at which he was so marvelously proficient.Aside from fiendish Harry Woods, the other roles are small. Edgar Norton makes a lasting impression in the opening scenes as the playboy's snooty but unhelpful "Man Friday".Edward F. Cline's remarkable career as a director stretches all the way from 1923 to 1948. He brought in quite a few extremely popular hits, though he is best known today for his cult comedies, Million Dollar Legs (1932), My Little Chickadee (1940), The Bank Dick (1940), Never Give a Sucker an Even Break (1941), Crazy House (1943), and The Ghost Catchers (1944). He died in 1961. When a Man's a Man — as usual with Lesser productions — is a carefully crafted and wholly engaging serving of "B" entertainment. True, there are a few obvious stock shots, but their use is more than redeemed by some excellent camera-work in the film's real locations.

MartinHafer Larry Knight (George O'Brien) arrives in town in time to see the rodeo. Phil Acton (Paul Kelly) is the star of the show...and soon both men end up working together for a rancher who is in trouble. It seems that the nearby ranch has dammed up their water supply...and as a result the nice rancher's cattle are all dying. Larry comes up with a couple schemes to alleviate the problem...during which time the rancher's nice daughter falls for him. Unfortunately, Phil has been in love with the girl for years and this might just bust up the friendship between Larry and Phil. What's to come of all this?While George O'Brien made quite a few westerns, I was surprised to see Paul Kelly in this one. He mostly played in contemporary settings and while it was odd to see him here, he was just fine. Good writing and better than usual production values make this a B- western worth your time.

classicsoncall On a whim, Larry Knight (George O'Brien) steps off a west bound train in Simmons, Arizona, and decides to compete for fifty dollar prize money by staying on a bucking bronco. Not only does he fall off the horse in mere seconds, but he misses the train as well. Not a very promising start for a cowboy hero, but hey, they all have to start somewhere.Aside from the overworked story line involving disputed water rights, this oater is a pretty good one, with O'Brien's character managing to involve himself in a love triangle with rancher Kitty Baldwin (Dorothy Wilson) and her foreman Phil Acton (Paul Kelly). The rivalry is actually fairly laid back, as Phil is more understanding than one might expect in these kinds of situations. It's the villain of the piece, Nick Gambert (Harry Woods), who gets everyone's attention by denying water to the Cross Triangle's parched herd.There's an interesting scene involving O'Brien and Triangle Country, the horse that threw him for a loop in the opening minutes. As an Easterner, there's no way Larry Knight could have known the proper technique for taming a wild horse and getting him into a supine position. The technique was effectively demonstrated in the 2011 documentary "Buck', the story of a real life horse whisperer who tamed many a wild steed and got them to be human friendly. Nevertheless, O'Brien lassos the horse's front legs, gets him under control, and mounts him to ride to the rescue of Miss Kitty in the final minutes of the story. It's an unusual resolution I haven't seen before, and I won't give it away here, but for all intents and purposes, let's just say it was a blast.

FightingWesterner Happy-go-lucky easterner George O'Brien steps off a train to stretch his legs and ends up stranded in the middle of nowhere. On a whim, he takes a job at a local ranch and winds up in the middle of a water-rights dispute, as well as a love-triangle involving the foreman and the the ranch-owner's pretty daughter.A very laid back B-western, When A Man's A Man features the often repeated theme of the eastern tenderfoot, who goes west, becomes a man, and gets the girl.There's more melodrama and romance than action this time around. However, the characters are so appealing, with likable performances by O'Brien and leading lady Dorothy Wilson (who's quite charming), that it makes the film pretty compelling and well worth watching. Fans of shoot-em-up action-adventures might be disappointed though.Things heat up considerably, making for a tense climax and a satisfying conclusion.