Adapted from the novel Trailin’ by Max Brand, one has to wonder if the problem with this film is from the source material or the adaption of it. Nothing about A Holy Terror seems to gel. Not even the title makes much sense. The title seems to exist simply to con people into thinking they are going to see an exciting thriller instead of a quasi-western drama with little-to-no action of any kind. It’s almost as if the filmmakers knew they had a dud on their hands and decided the only way to possibly make their investment back was to trick unsuspecting people into seeing it.
The film stars George O’Brien as Tony Bard, a Polo player from New York who receives word that his father has accidentally been killed. The news reports that the killing is an unsolved mystery so Tony, acting on some info a friend of his fathers uncovers, decides to travel to Wyoming in search of a man, William Drew (James Kirkwood), whom his father had been paying to be kept under surveillance for over 25 years, the only possible lead Tony has. His inquiries stir up some of the townsfolk, including Steve Nash (Humphrey Bogart), the head ranch hand for William Drew. Nash makes several attempts to harm Tony, including setting him up with a wild horse when Tony shows up to buy one. The film stumbles from scene to scene until eventually dropping a twist in the final moments that is hard to swallow and abruptly ends the movie.
Thrown into the mix of things is a love interest, Jerry Foster, played coyly by Sally Eilers. While the romance is shallow and obvious, it does provide some levity to an otherwise dry film. We are introduced to her an one of the most unique ways ever seen in a film. Tony arrives in Wyoming via a personal airplane that he manages to crash into the side of her house. He crashes right into her bathroom while she is taking a shower, a situation that would have seemed more that a little scandalous to early 30’s audiences and would have never been allowed a few years later when the Hays code took effect. Nothing else in this film lives up to this moment but Sally does manage to breathe in some life throughout the rest of the film whenever she is on screen.
A Holy Terror is an early talkie film that obviously is struggling with the new medium. It is populated with silent film stars who haven’t quite found their sea legs in the era of the talkie. O’Brien and Eilers are likable as a couple if not particularly memorable. What really sinks this film, though, is the conflict between Nash and Tony. At no point does Tony seem to suspect Nash of anything sinister. He just keeps blindly trusting Nash and after a while we lose faith in Tony as a protagonist. Eventually Nash blatantly attacks Tony but by then the film is nearly over and we’ve given up on Tony figuring anything out on his own. The final scene with the big twist is ridiculous and poorly played out, barely set up with a single line in the opening scene. It felt like the filmmakers had a set running time they had to hit and just ran out of time to finish it up properly. Yet it also feels like the film is heavily padded, better off as a two reeler oat opera much like the ones John Wayne made for Republic in his early years. It’s about as shallow as those films were, too. It should be noted that the only copy of A Holy Terror Readily available is missing a few minutes in the middle, running a paltry 48 minutes.
A Holy Terror is a relic of it’s time. It doesn’t appeal to western fans, mystery fans, or romance fans. I have not read the source novel to make a comparison so I don’t know who is to blame for the thinness of the plot but if that lies in the novel then the screenwriters should have found a way to rectify that. If it lies entirely on the screenwriter then they did a disservice to Max Brand when they made this. Either way it is not a good film and should only be watched by Bogart fans as a curiosity of his early work. There is not much else here to recommend tracking down this virtually unreleased film.
Release Date: July 19, 1931
Running Time: 53 Minutes
Starring: George O’Brien, Sally Eilers, Humphrey Bogart, James Kirkwood, Rita La Roy
Directed By: Irving Cummings
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