Law and Order (1936) starring Tom Tyler, Rex Lease, Margaret Nearing, Al Bridge, William Gould, Robert Walker, Jimmy Aubrey, Slim Whitaker directed by Harry S. Webb Movie Review

Law and Order (1936)   3/53/53/53/53/5


Tom Tyler in Law and Order (1936) (aka: Fast Bullets)

Kid for Lease

Ranger Tom Hilton (Tom Tyler) are on the trail of some munitions smugglers and hope to capture the ring leader, a man called Travis (Al Bridge) but all they got were some of his men during a barroom brawl. Tom convinces one of the men, Jimmy (Rex Lease), to help him in return for his freedom and so Jimmy agrees to show Tom where Travis is and to join the gang. The only trouble is that one of the other arrested men escapes and Tom's cover is likely to be exposed.

Some times it is hard to put yourself in the mindset of an audience when watching an old movie especially when you are watching an old western. It is the problem I found myself with as I watched "Law and Order" which was originally called "Fast Bullets". You see I watch a lot of westerns and as I watched this all I saw was another tale of a lawman going undercover to infiltrate a gang of outlaws which of course means that at any point his cover could be blown. It is such an often used theme that it made "Law and Order" too familiar and I can only imagine it would have been the same back in 1936 when this was released.

Rex Lease in Law and Order (1936) (aka: Fast Bullets)

But then in a way the originality of the story probably wasn't an issue back in 1936 for a young audience who watched because they wanted some western action, brawls, gun play and horse chases. And whilst what it serves up in action doesn't stand up too well when watched now "Law and Order" probably served its purpose back in 1936. In fact it is reasonably well paced and at under sixty minutes jaunts along nicely giving you little time to think about it too deeply.

The only thing which truly stands out about "Law and Order" is the amusing fact that when Tom catches Jimmy he calls him kid, something which he does frequently throughout the movie. But the truth is that Rex Lease who plays Jimmy was in fact a few months older than Tom Tyler and whilst looking a little younger certainly wouldn't have passed for a kid.

What this all boils down to is "Law and Order" is just one of those old westerns which probably entertained a young audience during the 1930s but offers little other than another movie for those who want to watch every western ever made.


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