Directed by John Ford
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Fox)
Terrific early Ford feature that exposes the corrupt underbelly of small town mid America. Our hero is "Bim" (Buck Jones), a non-conformist loafer who spends his time watching other people work while lazing in the hay loft. He unexpectedly adopts a young hobo kid who drops into town by train and idolizes him. Meanwhile, the town schoolteacher, whom Bim has a crush on, unwisely lends money to her no-good boyfriend, a banker. When the money comes due, the banker doesn't have the money so steals it from the safe then collaborates with a gang to cover it up. Bim is unjustly accused of the crime and the small town elders leave their Sunday church service to become a lynch mob. The town doctor and his wife have a scheme to make money by claiming a reward for the kid. The sheriff is an ineffective old coot who flashes his badge instead of donating to the church collection plate. It all works out for a happy ending, but this is no Americana nostalgia trip.
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