Dislike

Released by Victor Adamson Productions | Directed by Victor Adamson

Lighting Bill: You Read That Right

“Hey! You see the lightning gun hand that fella had?”

“He got a lightning gun hand all right.”

Lighting Bill definitely radiates with the aura of carelessness. The title on the title card? Misspelled. It’s supposed to be Lightning Bill. You want flubbed lines? Painful sound design? Poor framing? Doesn’t even make it to the 50 minute mark? A plot that’s held together by sheer magic? Sure, all there.

Said plot: someone gets a lot of money. A desperado gets wind of it, but the guy cleverly hides it in a pillow before he’s killed. Months later, the guy’s brother and daughter own the ranch, and the desperado is trying to steal the property from them so he can find the money. Bill, credited here as Buffalo Bill Jr., has “lighting” reflexes and, with pal Barney, swoops in to save the day.

LightingBill4

Barney is Bill’s sidekick. He loves to eat and make jokes. Here is a Barney joke:

“Say, Bill. Where do you suppose the flies go to in the wintertime?”

“I don’t know where the flies go to in the wintertime.”

“Well. I wish that they’d go there in the summer time!”

Man, I could totally write a lot more about this movie. I’m sure I could if I really tried. I don’t really feel like I have to though.

Gallery

Hover over for controls.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Trivia & Links

  • Here’s some background about the film from B-Westerns as well as some stills. There’s also the lobby card that proves the title is misspelled on the title card!

Awards, Accolades & Availability

  • This film is available on YouTube.

Comment below or join our email subscription list on the sidebar!

What Is Pre-Code Hollywood? LightingBill1 List of Pre-Code Films
SiteIndex Follow Me on Twitter

Danny

Danny is a writer who lives with his lovely wife, adorable children, and geriatric yet yappy dog. He blogs at pre-code.com, a website dedicated to Hollywood films from 1930 to 1934, and can be found on Twitter @PreCodeDotCom.

1 Comment

Clate · December 22, 2015 at 1:06 pm

I give you props for reviewing this western that’s on the on the low end of the B-movie spectrum! Sadly, Jay Wilsey fared much better in silent-film days. He does look good on a horse, and even made a serial for Universal in 1928 or 1929, but he was one of the screen cowboys, even by1930, that just couldn’t find his niche in leading roles–other than these.

Comments are closed.