Presented by Winchester Pictures. (An Alpha DVD). Copyright 29 June 1936 by Republic Pictures Corp. No New York opening. U.S. release: 22 October 1936. 7 reels. 65 minutes. SYNOPSIS: Although described by the TV Feature Film Source Book as an "action western", this is not a western at all. Instead, Boyd plays a would-be hot-shot newspaper reporter on the trail of an absconding utilities chief/thief.NOTES: Final screen appearance of Bill Boyd in a role other than Hopalong Cassidy. In fact, Boyd had already starred in no less than seven "Hoppy" entries before Haines was released. COMMENT: It must have been no less of a surprise to contemporary audiences to find Bill Boyd playing a non-Hoppy role, as it is to us. Especially as he seems uncomfortable in the part. True, he does improve noticeably as the plot progresses, but this only serves to discomfort the audience even further. For the script turns out to be an odd - but surprisingly agreeable - mixture of musical comedy, light romance and murder mystery. As often as not, Boyd is the fall guy. But after the opening reel or two, he does handle the comic twists, the romantic banter and the eager helper rather charismatically. However, the title is a bit of a misnomer. Haines is a go-getter chiefly in his own imagination. In fact, he soon drops his brash manner and reveals himself to be a bit of a softie at heart. Boyd's rabid fans will undoubtedly be disappointed that he has only one real spurt of action - but it's an exciting little chase with Bill doing his own stunt-work. Another, if minor, unsettling feature for Hoppy fans is the somewhat less than flattering way our hero is presented and photographed. It's Eleanor Hunt (from Whoopee (1930) who captures all the best lighting and angles. True, despite her third billing, she has the most colorful part, plus two or three songs - which she handles delightfully - quite putting Miss Terry in the shade. LeRoy Mason plays the half-and-half heavy with just the right touch of heartiness, whilst Lloyd Ingraham as the seemingly too easily persuaded captain, Clarence Geldert as a ripe old avuncular actor, Louis Natheaux as a most untrustworthily nosy steward, Jimmy Aubrey as an invariably put-upon but amiable drunk, and Lee Shumway as the absconding financier make the most of the many golden opportunities the well-paced, neatly-drawn script hands them. Hilliard is a conventional editor, but his role is happily small. Most of the film was photographed on board a real ship, with plenty of passengers milling around as extras. This certainly gives production values a considerable boost. Director Sam Newfield has actually risen to the occasion, turning in such a remarkably polished job (at least by his extremely humble standards) that we have no hesitation in judging Go-Get-'Em Haines as the best of his output - an output so prolific he was forced to use no less than two pseudonyms ("Sherman Scott" and "Peter Stewart") to disguise his omni-presence.

"Go-Get 'Em, Haines" is one of the classical early crime movies. In black and white, it tells us the story of a newspaper agent, who accidentally enters an ocean liner and becomes witness of a murder, he afterwards tries to solve.The film includes all the elements you's expect from such a title. You have the lead character as a hero, who is both smart and eloquent. You have different characters with a motive, that make it hard to guess, who the actual murderer is. And of course you have the love story between the reporter and a beautiful young lady, that finds its climax in a kiss and a marriage. You even have the humorous sidekick, who is, as always, more disturbing than funny. On one hand you could thus say, that this is a rather standardized movie, on the other hand it still has an interesting plot and doesn't do any grave mistakes.All in all I had fun watching this title. It is surely not a masterpiece or anything alike but it is a nice little story, depicted in a well-known way. If you like those early crime movies, this could be a thing for you.

This should only be a genre-film "6 of 10" stars, but I've given it an extra star on the basis of William Boyd's performance. Although Boyd always entertained as Hopalong Cassidy, His eventual identification with that role alone essentially tunneled him out of any notice as the highly talented naturalistic actor that he was. He really shines in this film as a headstrong but clever reporter trying to discover why there would be two different murders of the same man.The rest of the film is typical of "Poverty Row" efforts of the time,although above average in its pacing - and once the mystery kicks in, it is surprisingly effective, playing with and against audience expectations in a way that leaves the discovery of who-done-it a surprise.As to the narrative that leads up to the mystery - it's breezy and not without its entertainment value. I admit considerable continuity lapses, but th pacing rushes us past them, so I won't complain.Most reviews I've seen complain of the musical number in the middle of the film, but anyone who knows the comic song tradition that came out of Vaudeville like "Second Hand Rose" or "Harrigan") will recognize it as a novelty song, and rather a charming one at that.But at any rate, at only about a hour's run, it's worth it to see Boyd in grand form as someone other than the cowboy savant, Hopalong.

This film has one of the very very rare roles where William Boyd wasn't Hopalong Cassidy once he started in that role. Here Boyd plays a reporter who is told to get the scoop on a millionaire who's utility company is tanking, taking with it the fortunes of many small time investors. Arriving at the rich man's house he sees someone that looks like his man sneaking out a back door. Giving chase he follows him to the docks and on to a ship heading for Europe. Soon things become complicated as murders on board on on land occur.This is a nifty fast moving thriller. Boyd wanders through the film as if he owns the place and its clear why he was a big star. its also clear that had he been able to do something other than Hopalong he might have been even bigger (would that have been possible?). The mystery itself is a bit convoluted and I'm not sure the film plays fair (I blindly guessed the killer before we had even met all of the suspects) but its no matter since whats of interest here is the interplay between Boyd and the rest of the cast and the ship board setting. If there is any weakness its the musical number that takes place as part of a shipboard entertainment, it's not that its bad, it just that its filler. Worth a look.