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According to Hollywood lore, silent screen western star Jack Hoxie could neither read nor write -- not true, says Hoxie's biographer, Edgar M. Wyatt. Hoxie, like almost all his rivals at the time, was a real-life cowpoke and certainly no erudite Broadway actor. His reading skills were adequate, and he could read and memorize his lines as well as anyone. Hoxie just wasn't a very impressive Thespian, another trait he shared with most of his contemporaries. In The Galloping Ace, a typical Universal oater, Hoxie returns from the great war to work on Margaret Morris' ranch. He is quickly on to villainous Robert McKim, the owner of a nearby quarry, who has designs on both Morris and her valuable land. McKim is no match for Hoxie, of course, and the brave ranch hand wins not only the girl's gratitude but also her heart. Leading lady Margaret Morris was a popular heroine in serials such as The Iron Man (1924), starring European strong-man Lucien Albertini. She became a bit-part player after the changeover to sound and is visible as one of the party guests snubbing poor Katharine Hepburn in Alice Adams (1935).