John Wayne appeared in sixteen Westerns for Paul Malvern's Lone Star/Monogram Pictures, and stayed on for eight more films when the group merged with Republic in 1935. "Winds of the Wasteland" was the last one of these, and would be Wayne's final Western for a couple of years while working on six pictures for Universal in 1936/37. It's a lively story that teams The Duke up with Lane Chandler; they only appeared together once before in Lone Star's "Sagebrush Trail". With the dissolution of the Pony Express, the boys decide to form a stage line with the horses they receive in gratitude for their service.
Wayne's character is John Blair, and along with Larry Adams (Chandler), the boys are quickly hoodwinked into buying a stagecoach route from Buchanan to Crescent City. The first sign of trouble comes when the signboard for Crescent City's population reads '2', ever since villain Cal Drake (Douglas Cosgrove) had a falling out with Doc Forsythe (Sam Flint), with the population of the town following him to Buchanan. It's a set up that doesn't make too much sense, but if you stay with it, you'll see that Blair stays one step ahead of Drake at every turn to revitalize Crescent City and win a government subsidy of twenty five thousand dollars.
For those familiar with the work of stuntman extraordinaire Yakima Canutt, you'll recognize what might be considered a very early tryout for the chariot race in "Ben-Hur" some two decades later. The seeds of that epic movie scene might have been planted here with the thrilling stagecoach race to Sacramento between Blair and Drake. Blair outwits the villain's chicanery to win by a little more than a nose, thereby winning the government grant, along with Doc Forsythe's pretty daughter Barbara (Phyllis Fraser). In that respect, Wayne's character kept the streak intact of winning the lady's hand at the end of each of his early Westerns.
Another reviewer for this film commented on Phyllis Fraser's resemblance to Ginger Rogers. Researching her background reveals that in fact, Fraser was a cousin of Rogers. Even more interesting, she was married to publisher Bennett Cerf for nearly thirty one years until his death in 1971, and then to former New York City mayor Robert Wagner until his death in 1991. Born Helen Nichols Brown, she used the name Phyllis Fraser for her entire film career. I'd be curious to know if the name derived from 'B' Western film director Harry Fraser, who did a couple of Wayne's Lone Star yarns.
Anyway, getting back to the film, you should have some fun with this one, as Wayne keeps things upbeat even when he's being railroaded by baddie Drake throughout the story. Lew Kelly adds some comic relief as the mayor/postmaster/treasurer of Crescent City, who maintains a running gag with a skunk (the animal kind, not the human kind). It all comes in at a quick fifty four minute pace, quick enough to grow the population of Crescent from two to over four hundred in a blink. The only thing is, how did they ever come up with that title?
Wayne's character is John Blair, and along with Larry Adams (Chandler), the boys are quickly hoodwinked into buying a stagecoach route from Buchanan to Crescent City. The first sign of trouble comes when the signboard for Crescent City's population reads '2', ever since villain Cal Drake (Douglas Cosgrove) had a falling out with Doc Forsythe (Sam Flint), with the population of the town following him to Buchanan. It's a set up that doesn't make too much sense, but if you stay with it, you'll see that Blair stays one step ahead of Drake at every turn to revitalize Crescent City and win a government subsidy of twenty five thousand dollars.
For those familiar with the work of stuntman extraordinaire Yakima Canutt, you'll recognize what might be considered a very early tryout for the chariot race in "Ben-Hur" some two decades later. The seeds of that epic movie scene might have been planted here with the thrilling stagecoach race to Sacramento between Blair and Drake. Blair outwits the villain's chicanery to win by a little more than a nose, thereby winning the government grant, along with Doc Forsythe's pretty daughter Barbara (Phyllis Fraser). In that respect, Wayne's character kept the streak intact of winning the lady's hand at the end of each of his early Westerns.
Another reviewer for this film commented on Phyllis Fraser's resemblance to Ginger Rogers. Researching her background reveals that in fact, Fraser was a cousin of Rogers. Even more interesting, she was married to publisher Bennett Cerf for nearly thirty one years until his death in 1971, and then to former New York City mayor Robert Wagner until his death in 1991. Born Helen Nichols Brown, she used the name Phyllis Fraser for her entire film career. I'd be curious to know if the name derived from 'B' Western film director Harry Fraser, who did a couple of Wayne's Lone Star yarns.
Anyway, getting back to the film, you should have some fun with this one, as Wayne keeps things upbeat even when he's being railroaded by baddie Drake throughout the story. Lew Kelly adds some comic relief as the mayor/postmaster/treasurer of Crescent City, who maintains a running gag with a skunk (the animal kind, not the human kind). It all comes in at a quick fifty four minute pace, quick enough to grow the population of Crescent from two to over four hundred in a blink. The only thing is, how did they ever come up with that title?