Wow, I've watched a ton of John Wayne's B-westerns from the 1930s, but I have never seen one that featured such obscure actors throughout the film. Familiar faces like Gabby Hayes and Yakima Canut are no where to be seen, so it's obvious that this is an even lower budget film than usual for Wayne--an actor who made a bazillion B-westerns. Fortunately, despite the no-name cast, the film itself was pretty dandy--mostly because it was so unlike all the rest of these films.
The film begins with the closing of the Pony Express--a service that actually only operated for about a year. Wayne and another ex-rider decide to go in to the stage coach business--even though they know absolutely NOTHING about it. It's because of this that they are so easily swindled by a jerk who owns many of the stage lines. He sells them a broken-down stage and a route for a ghost town! But, instead of giving up, the two work their butts off and through some ingenuity the business and the dead town start to come to life. However, the evil rich jerk is determined to ruin the partners--even if it means killing one of them! Despite the no-names, the film was entertaining--more than I had expected. With a fresh plot and Wayne's usual effortless performance, it's among the best B-westerns I've seen. Well worth seeing...and within only a few short years, Wayne would go on to A-pictures and stardom.
The film begins with the closing of the Pony Express--a service that actually only operated for about a year. Wayne and another ex-rider decide to go in to the stage coach business--even though they know absolutely NOTHING about it. It's because of this that they are so easily swindled by a jerk who owns many of the stage lines. He sells them a broken-down stage and a route for a ghost town! But, instead of giving up, the two work their butts off and through some ingenuity the business and the dead town start to come to life. However, the evil rich jerk is determined to ruin the partners--even if it means killing one of them! Despite the no-names, the film was entertaining--more than I had expected. With a fresh plot and Wayne's usual effortless performance, it's among the best B-westerns I've seen. Well worth seeing...and within only a few short years, Wayne would go on to A-pictures and stardom.