This B-western stars John Wayne and a couple familiar faces are there for support—Gabby Hayes and Yakima Canutt (the stuntman who taught Wayne his famous walk). While today this might surprise most people, but during the 1930s Wayne appeared almost exclusively in B-films. He was usually the star, but because these were such low-budget and quickie productions, he was not particularly famous until he began appearing in A-films starting about 1939. What I mean by a B and an A is that B-movies were meant to be the lesser or second film of a double-feature. They were always cheap productions but some were pretty good. An A-film had a larger budget and big-name stars—and were made almost exclusively by the big studios—whereas EVERYONE seemed to make Bs—from the major studios to the basement productions (hence in the case of the cheap ones they were nicknamed 'Poverty Row Productions').
This film begins with Canutt robbing a safe. Wayne is the only one to have any clue as to who did it, as he finds a broken spur on the ground. However, instead of trying to explain, Wayne sets off in search of the evil-doer—and soon Gabby comes to his aid. The leader of the baddies tries to pin the blame on Wayne and Hayes. When that doesn't work, he tries to have them killed by 'accident'. The rest of the film is spent trying to find the real criminal, discover a hidden goldmine and keep a pretty young lady from the evil boss-man's clutches—three very familiar Wayne plots from this era. And, by the end, it's not surprising to learn that Wayne is in fact an undercover Marshall—something he did in many films.
The film is pretty much what you'd expect. Wayne is likable, handsome and tough but a bit bland. The supporting actors range from very capable to some who have difficulty with their lines. And, the film is complete in well under an hour. Like the films of Gene Autry, Roy Rogers and Tex Ritter, this one is an enjoyable though simple and undemanding film—with enough nice stunts to make fans of the B-western genre happy but which seems a bit dated to most modern audiences. The only surprise was the amazingly violent way that Wayne and Hayes dispatched the criminals cool but very atypical for such a movie.
By the way, did you notice that just after a HUGE rainstorm that the next day a man reports seeing a cloud of dust that MIGHT be the outlaws making a getaway. You then see LOTS of dust in the following scene as the baddies ride about outside of town. With all that rain, how could there reasonably be a dust cloud?! A mud cloud, maybe! Also, I loved the scene where Wayne lassos a baddie and drags him up to the loft in the barn—and the guy doesn't once yell out for help from his nearby friends! Duh. Such inconsistencies are common in cheap B-westerns and don't be surprised if you can spot more yourself.
This film begins with Canutt robbing a safe. Wayne is the only one to have any clue as to who did it, as he finds a broken spur on the ground. However, instead of trying to explain, Wayne sets off in search of the evil-doer—and soon Gabby comes to his aid. The leader of the baddies tries to pin the blame on Wayne and Hayes. When that doesn't work, he tries to have them killed by 'accident'. The rest of the film is spent trying to find the real criminal, discover a hidden goldmine and keep a pretty young lady from the evil boss-man's clutches—three very familiar Wayne plots from this era. And, by the end, it's not surprising to learn that Wayne is in fact an undercover Marshall—something he did in many films.
The film is pretty much what you'd expect. Wayne is likable, handsome and tough but a bit bland. The supporting actors range from very capable to some who have difficulty with their lines. And, the film is complete in well under an hour. Like the films of Gene Autry, Roy Rogers and Tex Ritter, this one is an enjoyable though simple and undemanding film—with enough nice stunts to make fans of the B-western genre happy but which seems a bit dated to most modern audiences. The only surprise was the amazingly violent way that Wayne and Hayes dispatched the criminals cool but very atypical for such a movie.
By the way, did you notice that just after a HUGE rainstorm that the next day a man reports seeing a cloud of dust that MIGHT be the outlaws making a getaway. You then see LOTS of dust in the following scene as the baddies ride about outside of town. With all that rain, how could there reasonably be a dust cloud?! A mud cloud, maybe! Also, I loved the scene where Wayne lassos a baddie and drags him up to the loft in the barn—and the guy doesn't once yell out for help from his nearby friends! Duh. Such inconsistencies are common in cheap B-westerns and don't be surprised if you can spot more yourself.