Review of The Man from Utah

This Western sees John Wayne playing John Weston, the eponymous Man from Utah, he is down to his last dollar until he helps a martial by gunning down three bank robbers. He is offered a job; the martial needs somebody to help expose a gang that is rigging rodeo competitions. It could be a dangerous job; several competitors that aren't part of the gang have had 'accidents' including fatal 'snake bites' while riding a horse! As he heads towards the rodeo he thwarts a stage coach robbery; on board are the bank owner's daughter and a woman connected to the gang. Once in town he enters the rodeo and on the first day does very well and is the favourite to be the overall champion… the gang want him to throw the event but if he doesn't take their offer of money there is still the possibility that he will get 'snake-bitten'.

With a run time of under an hour this film is definitely rather short… and when you consider that quite a bit of that time is taken footage of an actual rodeo there is little time for the story. The plot is decent enough and there is a good amount of action. The characters are staples of the genre with little real development; there is hardly time for any! There is no real doubt about who is good and who is bad; one bad character changes sides but even this is because the gang plans to leave her behind. The cast are solid enough certainly better than one might expect for a short low budget feature. Overall this isn't a must see unless you are a John Wayne completist but it is worth watching if you want a short western.