This early John Wayne western opens with him, playing a man named Saunders, riding through the desert and finding an injured sheriff. Soon afterwards he helps a woman, Fay Denton, whose horse was shot from under her... it turns out she had just robbed the stage coach! Not surprisingly it turns out she had a good reason; every time the payment she and her father was due the stage was robbed. Saunders stays with this family and learns that local property owner, Kinkaid, who controls the water supply since the old creek dried up, is trying to force all the other farmers to sell they land at a low price or pay extortionate prices for his water. Saunders offers to help but is he as honourable as they believe?
The plot of this film reminded me of a stripped down version of the French classic 'Jean de Florette'/'Manon des Sources' although it can't be considered a copy as this was made decades earlier... it just speaks of the universality of the need for water in arid lands. Once the singing intro is over the story gets going quickly and we get a nice double twist as it emerges that Fay robbed the stage then gives the reasons. Kinkaid it a typical villain; breaking the law one minute trying to hide behind it the next. There is a decent amount of action; this includes some solid stunts and some amusing pratfalls involving a pair of incompetent henchmen. The story concludes well with an appropriate fate for our villain. The acting is fairly mixed; Wayne is good enough as Saunders and Cecilia Parker is likeable as Fay. Some of the minor characters are a bit wooded though. The weakest points in the film are when Saunders sings; it is clearly not John Wayne's voice, it doesn't even sound as if the singer was trying to sound like Wayne! Overall this isn't a great film but it is fun and well worth watching if you are a fan of early westerns.
The plot of this film reminded me of a stripped down version of the French classic 'Jean de Florette'/'Manon des Sources' although it can't be considered a copy as this was made decades earlier... it just speaks of the universality of the need for water in arid lands. Once the singing intro is over the story gets going quickly and we get a nice double twist as it emerges that Fay robbed the stage then gives the reasons. Kinkaid it a typical villain; breaking the law one minute trying to hide behind it the next. There is a decent amount of action; this includes some solid stunts and some amusing pratfalls involving a pair of incompetent henchmen. The story concludes well with an appropriate fate for our villain. The acting is fairly mixed; Wayne is good enough as Saunders and Cecilia Parker is likeable as Fay. Some of the minor characters are a bit wooded though. The weakest points in the film are when Saunders sings; it is clearly not John Wayne's voice, it doesn't even sound as if the singer was trying to sound like Wayne! Overall this isn't a great film but it is fun and well worth watching if you are a fan of early westerns.