B-pic from John Wayne’s galley years (after Raoul Walsh’s under-performing 70mm THE BIG TRAIL/’30/before A-list resurrection via John Ford’s STAGECOACH/’39) is dire stuff, even for a ‘Poverty Row’ Western. Produced by Paul Malvern under his LONE STAR PRODUCTIONS banner @ Monogram Pictures, it’s got the elements to work (lenser Archie Stout; stunt man Yakima Canutt; sidekick George ‘Gabby’ Hayes; decent storyline), but Robert Bradbury’s sleepy megging and loads of blathering exposition keep it stuck in first gear. The story has Wayne seeking revenge by posing as an outlaw to sign up with the slick cattle rustler who murdered his dad twelve years back. Along the way, he saves a kid from an evil step-dad; discovers they’re related (positively Dickensian!); and fights with Mr. Bad Guy over the pretty little gal trying to hold on to her land & cattle. It all winds up somewhere between inert & inept. Oh well. Yakima, doubling for Wayne, pulls his classic jump from his horse onto an out-of-control team of four, and pulls off a brand new stunt, diving off his galloping steed straight thru the first-floor window of a house. A tight fit! Many of Wayne’s B-Westerns are surprisingly well-made, sturdy little vehicles. Not this.
ATTENTION MUST BE PAID: Caveat emptor. Lots of Public Domain DVDs available, but most with an ill-fitting organ score slapped on at some later date. (For tv showings?) The Film Detective edition, flawed but honest, sticks to the original soundtrack.
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