Absolutely Brilliant!

A Disappointing Continuation

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

At this time of Wayne's career, every studio 'wanted a piece of him', he was getting so popular. Fortunately, after a long contract with Republic Studios, they gave him free rein, which he appreciated by always going back to this same small studio, that gave him his break. He never lost loyalty towards them and whenever they asked for his services, he was at their beck and call, which resulted in his last film with them, the academy award winner, "The Quiet MAn". As for this film, it was the typical Wayne movie, and always a tough acting female co-star, such as Maureen O' Hara type. This movie most likely set the tone for Maureen in future Wayne films, there were quite a few, that she copied Ella Raines type from this film. Ella, never made it big as far as stardom goes, though she was not a bad actress, and certainly her looking like Gene Tierney, didn't hurt. As for this film, I have to say that I find Gabby Hayes characters are a bit obnoxious with is toothless mouth gibberish. A little of him would have been sufficed.

For any other star of the era, this would be one of their better or best films, but this is John Wayne, who went on to star in dozens of masterpieces. So, it is a middling John Wayne movie. His performance hit all of the right notes, and Gabby Hayes was there, doing what he did best. Both Ella Raines and Audrey Long looked lovely as they played opposite types of frontier women. I realize the times, and audiences were much more willing to suspend disbelief, but the effects, such as they were, could have been better. For instance, the stagecoach traveling through the Arizona desert was going about 35 mph with not nearly the bumpiness of frontier tracks. The plot fit the formula of the times very well, but was a tiny bit fresh, as well. Worth checking out.

Michael Hogan and Paul Fix who is in the cast, wrote a much better than average script based on Gordon Ray Youngs original story in this one. The script is more complex than a lot of Wayne's earlier films. It even compares favorably to Wayne's Dark Command, though that one is based on previous real history. No script i more complex than Dark Command but this one does have a special presence for Wayne.This film shows Wayne becoming a more mature star. Surprisingly, RKO known for running films as class B on a shoestring actually made this one a full feature. This one Audrey Long and Ella Raines as dual female interest for Wayne. It has a solid supporting cast and this film during the war should have done well at the box office.There are scenes in the monument valley but not a lot, might even be borrowed stock footage from other movies, as in glorious black and white it is quite easy to sneak in stock footage. What makes this film better than most is the mystery agenda had by all the characters in the film and the script which develops them more than most films.Ella Raines is at her most attractive in this one. I would have wanted to ride off with her at the end, and Wayne gets to plant a major kiss on her. He was a lucky guy this time.

The chief reason for seeing this unremarkable oater is John Wayne after he left El Cheapo Studios behind him but before he became an icon. It's 1944, and Wayne was young -- well, his mid-30s -- and handsome and hadn't yet mastered the art of acting, only re-acting. This is a minimalist Wayne, his performance trundling along like a narrow-gage freight train, sometimes leaning this way -- an amused grin -- and sometimes creaking over to the other side -- a pair of raised eyebrows signalling disapproval. The plot has something to do with Wayne showing up as a stranger in town, looking for work, but secretly being the new owner of the Iron Buckaroo Ranch or whatever it is. When we parody John Wayne, this is the persona we're making fun of, not the later Wayne who was able to turn in some fine performances. This is a taciturn Wayne. He smiles a lot. He's polite but firm in his principles. He has a sense of humor although he never descends into laughter when a simple but earnest grin will do.You want to know how reserved he is? I'll tell you how reserved he is. He's at a table playing cards. There's a big pot. The callow youth across from him -- all youths are callow -- initiates an argument and grabs the pot illegally, or at any rate unethically. Wayne doesn't protest. He looks a little grim, stands away from the table and strides upstairs to his room. He comes down a minute later, wearing his pistol. At the table, he says serenely, "I came for my money." He gets it.The sidekick is George "Gabby" Hayes in excelsis. The girl is the smoothly beautiful Ella Raines with her mane of dark hair and her blue eyes. She can ride a horse too. That's an attractive trait in a woman. And she's a good shot with a pistol. That's not such a good trait in a woman.There are other characters in the movie, including a more than usually articulate Ward Bond as a slick scalawag, but, like the plot, they're not worth really going on about.