Intense, gripping, stylish and poignant

A Brilliant Conflict

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

. . . may seem like it must be ripped from Today's 21st Century headlines, in which the mainstream media such as Fox "News" give relatives of every thug neutralized by U.S. Law Enforcement unlimited TV face time to scream "Bloody Murder!" and ignite riots, murder, and mayhem against the Public Order. But unlike Real Life in Modern America, the instigators of random cop killings in THE STAR PACKER are brought to Justice. They are NOT given $5 million each of U.S. Taxpayer money for raising such a Threat to Public Safety. They do NOT reap in more Big Bucks for writing books and appearing as "Experts" on countless TV shows. In any Civilized Country, the relatives of those who must be neutralized for the Public Good bend over backward to avoid the Public Gaze. If they're heard at all, it's to apologize for not better rearing their kid. At the end of STAR PACKER, John Wayne is shown raising his kid as a fearless future crime fighter to follow in his own footsteps. Since Wayne's sidekick here is a Native American, this flick's message is "STAR PACKERS are NOT Racist Crackers--do NOT shoot them with Guns OR Cell Phones!"

I really liked this early John Wayne picture,, he teams up with Gabby Hayes, and Yakuma Cannut. going against type,, George "Gabby" Hayes plays the bad guy in this film,,, the local sheriff meats his demise,, and his friend, played by the Duke, takes on the role of the local sheriff, he teams up with his Indian partner,, played by Cannut . together they go after "The Shadow".. the find a secret command center underneath a fake covering of some sorts in the street behind a wall or something like that,, and it's the command center for all of the Shadow's activity,, love the scene where the Duke is chasing the bad guy on horseback while the villain is going downstream in a canoe,, very decent early John Wayne film.

Mystery, excitement, big shootouts, and a hard riding hero. So what else could a grown-up kid ask for. Yeah, I know it's gotta have a girl, but at least Wayne doesn't have to kiss her-- what mush!Great Lone Star action fare. Some good touches-- the river canoe, the white bandannas, and even the dangerous tree stump. George Hayes has a "straight" role here, showing what a talented creation his "Gabby" was. Okay, I didn't know it then, but those are "trip wires" that make the horse go hind-quarters over head. They made for thrilling spills, but they often broke legs and we know what happens then. I'm really glad the business was made to wise up and quit them. A lot of 30's Westerns had mystery-man masterminds behind the bad guys. This one does too. But he's hardly a secret since they tip his hand early. Anyway, I gladly plunked down my dime in those B Western days and still think those are the best dimes I ever spent.

This is a real B movie, right down to the historical imprecision of a location featuring both stage coaches and telephones, its clichéd dialogue, a totally predictable plot straight out of the comics and enough protracted chases and gunfights to fill in the gaps left by a very thin script.The Duke and his entourage provide plenty of ironic laughs but, if you want to take the movie at face value, it is quite enjoyable. The good guys win, the bad guys get their comeuppance, the Duke gets his gal and Yakima Canutt shows his tricks all in a setting that engrossed generations of schoolboys over most of the 20th century.The Star Packers should also be of interest to students of cinema as its structure encapsulates the early movement of silent film into the talkies.