This cheapie western starring a young John Wayne starts off with a rather silly confrontation between Wayne and a local tough who just embarrassed another guy moments before. Well that wimp wasn't John Wayne, who proceeds to trash talk the tough guy before cleaning his clock. After the fight the two men become friends. Anyway, that silliness aside, the plot of the movie is about Wayne seeking his father's killer. Turns out it's his girlfriend's brother. Cue dramatic music. Or, in many modern prints, cue the crappy music made on a $20 keyboard. This is made worse by the poor audio where you have to turn the volume up to hear the dialogue, only to have sound effects or that terrible music knock you off your seat.
Judged on its merits, it's not one of the better early Wayne westerns. But it does have unintentional comic value and nice photography by Archie Stout. As with most of these low-budget oaters Wayne made, the stunts are the best part. In addition to his stunt work, Yakima Canutt plays the saloon owner. This was remade in 2012 with Christian Slater. I haven't seen that one yet but I can imagine the plot is the only similarity.
Judged on its merits, it's not one of the better early Wayne westerns. But it does have unintentional comic value and nice photography by Archie Stout. As with most of these low-budget oaters Wayne made, the stunts are the best part. In addition to his stunt work, Yakima Canutt plays the saloon owner. This was remade in 2012 with Christian Slater. I haven't seen that one yet but I can imagine the plot is the only similarity.