Rodeo

In this low budget oater from Monogram we've got John Wayne helping U.S. Marshal Gabby Hayes bring down some bank robbers in the very act of same. Gabby liked the way young man handled himself so he takes him on as an undercover agent to smash a rodeo racket.

You heard it folks, a rodeo racket. This bunch comes to a given town sets up a rodeo, take in bets from the locals on their best cowboys and the gang's cowboys always seem to win by hook or deadly crook. They also do a few other things on the side like bank robbery, rustling, your usual western crimes.

They've also got a unique way of dispatching competition into eternity which I won't get into. The Duke was lucky to discover what they had in store for him. I will say that modern forensic science would have had the mystery solved.

This was one of those films where they tried to make John Wayne a singing cowboy. The film begins with him on a white horse, strumming a guitar, singing some forgettable ballad. Some Nelson Eddy wannabe's voice is dubbed in and you know it isn't Wayne. It's so bad that even audiences in 1934 would have known this wasn't John Wayne, And this was before he became JOHN WAYNE.

This film essentially begins with a cowboy named "John Weston" (John Wayne) riding into a small town to inquire about a job. While he's talking, however, he notices that the local bank is being robbed by three men. With the local marshal out-gunned, John decides to return their fire which results in two of them being killed and the other one wounded to the point that he immediately surrenders. Quite impressed, "Marshal George Higgins" (George 'Gabby' Hayes) promptly offers John a job as his new deputy. After accepting the job offer, John is then sent to investigate a fraudulent rodeo circuit in another town which has already resulted in the deaths of three other cowboys--all by snakebite. However, to get to the bottom of this mystery, John has to volunteer as a participant in the same events as the other three cowboys. What he doesn't realize, however, is the overall level of corruption and the exact number of men that are involved. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that I found this to be a rather amusing film due in large part to the antiquated techniques involved in its production--with the recycled background noise during the rodeo scene being especially noticeable. Likewise, having the film start off with John Wayne strumming a guitar and supposedly singing while on horseback was equally entertaining. Admittedly, this film is extremely dated and certain allowances are almost certainly required as it pales in comparison to modern standards. Be that as it may, while it certainly wasn't a great film by any means, it managed to pass the time well enough and I have rated it accordingly. Average.

"The Man From Utah" is another of the Lone Star Westerns Wayne made in the 30's. This one has a rodeo setting with the Duke trying to outsmart the gang behind the murders and deceptive practices occurring therein.

The producers make extensive use of footage shot at some long forgotten rodeo. With the money they saved they actually were able to come up with a pleasant enough musical score, a rarity for poverty row quickies. They even were able to incorporate a left over "musical" number from one of Wayne's ill-fated "Singin'" Sandy Saunders efforts at the beginning, even though it has nothing to do with the rest of the picture.

The cast includes Polly Ann (sister of Loretta) Young as the heroine and Anita Compille as the good/bad girl competing for the Duke's affections. George (pre-"Gabby")Hayes is along again, this time as a Marshal. Edward Piel Sr. is the chief bad guy and once again proving that as an actor, he made a great stuntman, Yakima Canutt.

Not the best of the Lone Star series, but not the worst either.

I just watched a couple of John Wayne's old B-westerns on the Encore Channel and was taken aback by someone's brilliant idea to replace the musical soundtrack! Instead of the original music, new and much louder music is present--and it sounded especially weird with the electronic instruments used to make it. After all, it wasn't like they used synthesizers in 1934!! Overall, this is a BAD thing--and I recommend you just download the free movie as linked by IMDb, as the music is just annoying--and even worse than in "The Lucky Texan". What idiot thought doing this was a good idea?!

Like the other new tricked-out B I just saw ("The Lucky Texan"), this one also featured George "Gabby" Hayes. And, like "The Lucky Texan", you might have trouble recognizing Gabby at first, as he doesn't sport his usual huge raccoon-like beard...and is a bit more macho than usual. After all, you certainly don't expect to see him playing a US Marshall!

As for the plot, it's pretty bad...even by B standards. That's because HUGE segments of the film consist of nothing but old rodeo footage and the plot involving a fixed rodeo competition is a cheap way to make use of this film. Wayne plays 'Weston'--a guy who shows himself to be very handy with his fists, on a horse and with a gun. As far as his singing goes, like Wayne's 'Singing Sandy' films, it is very, very obvious that it's not him doing the singing and fortunately this singing persona soon was abandoned in upcoming films.

As a result of lots of padding and the Encore soundtrack, it's definitely among the least watchable of Wayne's B-westerns. It's really a shame, as normally Wayne's Bs hold up pretty well...just not this one.

By the way, please note the 1930s fashions on the leading lady. I guess historical anachronisms weren't much of a concern with this film!

This film holds up better than some of the early westerns. John Wayne is a hero in this - all the way. His Weston character is a well drawn two fisted hero who can do it all. Of course you have to watch the film until the ending to find out who his character really is. That is what I mean about the plot being good- it keeps you guessing exactly who Wayne is until the end.

The DVD I saw of this has some very dark sequences. A fight sequence is dark deliberately, but some of the other ones really should be better lit. Think this had to do with the tight shooting sequences of these films. There were times in this era when these films would be shot in the matter of just a few days.

Overall, while the special effects are crude & some of the sequences a loosely tied, if your a fan of the Duke or like these old westerns, this is a pretty good film. It is not on the level of The Searchers, but it was not meant to be. This is one of many early films Wayne did to establish himself as a true cowboy hero of the silver screen.