Wyoming Outlaw

During the course of Republic Studio's Three Mesquiteer series, the composition of this do-gooding trio changed regularly. It changed so often it's hard to keep track of the three actors and the best way to follow the cast change is to look at the excellent Wikipedia article about these films. While he only appeared in about a half dozen of these movies, John Wayne was one of the actors who played 'Stony'....and these Mesquiteer films are a tad better than the rest.

"Wyoming Outlaw" is one of the strangest Mesquiteer films I have seen, if not the strangest. This is because the trio seem more like observers of the action instead of doing what they usually do...solve folks' problems. It also has an incredibly downbeat message...one that must have annoyed audiences, though I appreciated it because all too often the films had nice, happy....and dull endings!

This story finds a senator taking advantage of the folks in his district. Unless people 'voluntarily' contribute to his re-election fund, they suddenly find themselves without jobs or at his henchmen's mercy. The Parker family tries to stand up to these mobsters and the Mesquiteers stand with them.

This film is interesting for some of the actors appearing in the film. Aside from the Mesquiteers (Wayne, Ray Corrigan and Raymond Hatton), 'Red' Barry, Charles Middleton and Elmo Lincoln provide support. Barry was famous for starring in the Red Ryder series, Middleton was 'Ming the Merciless' in the Buck Rogers serial and Lincoln was the screen's first Tarzan, back in 1918.

Overall, a very good installment simply because it isn't all neatly tied up at the end and good doesn't completely triumph over evil.

Interestingly for this routine B-feature, the usual "Three Mesquiteer" characters are not really at the centre of the plot. The story belongs more to 'Red' Barry ("Parker") whose father has been deceived by a crooked politician and so his son ends up having to steal to feed himself and his family. It's when he pinches a cow from Messrs. Wayne, Corrigan and Hatton that the story starts to hot up a bit and, of course, they try to redress the balance for him and his sister "Irene" (Pamela Blake). It's takes a while to get going, this one - but once the scenario has been defined, it moves along nicely with a little more chemistry between Wayne and his female co-star than we are used to. "Ming" himself, Charles Middleton appears sparingly as the hard-done-by father, and LeRoy Mason is adequate - though nothing more - as "Balsinger" - the devious villain of the piece. The film aims squarely at some of the "New Deal" policies of post WWI US governments where opportunists frequently ended up with the whip hand over those who had worked hard during the war feeding the troops, but whose services were now surplus to requirements and they were left very vulnerable to pretty ruthless exploitation.

Although the acting on the part of some of the supporting cast is a bit raw what I really liked it how real the outlaws looked, scraggly hair and beards, missing teeth, etc. Just wondering if that's how they look in real life??? Some of them look as though they really are outlaws or maybe homeless people they found on the street. The special affects were especially cheesy but probably and innovation at the time. Such as the snow, isn't that what our TV screens look like when the cable's out? This is one of the first John Wayne black and white's I have seen since my beginning days of watching his movies. I would rate this as my second favorite in the black and whites.

Three Mesquiteers film starring John Wayne, Ray 'Crash' Corrigan, and Raymond Hatton making his series debut replacing Max Terhune. Actually the real star of this one is Don 'Red' Barry as a Dust Bowl cowboy driven to crime by a crooked politician (LeRoy Mason) who's ruling over the poor townsfolk like a dictator. Barry rustles cattle from the Mesquiteers and, instead of stringing him up, the trio decides to help him. This is an enjoyable picture in the series, with Barry giving a standout performance, Yakima Canutt doing stunts, and John Wayne awkwardly dancing with Pamela Blake. Nice support from Charles Middleton, Katherine Kenworthy, and Elmo Lincoln. Climax almost packs a punch but the impact is ruined by immediately rushing into a slapped-on attempt at a happy ending. Why would a character who just lost someone they loved two seconds ago be smiling and happy?

This film essentially begins with the "Three Mesquiteers" driving some cattle through Wyoming when they discover that one of their steers has been rustled and subsequently slaughtered on the spot. Unable to follow the footprints of the man who rustled their steer, they soon turn back and head to a nearby town to get something to eat. While there "Stony Brooke" (John Wayne) comes across a young lady named "Irene Parker" (Pamela Blake) who begins to get hassled by one of the local thugs in that town. Naturally, this prompts Stony to get involved and after a quick fistfight, Stony walks Irene back to her house. Much to his surprise, once he gets there, he finds his too buddies "Tucson Smith" (Ray Corrigan) and "Rusty Joslin" (Raymond Hatton) already there talking to Irene's parents. Not long afterward, they also meet Irene's brother "Will Parker" (Don 'Red' Barry) who they quickly realize is the rustler they had been looking for. However, recognizing the bad situation the family was currently having to endure, they write off their loss and happily accept their invitation to have dinner with them instead. Unfortunately, they soon realize that Will and his family are even worse off than they thought due to a corrupt local businessman named "Joe Balsinger" (LeRoy Mason) who controls everything in that town--and still wants more. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this movie was one of the better films in the series due in large part to the acting of John Wayne and the absence of Max Terhune who existed solely for cheap laughs. Be that as it may, although this was still a grade-B Western by and large, I liked the more serious tone, and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.