Wagon Wheels West

There's nothing the least bit new or inventive in WAGON WHEELS WEST. It's the kind of routine western fare that I avoided when I was a kid and it fares no better today.

Travelers en route to California are preyed upon by baddies who want to rob them of their money. As their horse and wagon goes on its way, they're pursued, the father (ADDISON RICHARDS) is killed and his boy survives the attack by rolling down an embankment and hiding out.

The tale picks up with the boy as the man (ROBERT SHAYNE) who gets a chance to play hero and take care of the villains.

It ends with a barn dance celebration after a brief scene showing Shayne with NINA FOCH--who has only a tiny role in this western short.

Nothing special here--very routine and easily skipped. Some stock footage from old Warner Bros. films is used as filler.

As a boy, Frankie Wilson is traveling with his father to California. They end up selling their supplies to general store owner Phineas Hook who secretly hires two thugs dressed as Indians to rob them. Frankie manages to escape after his father is murdered. Years later, he returns seeking justice as a deputy U.S. Marshal with the help of Jan Colburn and his posse.

This is old fashion in a good way. The story is simplistic although one must remember that this is a short and apparently it's a shorten version of a longer film. It's recycling. There is probably a good money making reason. It does one solid stunt and some good horsemanship. All in all, it has all the basics of a western.

Wagon Wheels West (1943)

*** (out of 4)

Routine Western short has U.S. Marshall Frank Wilson (Robert Shayne) seeking vengeance against the man who he saw kill his father as a child. The Marshall rides into town just to bust the man but gets a lot more than that. If you've seen at least one Western in your lifetime then you're not going to see anything new here but I was still entertained by the short, which featured a couple good performances and a nice ending. Shayne was very good in his role and made his character someone you wanted to root for. Nina Foch, who is best remembered for her roles in such horror titles as THE RETURN OF THE VAMPIRE and CRY OF THE WEREWOLF, makes her screen debut here. What really makes up for the routine nature of the film is the wonderful ending, which includes a chase as well as a wreck down a giant hill. The way things play out were very exciting and makes the twenty-minutes worth it.

Warner Bros. western short that starts out with a man and his son driving a wagon of supplies into a town. The man goes to the general store where he sells his supplies to the store's owner Phineas Hook (Charles Middleton). But Hook doublecrosses the man and sends his goons to kill him and his son after they leave town. The boy, Frankie Wilson, manages to escape but his father is killed. So he vows to come back when he grows up and get Hook. Adult Frankie (Robert Shayne) returns as a deputy US marshall to set a trap for Hook, now a banker. Interesting to see Robert Shayne in a western. I'm so used to seeing him as police detectives and the like. Also nice to see Nina Foch in her first role. This is a remake of a feature length movie called Song of the Saddle from 1936. Charles Middleton reprises his role. All of the footage here from when Frankie was a boy was from that movie. If you'll notice young Frankie plays a guitar and sings. In the original movie he grew up to become "the singing kid" played by Dick Foran. I'm really not sure why WB remade the movie as a short, then reused footage from the movie for part of it. I'm sure it made sense at the time.

Robert Shayne was a good looking and competent actor...though he really never achieved leading man status. I've seen him in a lot of shows (such as "The Adventures of Superman") and movies and "Wagon Wheels West" is one of his few leading roles...although the film is a short.

When the story begins in 1850, a man is paid very well for a load of supplies in his wagon. It seems the folks heading west for the Gold Rush need supplies and the 'nice man' is offering a more than fair price. But soon the 'nice guy' reveals himself to be a crooked jerk-face. He sends his men, dressed as American Indians, to chase the man down and steal the $1600 he was paid for the supplies. The man is killed, but his young son manages to escape. Many years pass, and the boy is now a US Marshal...and he's looking to exact justice for his father's murder.

Having Robert Middleton for the baddie was a plus, as he was terrific in such roles. And, the story is very good and worth seeing...though I wonder why they made it a short and not a B-western. Regardless, it's well made and Shayne is quite good.

By the way, when the boy jumps off the wagon to safety, it is pretty obvious that an adult stuntman is doing the jump.