The Light of Western Stars

Victor Jory gets drunk and bets he can marry the next girl who comes into town. He finds pretty Jo Ann Sayers, who is the sister of his good friend, Russell Hayden, slugs the sheriff and high-tails it to Mexico, where he becomes a pistolero in the fifth -- and so far, the latest -- filmed version of the Zane Grey western.

Jory is great in it, big and bluff and talkative, or drunk and self-pitying as the scene calls for. His career was on the downslide and he would take leading roles in westerns and the occasional supporting role in other B productions, but he was recognized as a fine actor and was in demand for small roles through his death in 1982. Miss Sayers is not very good, and her career went to pieces soon afterwards. Her three-year credited career ended with the picture after this one, although she had an uncredited bit a dozen years later. The cast is ably eked out with J. Farrel MacDonald, a brief appearance by Alan Ladd at the beginning and Noah Beery Jr. in a sizable role as a Mexican (!).

It's one of 20 Zane Grey westerns filmed by by Paramount from 1930-1940. It is well directed by Lesley Selander and produced by Harry "Pop" Sherman, Paramount's go-to producer for western programmers. He is probably best remembered for producing the Hopalong Cassidy movies, before William Boyd bought the rights and took the franchise independent.

This film begins with a rich, young woman named "Madeline Hammond" (Jo Anne Sayers) traveling out west from Boston to see her younger brother "Al Hammond" (Russell Hayden). Being so refined, she doesn't quite understand why Al would want to work as a regular cowhand and hopes to convince him to come back to Boston with her. Her low opinion of cowboys is even further bolstered by the fact that, once she steps off the train at her final destination, she is accosted by a drunken cowboy by the name of "Gene Stewart" (Victor Jory) who insists that they get married that same night. Regardless, one thing leads to another and eventually Madeline ends up buying the ranch where her brother worked and chooses Gene to be her foreman. What she doesn't know, however, is that part of her land is secretly being used by an influential businessman by the name of "Nat Hayworth" (Morris Ankrum) to smuggle guns to Mexico and he is being aided in this effort by a corrupt sheriff named "Tom Hawes" (Tom Tyler)-and only Gene has the courage or ability to stand up against them. Now, rather than reveal any more I will just say that-even though this was a rather short film (approximately 64 minutes)-it still managed to keep my attention pretty much from start-to-finish. On that note, however, I must also admit that this is a somewhat old-fashioned Western which hasn't aged well. Yet, despite that fact, I still enjoyed it for the most part and I have rated it accordingly. Average.

A snooty rich Boston woman is dumped off unceremoniously in a small western town in the middle of the night at an unattended railroad station. A Mexican on horseback eyes her and she takes refuge in the station until morning.

Meanwhile at the local saloon a loud drunken cowboy has just made a bet with the corrupt local sheriff that he can get the next woman who comes to town to marry him, as so often happened in those days.

Turns out the Mexican is his comic-relief sidekick (played by an Anglo yet) who tells him about the lady stranded at the station. The two and a crooked minister descend on her and in what's almost a rape are about to force her into marriage until at the last minute the cowboy realizes she's his friend's sister and relents.

Sound like a spoiler? No, just the first few minutes of a story that has more plots and subplots in 62 minutes than seems possible. Not all of them are plausible or resolved but the whole thing has a head-spinning quality despite a few scenes where it slows down to a crawl.

I seldom watch westerns and watched this one because it featured Jo Ann Sayers, a forgotten actress whose looks and talent struck me in a Boris Karloff mad scientist move called The Man With Nine Lives. Her career never took off but she got to play in some bizarre films.

The cast might be the most impressive thing about the film, not only Sayers but Ruth Rogers, an even more obscure actress playing the love interest of Sayers' brother.

The drunken cowpoke is Victor Jory, whose career was spent mostly in Westerns although he could easily have been a leading man to match the best of them in mainstream films. Tom Tyler, the sheriff, who has the obligatory fight scene with Jory where they wreck the saloon while everyone else stands around and watches, was another cowboy star I was unfamiliar with, with looks and charisma to match Jory's.

Fans of Westerns don't seem too fond of this film but this non-Western fan found it surprising and enjoyable despite its flaws.

Superb actors with an excellent script are skillfully directed by Lesley Selander and beautifully photographed by that great veteran Russell Harlan.

Don't let the inventiveness and beauty of the camera work and directing distract you from the skill and beauty of, for example, actress Jo Ann Sayers, of whom I know nothing else than that she was marvelous in this role. She expresses so much with her eyes and face and doesn't need words.

Victor Jory is probably better known as a villain, but in "The Light of Western Stars" he is a great hero cowboy, giving one of his best performancess of my knowledge.

Noah Beery, Jr., is somewhat of a disappointment in his role as a "Mexican" sidekick: His accent is less than impressive, though as usual Mr. Beery himself is very likable and, other than the accent, his acting is more than adequate.

Russell Hayden, on the other hand, gives one of his very best performances. I have had trouble before with his enunciation; he often sounded as if he had badly fitting dentures.

Here, he is clear and solid, and his facial expressions and body movement are those of a real pro.

There are other great old veterans giving great performances in this involved story of the not-so-old West, a clever and inventive Zane Grey story, crafted into an excellent script by Norman Houston.

I highly recommend "The Light of Western Stars," which you can see at YouTube.

Victor Jory as a top-billed leading man! I just had to see this role reversal after years of seeing his commandingly villainous roles. Actually it's a shrewd bit of casting since Jory's Gene Stewart is a flawed hero, to say the least. He picks fights, makes stupid bets, and gets sodden drunk; that is, when he's not running guns to Mexico. In short, he's no Roy Rogers, Hopalong Cassidy, or even Lash LaRue. So will Stewart ever reform and deserve top-billing hero in an oater. Well, maybe if snobby easterner Majesty Hammond (Sayers) will get off her high horse and give him a job at her new ranch. Then maybe he'll have a chance. (Actually that "high horse" is the renowned Trigger of the popular Roy Rogers series.) But first Stewart will have to deal with baddie Hayworth (Ankrum) who also runs guns Mexico way. Good thing Stewart's got Mexican sidekick Poco (Beery Jr.) to fill-in the cracks.

Jory's adept in his conflicted role, but I'm especially impressed with the stately Sayers' range of subtle emotions. Too bad her career ended rather abruptly. The narrative's first part is mainly in town, but once the scenery moves out to the familiar Alabama Hills, things really pick up. Director Selander makes good use of the rock monoliths, while that impressive series of dynamite explosions looks real and not processed. After all, this is Paramount Studio, so they've got the bucks to back up even a 60-minute programmer like this. So, all in all, catch this rather unusual oater if you can.