A Lei do Gatilho

This western was the second significant film in the development of George "Gabby" Hayes' cantankerous character who emerged as the old whiskered comedy sidekick in the Hopalong Cassidy films. Gabby plays it straight here as a sheriff who even shoots a baddie. The only "funny" things about him are the hole filled hat he wears, his big walrus mustache, & his typical slurred speech. The acting is good all around, except for Eleanor Hunt, who has that cute Clara Bow look, but she's brought that old silent film style to this movie. I love the old B westerns, & aside from my favorite, Hopalong Cassidy, to me the early John Wayne series is the next best. This is not one of Wayne's best, but it's a must-see for Gabby Hayes fans. I rate it 6/10.

Enjoyed this old time Western from 1934 with John Wayne, (John Carruthers) who sneaks into a hotel during a very bad thunder and lightning storm. The Sheriff, Jake Withers, (Gabby Hayes) gets a room and keeps his eye on a large sum of money deposited in the hotel safe. There is a man named Malgrove, (Edward Peil,Sr.) who owns the town and is a crook and he is trying to tell the town folk about selling their homes, because he knows that a gold mine is under all their homes and he wants to cash in on all the benefits. Betty Mason, (Eleanor Hunt) adds some female charm to the film and John Carruthers falls madly in love with her big brown eyes. If you like classic western films, this is the film for you, the film locations are outstanding for 1934. Enjoy.

A fairly involving 'Lone Star' film (even though it lacks enough dialog to provide any character) because of: 1) The opening sequence, with great silences, where we are caught up in John Wayne's mysterious and sudden presence in a hotel during a rain storm,

2) the registering 'bride' and 'bridegroom' at the hotel, shy and secretly excited; later the bridegroom, George Nash in his last film, comes back from the bridal suite saying 'I can't find it.'

3) Yakima Canutt's amazing stunt work-- pulling up a fallen Eleanor Hunt thru the coach horse team, and then helping her onto John Wayne's horse,

4) the extensive final chase sequence, excitingly paced and edited as the bad guys (at least 9 of them) chase our heroes across the vast prairies -- whew!

This time, without any preamble of romantic intentions anywhere else in the film, John Wayne and the girl do ride off into the sunset holding hands!

The 5th of John Wayne's 14 Lone Star Westerns is nothing if not a lively piece. True, it gets off to a remarkably slow start, but once the bandits arrive on the scene the pace picks up no end. Although the heroine is somewhat lacking in thespian talent, she's pretty enough and has little to do or say anyway. It's Wayne and Hayes who set the action rolling and keep it up—interspersed with some spectacular Canutt stunt-work—right to the finish line. And it's good to see Yakima Canutt in a sizable role on camera as well as doubling Wayne in the action spots.

Director Robert North Bradbury has a grand time once the action switches to the wide open spaces. You can virtually see him riding the camera car as it swoops along with galloping-hell-for-leather riders in super-fast tracking shots. And I love those whip pans!

Photographer Archie Stout, a specialist in location work, is also most at home with awesome vistas of wide open plains, ringed by rugged mountains and fleecy clouds in the Alabama Hills, Ca.

If you like John Wayne as I do then he must watch blue steel also known as stolen goods on tubi. Its a short but effective film 8n the early days of John Wayne