Terras Virgens

A must for serious John Wayne movie collectors. It is available on John Wayne Matinée Double Feature No. 4 with Sante Fe Stampede (co-starring, the Duke, as one of the Three Mesquiteers).

Why aren't these titles on DVD. I have all four of this collection and both the video and sound are more than satisfactory. This early one, He becomes the Sheriff after his father is killed. He and his buddy, Al Bridges (of Preston Sturges fame ) clean up the town with a tremendous saloon shootout. A twist is Al is the leader of a gang of outlaws who the Duke deputized. Being a Republic, rather than a Lone Star makes this one better than most of this period of the Dukes B-Westerns.

John Wayne stars as trail guide turned sheriff out to bring law and order to a small town. The local troublemaker in the town has shot Wayne's father in the back, establishing Wayne's motivation to take the job of sheriff.

The film is short -- 54 minutes -- and has an average story line. There are no surprises here, and the acting...well, the acting is wooden in most cases, even Wayne. Of course, all he had to do was play himself. The one exception is Al Bridge, who plays the head of a gang of thieves who was once nursed back to health by Wayne and so feels that he owes him a debt -- even if it goes against his lawless nature. Bridge plays the part well, even a little tongue-in-cheek, seeming to be smirking just below the surface in every scene.

As stated, the story line is predictable so there is no standout here either. The one thing that did impress me was the filming of the obligatory "big shootout" that ends the film. It is several minutes long -- between 10 and 15 minutes -- and is shot at night. In the course of the shootout the saloon is set on fire which quickly jumps to several more buildings. Early films were not known for the quality of night photography, so to see how well this fire was depicted in the film, the quality of the scenes, the staging -- everything was done well in my opinion. Cinematographers Harry Neumann and Gus Peterson did an excellent job of shooting this finale. If you are a film buff, you'll want to check out the film simply for this alone. Others might want to watch one of Wayne's earlier work. Otherwise, the film is an average western.

John Wayne developing his iconic screen persona now with the improved Republic pictures does well with a solid cast. He is an expert trail guide with his dad, Sam Flint. Pioneer of American cinema, Warner Richmond plays the nefarious saloon proprietor and town de facto leader. He has other ideas about Flint's plan to clean it up. Favorite actress of sagebrush stars, Muriel Evans fears for Duke's life when he seeks revenge. Al Bridge plays a great role as an outlaw who owe's Duke a favor. This sets up the finale between Duke, Bridge, Richmond, and none other than the multi-talented Glenn Strange. The contrast with an ongoing town prayer meeting adds to the suspense and the anticipated devastation. "The New Frontier" has many great moments and an unforgettable ending.

A lot of 1930's B-Western movies are almost embarrassing to watch in their primitive acting and scripting. This one has plenty of both but I found myself hanging to to see how they would being about the expected happy ending. John Wayne's character sets about the task of avenging his father's death while ridding a town of it's lawless element. Of special interest is the juxtaposition of the prayer meeting lead by the parson with the gunfight between the lawless element and the town's menfolk led by Wayne. A lot of movies, even today, shy away from religious themes that involve actual religious characters but this one shows the irony prayerful words against a backdrop of killing and the burning of the town. Take a look if you get a chance.

During the 1930s, John Wayne was one of the busiest actors in Hollywood. Now many might not have noticed, as although he was in a ton of films, they were mostly B-westerns....pretty forgettable compared to his later work. Now I am NOT saying they are bad...just not as memorable as his A-pictures. "The New Frontier" is one of these 1930s Bs.

The story is set in the Oklahoma Territory at about the time of the big land rush in 1889. John Dawson and his father aren't concerned about land but instead are working leading wagon trains into the territory. However, when a local saloon keeper begins driving out honest settlers, the father agrees to talk with the man to solve the problem....and for his efforts, John's father gets a bullet in the back!! What's next? Well, I think I can assure you John will NOT be a happy guy....and how he rids the town of the gamblers and restores law and order is something you won't easily predict!

The story is pretty standard and the only way the film stands out from other Bs is the stirring and very violent finale! Not exactly a work of genius but enjoyable.