L'attaque rouge

John Wayne stars as US Cavalry scout John Trent. When the last stretch of the new telegraph lines keep getting sabotaged by Indian attacks, Trent, along with comic relief buddy Corporal Tippy (Frank McHugh), is sent to put an end to it. He soon learns that the natives, led by fierce war chief High Wolf (Yakima Canutt), are in cahoots with the villainous Gus Lynch (Albert J. Smith) who is exploiting the "random" Indian attacks to become the sole transporter of goods to and from town. Trent also finds time to woo shopkeeper's niece Alice (Marceline Day).

This was the last of the six John Wayne/Duke the Horse team-ups that I hadn't seen. I enjoyed this one more than many of the others, as it has a sharper script and better characters. I get a kick out of McHugh, and Canutt has one of his bigger roles as the tough native warrior. Some of the stunt work looks painful for the men and the horses.

The Telegraph Trail (1933)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

A company is trying to hang telegraph wire out West but their men keep coming under attack by Indians so they send John Trent (John Wayne) out there along with his sidekick Tippy (Frank McHugh). Once out there John strikes up a relationship with Alice (Marceline Day) and begins to realize Gus Lynch (Albert J. Smith) is actually the one making the Indians attack.

This "B" Western certainly shows its low-budget nature but if you're a fan of such films then there's enough going on here to keep you entertained throughout the rather short running time. If you've seen enough of these films then you already know that they rarely have much of a story or at least much of an original one. The entire bit with telegraph wire had already been done countless times by 1933 but what's one more film? The highlight is certainly the cast with Wayne in good form as he obviously has no problem playing the hero. Day is good in her role as is Smtih in his. Duke, the horse, is back once again with his name in the credits right by Wayne. I also thought McHugh added some nice support and gets the biggest laugh in the film when he gives his silly one-tone laugh.

With that said, the film comes up ultra cheap at the end when the majority of the big battle is taken from other movies. The footage is obviously from a silent movie so that takes some points away since they couldn't even stage their own scenes here.

An American Western; A story about a greedy tycoon who foments a Native American uprising against the coming first transcontinental telegraph line so as to perpetuate his economic stranglehold on the territory. This film has a theme about progress and expansion that invites the spectre of corruption. It conjures up an interesting picture of 1860s life on the plains. Good action sequences but the comic relief is less than inspiring and the performances are all a bit stagey too. John Wayne is enjoyably to watch for his energetic turn, if a bit stilted at times, as a U. S. cavalry scout sent to put a stop to sleazy opportunist Albert J. Smith. Duke, the loyal horse, is a welcome diversion. The finale, using recycled scenes from the film, The Red Raiders (1927), make an impression but repetitive sequences involving horse chases and encircled wagons dullen the story. It is wrapped up pretty quick with a predictable romantic liaison.

Leon Schlesinger notably produced a large portion of Warners' cartoons of this time period. Notably Schlesinger even appears in a cartoon, discussing contract provisions with Porky Pig. So, let's not expect this film to be a John Ford western, ok? Expect no more than a cartoon and you won't be disappointed. The greatest stuntman ever, Yakima Canutt, plays an Indian in this film. Yak was a world champ rodeo cowboy before his film career, and he is not a Native American. Often he doubled for Wayne in dangerous scenes, and I understand he taught John Wayne how to walk, talk and fight like a cowboy. Here, Wayne had not yet graduated from Yak's acting academy, but he was well on his way.

This kid-friendly Oater was obviously intended for the Saturday morning double-features which droves of kids attended in the 30's and 40's. Mom & Dad dropped you off while they did the weekly shopping and you had a double-feature, a couple of cartoons, a 3-Stooges short and a Movietone news to entertain you, all for a dime. I know because I saw hundreds of them. Anyway, about this picture, it pays very little homage to the so-called plot which involves something to do with the new invention of the telegraph bringing communication across the continent. It has hundreds of extras (they must have been cheap to hire in those days) dressed as settlers, cavalry or Indians backing up the star (John Wayne) and the requisite pretty lady played by Marceline Day. In those days, the studio executives must have been convinced that the Cowboy and his faithful horse sidekick (ala Roy Rogers and Trigger) was a winning formula, so they paired John Wayne with a beautiful white stallion named Duke. The major attraction of this movie is the continual series of sight gags and gaffes which we never noticed as kids. In one scene, John Wayne is on top of a telegraph pole sending a message back to the Fort and a crowd of 10-12 Indians rides up and begins shooting at him. Wayne pulls his trusty six-shooter, fires once, and kills the Indian with the headdress. THEN WAYNE PUTS HIS GUN BACK IN HIS HOLSTER! What kind of direction was that? Can you believe John Wayne ever quit fighting a hoard of enemies in his life? Well, he does in this movie. I guess it was because he wanted to wait until the Indians fired off a volley at him; this would allow him to pretend to be hit so that he could fall off the pole (ouch!) and fake his death. Naturally, the gullible Indians were fooled, so they rode off at an accelerated gallop (all the galloping scenes are speeded up about 20% to make things more exciting), and before they have gone 50 yards, we see John Wayne getting to his feet. Then we find out that he wanted the feathered headdress so he could strip off his shirt (showing the manly Wayne chest), don the headdress and, pretending to be an Indian, join the Indians attacking the settlers, and then slip through the line of wagons (in a circle, naturally) and reenter the camp where he can join up with the beautiful girl. Of course, he can't begin fighting the circling Indians until he ducks into a tent and grabs a beautiful fringed-leather shirt and puts it on. One must be properly dressed when fighting Indians! All in all, this movie is fun to watch and if you are an old codger like me, it will bring back lots of wonderful memories of all those Saturday mornings long ago.