La Rivière écarlate

1st watched 12/30/2001 - 4 out of 10(Dir-Joseph Kane): Uninspired early John Wayne western portraying him at his early acting stages where he seems to just be doing the lines without putting any feeling into them. This story could have brought out much emotion(Wayne's character's father being murdered and him returning as a lawyer to do in the killer) but it's pretty much kept at bay so that we're presented with a flat and typical gun-shooting contest. Wayne is a handsome young stud here but not much else and the screenplay comes across like it was written on the way over to the set without much patchwork done to it. I'm sure Wayne's tall good looks and smile kept his contract going until he was able to actually do some real acting later in his career so for this I'm grateful(I guess).

John Wayne reprises many a role from his past as the man whom, as young boy, witnessed the murder of his parents. This time, it's the cattle baron "Stiles" (Cy Kendall) on whom he is fixated for revenge. He is now, though, a lawyer and so has decided to legitimately dismantle the extensive empire of his nemesis who would rather own the law than adhere to it. Initially dismissive of the young man's efforts, it's soon clear that In so doing he is risking life and limb, as well as those of the gal "Belle" (Muriel Evans). Nothing at all new here, just another 60 minute B-feature, but the Duke is on good form and Kendall makes for quite an effective, odious baddie. Joseph Kane keeps the pace hot, and there are plenty of brawls and galloping chases to keep it interesting, if hardly, challenging.

I have always enjoyed movies made prior to 60s and King of the Pecos is no exception. As a kid growing up in the 50s my hero was the Lone Ranger which I couldn't help but notice that the Lone Ranger and John Wayne both worn white hats and had white horses. I guess that was the norm for the good guys in those days.

John Wayne's acting in King of the Pecos and his early movies in general were a little bland, but it kept my interest. The story line could also have been a little more interesting but that was kind of the way many early Westerns went.

I noticed that there were a lot of horse related accidents in this movie. There were horses falling to the ground throwing their riders, and even horses running into other horses when a wagon goes over the cliff. It looked like there was a good chance that they may have been hurt, and wonder how concerned the producers and writers were in those days.

If you like early Westerns and John Wayne in particular it's worth watching.

This film begins with an extremely greedy man by the name of "Alexander Stiles" (Cy Kendall) riding out to an isolated part of Texas and arrogantly declaring to his cowboys that the entire area is his by "right of discovery." Of course, being the dishonest man that he is, the fact that his claim has no legal basis doesn't concern him in the least. To that effect, in an effort to also control all of the watering holes as well, he then sends his men to a nearby ranch and demands that the owner sell his stake to him. When the owner refuses, he sends his men to murder both him and his wife. In the process, they also beat their young son and leave him unconscious on the ground while they ride off. The scene then shifts to 10 years later with a young man by the name of "John Clayborn" (John Wayne) riding in a stagecoach into a small West Texas town and declaring to the people there that he is a lawyer and intends to challenge Alexander Stiles' illegitimate claim of land in a court-of-law. Needless to say, this infuriates Alexander Stiles who becomes determined to prevent any such action--one way or the other. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this turned out to be one of the better John Wayne films from his earlier days as it flowed much more smoothly from one scene to the next than many of his previous pictures. Naturally, as is quite typical for the time, it does have a few corny scenes here and there but even so I enjoyed it for the most part and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.

When John Clayborn (John Wayne) was a child, he witnessed his parents being murdered by Alexander Stiles (Cy Kendall), the developer who wanted control over their land. Clayborn has grown up with one goal -- to get revenge on Stiles. He becomes a lawyer, but, when the judge won't find Stiles guilty, Clayborn resorts to other methods of retaliation. He enlists other men who have been wronged by Stiles and together they take their guns and embark on a mission to hunt him down.

John Wayne as a level-headed lawyer who wants revenge makes "King of the Pecos" entertaining,plus the plot is quite involving with some shoot em up touches and good landscape. Definitely a better Wayne early western.