Santa Fe Stampede

An American Western; A story about a trio of cowboys who foil an attempt by a town mayor's gang to steal a gold mine from a friend. This is a routine B-film, light on actual stampede but heavy on scenes that some young viewers may find disturbing. The plot is standard fare involving the framing of a man for a crime and a potential miscarriage of justice. It is directed in a straightforward way for a short feature but the film has a strong third act of peril, danger, fist fighting and thrills. John Wayne has charisma, carrying the show with moral spirit and fortitude. Head baddie LeRoy Mason is suitably nefarious.

This film essentially begins with the Three Mesquiteers heading over to see an old friend named "Dave Carson" (William Farnum) who lives out in the country with his three children. Upon their arrival, Dave tells them that he has just struck gold, but hasn't registered his claim yet. Unfortunately, while he is telling them of his strike, two cowboys sent to spy on him have overheard what he has said and, upon being detected, grab the nearest horses and hurriedly ride off. Naturally, the Three Mesquiteers and Dave immediately give chase but, although they manage to catch one of the horse thieves, the other one escapes and reports this news to his boss "Mayor Gil Byron" (LeRoy Mason). To that effect, once Dave and the Three Mesquiteers ride into town with their prisoner, the mayor has already convinced "Judge Henry J. Hixon" (Ferris Taylor) to free the suspect and, to further add insult to injury, the crooked judge fines the Three Mesquiteers $100 apiece for daring to protest. Infuriated with this ruling, the Three Mesquiteers convince a number of local townspeople to sign a petition to the territorial governor asking for an investigation on those who control the city hall. Unfortunately, when Mayor Byron hears about this, he sends his men to stop the petition from being delivered--and he doesn't care who he has to kill in the process. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this turned out to be one of the better films in the Three Mesquiteers series as it contained a bit more drama and suspense than some of the others. I especially liked the performance of LeRoy Mason who added a certain amount of menace to the overall plot. Be that as it may, although this film is somewhat dated, I still enjoyed it for the most part, and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.

Stony, Tucson, and Lullaby riding hard again as The Mesquiteers is all the action you need in this classic Republic film. The boys start off with helping Dave Carson, played by silent film star William Farnum with his goldmine grubstake. LeRoy Mason brilliantly plays the mayor with a band of henchmen, a crooked sheriff, lawyer, and judge have some other ideas. And these are the creme of the crop henchman and B western stalwarts including, Richard Alexander, Yakima Canutt, George Chesebro, and Charles King. Singer, dancer, actress June Martel is stunning as Nancy Carson holding the fort after the runaway buckboard disaster. Martin Spellman shows his great child acting skills and is ever ready to mix it up with the villains. The superb acting and non-stop action is all you need in this one. A stampede would've gotten tired out trying to keep up with everything going on in this film anyway.

The Mesquiteers capture a horse thief who escapes justice through a crooked judge. They gather signatures urging the governor to investigate but a friend with the petition is murdered. Stony is accused.

There's no stampede as the title suggests but there's the usual formulaic story of the 3 mesquiteers coming to the rescue, tackling a crooked mayor, shootout, fisticuffs, however the death of Wayne's friend and the young girl adds some sombreness and drama - the plot twists and turns. Wayne is framed, and a lynch mob - with women among the men demanding him dead - is formed. The highlight is the burning of the sheriff's office where Wayne is imprisoned and it's also dynamited.

A good entry featuring the three fast galloping heroes.

This was a definite look back at the past when John Wayne was very young and starting out on a great career in films. There really is no stampede, except the bad guys trying to blame Stony Brooke, (John Wayne) for a crime he did not commit. However, the local town people want justice and are convinced that Stony is responsible for this crime and must pay for it. Stony is put in jail and his lady friend, Nanvy Carson visits him while the jail is set on fire and they are both destined to die in the blaze. Tucson Smith,(Ray Corrigan) and Lullaby Joslin, (Max Terhune) try to come to his rescue. Lullaby Joslin is also a ventriloquist and there are some funny scenes with his dummy talking and making jokes. If you look real close, you will see the famous villain of all Western Films, Charlie King. Great John Wayne Classic film, enjoy.