I've long thought this is one of John Wayne's most suspenseful and overall entertaining films. The story is so well acted and believable that you're actually there. It's easy to see why he is so legendary - he had an on-screen/off-screen presence and ability like few others.Claire Trevor is also very dynamic here. She's funny, witty, has impeccable timing and is perfectly cast. She brings incredible energy and top-tier talent.How often can you say you enjoyed every minute of a movie? Far and away, this is a perfect example. Its all around terrific, underrated, and the epitome of a memorable, enjoyable film. I only wish it were longer and available in HD! Warner Brothers - can you deliver for a loyal fan?Enjoy!

The idea of placing John Wayne in the Colonies during the final years of the French-Indian War (called the "Seven Years' War" in Europe) was an inspired idea. Few films have focused on this era and it was nice to see something different. The problem was that although it was a change of locale, the film itself seemed all too much like a typical cowboy and Indian film. So much of the dialog was actually identical to stuff you'd see in films set a hundred years later--only the tribes' names were changed. As a result, the film just tended to blend into the huge pile of John Wayne westerns--and not with the great ones like the Cavalry Trilogy or THE SEARCHERS but instead the mediocre ones made in the 30s and early 40s. Claire Trevor as Wayne's main squeeze was in some ways very good (it was nice to see a less passive style of woman) but in other ways she was a 1930s gal transported to 1758! Women in that era simply did NOT run around in men's clothes, out-shoot men and insist on being treated like "one of the guys". Since I am a history teacher, I found the film frustrating and completely anachronistic. For a much better film made around the same time about Colonial America, try watching the usually overlooked HOWARDS OF VIRGINIA--a Cary Grant film better in just about every way.

John Wayne took second billing on this film to Claire Trevor. He wasn't a star yet.This is a forgettable film that takes place after the French and Indian wars in Pennsylvania. It came out the same year as Stagecoach.Some whites were trading with the Indians and this caused problems for the settlers as the British were busy expanding the frontier. The locals took it upon themselves to solve the problem.There wasn't anything very memorable about the film and it really wasn't worth staying up for. It is just another look at Wayne outside a cowboy movie.

This is a decently made RKO western, made a few years before the genre became truly great (1946 - 1962), though released the same year as the first classic of the genre ("Stagecoach"). Despite some heavy-handed romantic-comedy moments, the movie moves like one of its galloping horses - at one point, Wayne is wrongly accused of murder, is put in gaol, quells an outside mob riot from inside his cell, stands trial, and is freed all within 7 minutes !