John Wayne sets out to aid an old friend of his father, who disappeared amid a series of attacks by bandits and a bit of mysterious business involving the local bank. Along the way, he's deputized and leads a revolt against Yakima Cannutt's villainous gang of outlaws.One of a few Paul Malvern produced John Wayne vehicles, released by Republic Pictures before his becoming a full-fledged Republic contract star, it's nothing you haven't seen before, though it's easygoing enough entertainment, with a few nice location shots, a few rousing action sequences and and some good songs.Speaking of songs, there's a few ludicrously dubbed cowboy tunes, featuring a deep-voiced singer, lip-synced by Wayne, while strumming an old guitar. Didn't they learn their lesson with the Duke's previous turn as "Singing Sandy"?

This is another great "little" western from John Wayne made in 1935. Even though most of the crew (director, writer and even the music) were connected with Lone Star pictures, it was released by Republic during a brief takeover.John Middleton (John Wayne) gives up his rodeo dreams to help his dad's friend Hank. Stopping a fight he is arrested by the town sheriff, who really wants him to go to a little town incognito, to see who is holding the town to ransom.After jumping from a cliff edge into a river to avoid a gang of outlaws, he saves Ann (Sheila Mannors) from crossfire. After being mistaken for one of the Burns Gang, he is almost lynched but Ann intervenes and saves his life. This film is so action packed - the river scene is pretty exciting.The town is in a state of siege, as the outlaw gang holds up all wagons bringing food to the town. John takes a hand in bringing in supplies and surprises the bandits with a trick or two of his own. His next job is to round up the rancher's cattle and take them to market.Within 56 minutes there is a ton of action and John Wayne even has time to sing two songs. Distinctive Bob Kortman is spotted in the first scene as a "clocker" timing John Wayne as he ropes a steer. Yakima Canutt is the leader of the outlaws.

What's unusual here for the period is the construction of the villain's identity. Most 'big boss' bad guys were openly introduced on screen and given excessive, cartoonish proportions. Here, the boss is playing a double role, one blending within the group of good guys/victims, the other unseen and disguised until the climax. The effect is enforced by the lack of close-up face images.Aside from that, most of this is ordinary - Wayne as the irony-free hero who gets the girl. His voice is overdubbed by a professional baritone (a tenor would have been more convincing) in the obligatory musical segment, which pushed audio splicing technology to its limits. The gunfight scenes are nothing special. But there are two key action sequences, the first being a dive into a lake and the ensuing escape. Also, Wayne jumps from horseback to horseback to unmount the opposing rider - a scene that appears to be a rough template for Lucas' speeder chase in "Return of the Jedi".

An early b/w "two reeler" John Wayne western. It is a fun shoot 'em up, that is pure escapism. Don't look for a deep meaning. The stunt work in these early John Wayne/Yakima Canutt films is the equal of any, including those films being made today.