. . . sums up the plot of WINDS OF THE WASTELAND, as well as pretty much every other flick John Wayne made (except STAGECOACH) during the 1930s--about 70 pictures in all. Most folks think that Errol Flynn was the original Robin Hood, but Wayne was Redistributing Wealth with a panache that would make Karl Marx proud when Mr. Flynn was still Down Under. It wasn't until Mr. Wayne fell under the Fascist Spell of director John Ford in 1939 that he was transformed into the bloated buffoon and self-appointed U.S. Snitch-in-Chief that signified his Pact with Old Scratch during his decades as one of Lucifer's Minions. Perhaps it was not a Dory-like lack of short-term memory, but his Biblical Knowledge of every Working Girl on the California-Mexican border which had nearly all of Hollywood's screenwriters naming Mr. Wayne's characters "John," Question #8 of the "Trivia Quiz" on the 2000 Madacy Co. "John Wayne Collection, Volume 5" release reveals. This statement Madacy posits as TRUE: "John Wayne's second wife, whom he met in Mexico, was an expensive call girl by trade, and Wayne did not realize this until he was in love." Sure, Charlie Sheen, Rob Lowe, Tommy Lee, and Donald Trump have been similarly bamboozled more recently. But would you vote for any of THEM to be the American President?!

Well ladies and gentleman the Pony Express rides again,, this time with John Wayne leading the charge. A man and his partner ride into town looking to make some money,, and there chance is right in front of them 25,000 prize for the quickest Pony Express run.. Crescent City is where it all starts at,, and for the life of me I can't remember the ending point, but that's really not important,, so the Duke and his partner get the line,, now only to find out that the town in which they start at has a grand total of get this,, 2 people.. well eventually 3 more people are on the way so we got 5 all together,, the man who put up the prize money though isn't playing on the up and up , as he tries to sabotage the Duke and his partner from finishing the run from the one city to the other for the Pony Express,, I found this movie to be very interesting as I really don't know much about the origins of the Pony Express.

With the advent of the telegraph, Pony Express rider John Wayne and his friend find themselves out of work with a few horses as severance pay. The two purchase a stage line to Crecent City and find out they were swindled, as Crecent City turns out to be a ghost town! However, the two have a plan to make it work by winning a mail contract and bringing in the telegraph.One of Wayne's best B-pictures, Winds Of The Wasteland is irresistible, breezy fun, full of humor and can-do spirit, with a winning performance by the Duke.An exciting stagecoach race, full of villainous treachery and thunderous action makes for a good, satisfying climax.If you haven't seen any of Wayne's early westerns, this is a good place to start.

Winds of The Wasteland is a vastly underappreciated film. Having seen most of John Wayne's pre 1939 westerns (including some of his more highly regarded ones such as Randy Rides Alone, Hell Town aka Born To The West, Blue Steel, West Of The Divide, Sagebrush Trail and Riders of Destiny) this is the most entertaining. It has a great story that is well played by the primary actors, though the doctor is a little wooden. Of all Wayne's shorts, I would first recommend this one. Get the colourized version if possible. It may be heretical to say, but the colourized shorts are more enjoyable and most are available.