In the 1930s, before he was a Hollywood star, John Wayne made a long string of rather ordinary B-westerns. Now these were not necessarily bad movies (well, aside from his stint as "Singing Sandy"), but they certainly were not great works of art. Like other B-westerns, they filled a niche--a cheap second film for a double feature--the sort of film that kids loved. In many ways, these films are a lot like Gene Autry films with a little bit more realism.
This film finds Wayne playing John Brant--a guy who has escaped from prison and is trying to prove his innocence. With practically no evidence to support this, his instincts tell him to make for a group of crooks out West--even though the murder occurred in Baltimore. And, in a case of coincidence only possible in movies, he just happens to find the guy who really committed the crime!! While silly, I did like that at least there was the twist that Brant found he liked the guy!
Overall, about what you'd expect from such a film. The acting, at times, was suspect but the film went by at such a fast clip that it was basically harmless entertainment.
By the way, I saw this film again on the Encore Channel and noticed right away that someone 'clever' at Fox Lorber Pictures added an annoying modern electronic musical track to this film. Avoid this version at all costs and just download the public domain version from IMDb--you'll be doing yourself a favor.
This film finds Wayne playing John Brant--a guy who has escaped from prison and is trying to prove his innocence. With practically no evidence to support this, his instincts tell him to make for a group of crooks out West--even though the murder occurred in Baltimore. And, in a case of coincidence only possible in movies, he just happens to find the guy who really committed the crime!! While silly, I did like that at least there was the twist that Brant found he liked the guy!
Overall, about what you'd expect from such a film. The acting, at times, was suspect but the film went by at such a fast clip that it was basically harmless entertainment.
By the way, I saw this film again on the Encore Channel and noticed right away that someone 'clever' at Fox Lorber Pictures added an annoying modern electronic musical track to this film. Avoid this version at all costs and just download the public domain version from IMDb--you'll be doing yourself a favor.