The Big Stampede (1932)

Deputy Sheriff John Steele recruits bandit Sonora Joe to help him find out who's been bumping off all the local lawmen and rustling the cattle.

Director:

Tenny Wright

Writers:

Marion Jackson (story), Kurt Kempler (screenplay),

Stars:

John Wayne, Noah Beery, Paul Hurst

Cast

Complete credited cast:
John Wayne	...	Deputy Sheriff John Steele
Noah Beery	...	Sam Crew
Paul Hurst	...	Henchman Arizona
Mae Madison	...	Ginger Malloy
Luis Alberni	...	Sonora Joe
Berton Churchill	...	Governor Lew Wallace
Sherwood Bailey	...	Pat Malloy
Lafe McKee	...	Cal Brett
Joseph W. Girard	...	Major Parker (as Joseph Girard)
Duke	...	Duke, John's Horse

Storyline

Both Sam Crew and his gang and Sonora Joe and his men are rustlers after a cattle herd just arriving. John Steele, sent by the Governor, is out to stop them. Greatly outnumbered, Steele's plan is to deputize Sonora and his men to fight the Crew gang.

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Plot Keywords:

deputy | rustling | cattle | horse | governor | 

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Genres:

Western

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

8 October 1932 (USA)

Also Known As:

Die Grosse Stampede

Filming Locations:

Warner Ranch, Calabasas, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Leon Schlesinger Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

54 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Sonora Joe: [Entering a saloon with his vaqueros] Why all this silence? Is this a saloon or somebody she's dead?

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Connections

Remake of The Land Beyond the Law (1927)

User Reviews

Routine Early Wayne Western!

"The Big Stampede" was the second of six "B" westerns starring John Wayne and his horse "Duke" made by Warner Bros. for the 1932-33 season. As was the case in this series, this film was a re-make of a Ken Maynard silent (in this case, 1927s Land Beyond the Law).

Sam Crew (Noah Beery Sr.) is luring settler's wagon trains (and their cattle) to New Mexico where he rustles the cattle for himself. Governor Lew Wallace (Berton Churchill), who in real life wrote "Ben-Hur", assigns John Steele (Wayne) as a Deputy Sheriff to clean up the problem.

He drifts into town and poses as a shiftless drunk to gain knowledge of the situation. A wagon train led by Cal Brett (Lafe McKee) comes to town and turns to Crew for help in settling in the area. But Crew has other ideas.

When Crew's gunman, Arizona (Paul Hurst) murders Brett, Steele vows to bring in the killer. It just happens that Brett had a young daughter, Ginger (Mae Madison) and a sling shot slinging son Patrick (Sherwood Bailey). Steele naturally takes to the two.

Bandito Sonora Joe (Luis Alberni) and his gang compete with Crew for the settler's cattle. Steele for some unknown reason has enough faith in Sonora Joe to have him throw in with him to bring down Sam Crew. In the final showdown there is a "big stampede" (lifted from the Maynard film) and.........................................

Wayne's inexperience really shows In this film. His acting is mediocre at best but he would gain valuable experience over the next seven years in films like this. There seems to have been a scene or two cut from this film. Wayne's transition from the drunken drifter to heroic sheriff is missing. He just suddenly becomes the upstanding hero without explanation.

This film is boosted somewhat by the casting of Noah Beery Sr. as the snarling villain Crew. Alberni is also good as Sonora Joe, providing the film's comedy relief. Berton Churchill would appear as Gatewood the banker in Wayne's breakthrough film, "Stagecoach (1939).