The beauty of this two-reeler -- and its physical beauty has faded with the aging of its colorwork -- is that it seems to encompass every single western cliche in 20 minutes. Although it does lack a couple of the plotlines, it includes fancy shooting -- Dennis Moore, Dennis Moore, galloping through the sward... ahem -- fancy riding, the pretty schoolmarm and the Old Coot. Yes, truly a western for the moviegoer on the go!
7 Reviews
Was Cinecolor this ugly back in 1939?
planktonrules27 November 2010
This was originally released in 1939 by Monogram Studios. Then, in 1944 it was re-named and released by Warner Brothers--an odd occurrence to see a film re-released by a bigger studio. Apparently the film was actually made by the Cinecolor Company and I assume it was done to show off their color process. However, when I saw the film on Turner Classic Movies, it was ugly as can be--with garish, washed out colors that looked more like Two-Color Technicolor than the improved Three-Color process that was gaining popularity in the late 1930s. Now it is very possible that the print has just degraded over time and needs restoration. If it actually did look like this, then I can see why Cinecolor never became very popular.
The film is set in an old West town. A guy arrives because his girlfriend lives in this tiny town. However, she has made him promise to give up his guns and never wear them around town. As a result, he is seen by some as a coward. However, when the bank is robbed and his friend is shot, he rises to the occasion and proves his manliness.
This film is an odd little short film, as it's like an entire 70 minute western crammed into only 20 minutes. It's not at all bad, but very rushed. Also, the star, Dennis Moore, didn't have a huge amount of charisma. But, it's pleasant enough viewing nevertheless.
The film is set in an old West town. A guy arrives because his girlfriend lives in this tiny town. However, she has made him promise to give up his guns and never wear them around town. As a result, he is seen by some as a coward. However, when the bank is robbed and his friend is shot, he rises to the occasion and proves his manliness.
This film is an odd little short film, as it's like an entire 70 minute western crammed into only 20 minutes. It's not at all bad, but very rushed. Also, the star, Dennis Moore, didn't have a huge amount of charisma. But, it's pleasant enough viewing nevertheless.
Voice-over Fills In The Gaps
bkoganbing9 October 2009
Warner Brothers and Monogram before them who originally produced this short subject western were probably anticipating the coming of television. A lot of early television westerns were cut down versions of B western movies. Roy Rogers films and the Hopalong Cassidy series were the ones most exhibited that way on the small screen at first.
B western hero Dennie Moore comes to a new town where it seems they have a foreign legion type code. Everybody there is wanted, but if they keep their noses clean they can stay there. Moore gets into a scrape, but backs down because his girl Louise Stanley doesn't approve of violence.
Of course as in every western, as Randolph Scott so eloquently put it, 'there are some things a man can't ride around'. That's all I can say here.
When Bill Boyd first had the Hopalong Cassidy series exhibited on television, he edited out the bare essentials and provided voice over to fill in the plot holes. I suspect that's what was done here with Art Baker's narration filling in the gaps between the original Monogram film and what you see.
It's an old Monogram, so don't expect the best production values, but Wells Fargo Days would have made a decent enough half hour television western program.
B western hero Dennie Moore comes to a new town where it seems they have a foreign legion type code. Everybody there is wanted, but if they keep their noses clean they can stay there. Moore gets into a scrape, but backs down because his girl Louise Stanley doesn't approve of violence.
Of course as in every western, as Randolph Scott so eloquently put it, 'there are some things a man can't ride around'. That's all I can say here.
When Bill Boyd first had the Hopalong Cassidy series exhibited on television, he edited out the bare essentials and provided voice over to fill in the plot holes. I suspect that's what was done here with Art Baker's narration filling in the gaps between the original Monogram film and what you see.
It's an old Monogram, so don't expect the best production values, but Wells Fargo Days would have made a decent enough half hour television western program.
Wells Fargo Days (1944) was all archive footage
horn-525 July 2017
The only exception was the narrator (voice) added by Warner Bros in 1944. This film (short) was produced by Cinecolor, Inc. (2809 South Olive Avenue, Burbank, California), in order to get more theatrical exposure for their color process Cinecolor. It was shown and distributed to theatres in the U.S. by the film exchanges of Monogram Pictures Corporation. The original, country of origin title was "The Man from Tascosa" in 1939. For whatever reason the Warner Brothers shorts department acquired this film in 1944 and changed the title to "Wells Fargo Days." Most likely because they didn't have the raw film (World War Two shortages) and needed to fulfill their obligations to exhibitors to deliver a certain amount of color shorts for that production season...and they had already edited into a short all the feature Technicolor westerns they owned. And, yes, the reason that some reviewers of the Warner 1944 version thought the "Technicolor was a bit washed out was because it wasn't in Technicolor to begin with...it was in Cinecolor and pale green dominated. The cast and crew credits alone should have tipped the film experts that "Wells Fargo Days" was not produced by Warner Brothers; Dennis Moore, Louise Stanley, Lafe McKee, Mack Wright and Bennett Cohen were not starring in nor directing and writing 1944 Warner Bros. productions...features nor shorts. What Warners did do was have some in-house editors chop some footage from the original and hire Art Baker to narrate the gaps in the plot. And, because there was no new footage shot, the correct attribute for every actor---credited or uncredited--- is and always will be (archive footage), with one single exception...Art Baker's (voice) narration.
Cumbersome, dull mini-western takes 20 minutes to say nothing...
Doylenf2 September 2008
On top of a dull, uninspired script, badly acted and poorly directed, the final insult is the print shown on TCM is barely watchable. The Cinecolor photography looks like it was filmed underwater.
The short has Bob McAdams riding into the town of Sunrise and befriending the local sheriff Lon Carter. When Carter's Wells Fargo office is robbed by three of the local henchmen, it's up to McAdams to go gunning after them.
In the meantime, he has a few brief scenes with a leading lady who's just as inept as he is in the acting department.
Totally forgettable mini-western says nothing new, has nothing to offer but bad photography and amateurish performances. Forget about it.
The short has Bob McAdams riding into the town of Sunrise and befriending the local sheriff Lon Carter. When Carter's Wells Fargo office is robbed by three of the local henchmen, it's up to McAdams to go gunning after them.
In the meantime, he has a few brief scenes with a leading lady who's just as inept as he is in the acting department.
Totally forgettable mini-western says nothing new, has nothing to offer but bad photography and amateurish performances. Forget about it.
old west recycled short
SnoopyStyle17 June 2022
Gunslinger Bob McAdams arrives in the town of Sunrise. The sheriff notices that he's a wanted man but then again, almost everyone else including the sheriff are wanted men. He promised Millie Carter to leave his guns behind. He gets into a fight at the gambling table but decides to keep his promise to Millie. The Wells Fargo office gets robbed by bandits, killing the sheriff. Bob sets off by himself to catch the bandits.
This is a short recut from another film, "The Man from Tascosa". The acting is pretty stiff and I do wonder if Wells Fargo made any support. I doubt the original film is any good. This re-edit isn't. It's an old western at a time when they were churning them out by the truckload and this one recycles the leftovers.
This is a short recut from another film, "The Man from Tascosa". The acting is pretty stiff and I do wonder if Wells Fargo made any support. I doubt the original film is any good. This re-edit isn't. It's an old western at a time when they were churning them out by the truckload and this one recycles the leftovers.
Nice Short
Michael_Elliott13 June 2009
Wells Fargo Days (1944)
*** (out of 4)
A stranger (Dennis Moore) arrives at a new town where he's not welcomed because people think he's yellow. In reality he's just not using his guns because the woman he's loves asked him not to but that changes after a friend is shot during a robbery. If you're a fan of Westerns then you should enjoy this 20-minute short from Warner, which benefits from a decent story and some Technicolor. The Technicolor is pretty much faded in the print shown on Turner Classic Movies but there's still enough detail to see some beautiful locations. The performances are also fairly good for this type of film with moore making a good hero and Louise Stanley fine as his love interest. The direction isn't anything too special and the "revenge" goes by way too fast but this is still worth watching if you enjoy shorts.
*** (out of 4)
A stranger (Dennis Moore) arrives at a new town where he's not welcomed because people think he's yellow. In reality he's just not using his guns because the woman he's loves asked him not to but that changes after a friend is shot during a robbery. If you're a fan of Westerns then you should enjoy this 20-minute short from Warner, which benefits from a decent story and some Technicolor. The Technicolor is pretty much faded in the print shown on Turner Classic Movies but there's still enough detail to see some beautiful locations. The performances are also fairly good for this type of film with moore making a good hero and Louise Stanley fine as his love interest. The direction isn't anything too special and the "revenge" goes by way too fast but this is still worth watching if you enjoy shorts.
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