This 1930 wide screen western was directed by Raoul Walsh. he cast Duke in his first “A” movie starring role. Duke would not get another starring role in an “A” movie until he made Stagecoach for John Ford. The writing and dialogue was very poor but, the action scenes were great. Walsh used descendants of actual pioneer families in his wagon train. The scenes of the travel were very authentic. Wayne’s acting inexperience showed but, his natural manner and easy raw boned physical nature were great. He showed his ability in riding horses. Tyrone Power Sr., Marguerite Churchill and El Brindel also starred in this film. Ward Bond Wayne’s buddy from USC had a small speaking role although he was seen through out the film in non-speaking scenes. It has been said that Wayne and Bond spent much of their time drinking and were drunk a good bit of the time, much to the chagrin of Walsh. The action and photograpy were first rate and this was a good first starring role for Duke even if the picture lost money.
Ride Hard From Evil
My second book is now available as of today. “Ride Hard From Evil” is about a hired gun by the name of Matt Harper. Harper after ten years, has grown tired of hiring his gunhand around . On his last job, he shoots a young boy during a rancher/mining company conflict and decides he is finished with the life of a hired gun.
He returns to the homestead he left ten years before to find out his wife has died and his daughter has beent sent to live with his uncle in Arizona. He trails after her and finds an openly hostile and suspicious daughter. He is determined to win his daughter back and give up his way of life as a gunman.
Upon arriving at his uncle’s ranch, he discovers his gun is needed to help his uncle survive a range war with another rancher. Once more he sets out to use his gun this time for his uncle and to save his daughter and start a new life.
Dark Command
Joining The Duke in this one was Claire Trevor, Walter Pidgeon, Roy Rogers, Gabby Hayes and Marjorie Main.
This movie starts in Pre-Civil War Lawrence, KS. Duke and Gabby come into town during a political struggle between Northern and Southern sympathizers. Duke is again good as Bob Seton who becomes sheriff and tries to catch guerrilla raider Will Cantrell (Walter Pidgeon) who is Seton’s rival for the affections of Claire Trevor.
The interaction between Wayne and Trevor is very good again, especially the scene where Duke introduces himself to Trevor and proposes marriage in the same conversation.
Pidgeon was always a solid actor and surprises me with his riding ability. Roy Rogers in an early non-singing role does a good job as Claire Trevor’s brother who is enamored with being a cowboy and gun toter. Gabby Hayes does his usual job as a side kick and comic relief. Marjorie Main has a small role as Pidgeon’s mother.
There are some good riding scenes and the story based loosely on actual events in Lawrence before and during the Civil War is very good. I have never been a fan of comic side kicks but, Hayes was the best of these in my opinion.
Most of the Duke’s movies of the thirties, forties, and fifties had a lot of good riding scenes which allowed Duke to show off his good riding skills, although he was not a big fan of horses. He owned a lot of horses on his cattle ranch in Stanfield, Arizona , however, to paraphrase his own words “I only ride when I am getting paid to ride in the movies.”
AuthorNation
I can now also be found on AuthorNation, the online community for Authors, Writers, Poets, and their readers.
Where to find my book
If you are interested in reading my book, go to PublishAmerica and type my name in the seach box. You will be taken to the order screen.
Stagecoach
The movie that made Duke a star. This was a good movie with great characters. The Duke was very good but Thomas Mitchell was excellent as the drunk Doctor. Mitchell was one of the great character actors of all time. The chase scene when the Apaches were chasing the stagecoach was one of the best ever. Very authentic, great riding by the Indians. Duke was great when he had to jump on the horses to grab the leader reins. I know a stunt man did some of this stunt, but if you watch the parts where you can see Duke’s face you can see he is actually riding the one of the lead horses at full gallop.
The rapport between Wayne and Claire Trevor was terrific. My only criticism is too much sound stage and back lot scenes and not enough real outdoor scenes.
Favorite John Wayne Movies
I will be listing my favorite Duke movies by years. There are too many good westerns to just list five total.
1930-1947
1. Stagecoach, 2. Dark Command, 3. The Big Trail, 4. Angel and The Badman, 5. Tall In The Saddle
Next week I will talk about Stagecoach.
Book signing and John Wayne
Thank you to all of you that came out to my book signing June 28th at Rich Aroma Coffee. The signing was a success. For those of you that missed it, you can still obtain a copy of my novel by going to either PublishAmerica or Barnes&Noble. You can enter my name in the search box at the top of the screen and it will take you where my book is.
Starting next week I will list my five favorite John Wayne westerns and discuss each one in the following posts.
Book Signing
I am having my first book signing Saturday June 28th from 8:00Am to 11:00Am at the Rich Aroma Coffee Co. at the southwest corner of Chandler Heigts Rd. and Power Rd in the Basha Shopping center. Stop by to meet me. There will be coppies of my books for sale and I will sign your copy for you.
Welcome
Welcome to The Horseman website. The Horseman is my first book and is about Tom Blandini, a young rancher from Arizona who travels to El Paso, Texas, to buy four horses for breeding to build up his herd. His troubles begin almost immediately when he does not have enough money left to bring his horses back to Arizona by train. He makes a hasty decision to ride the horses the 300 miles back to his ranch south of Tucson. During the journey he must deal with an outlaw tracking him to kill him and steal his small herd. He also feels the brunt of a vicious storm that scatters his four horses. Tom’s troubles turn worse when he encounters the notorious horse thief Chato Rosario and his bloodthirsty partner Blue Dog. His beautiful and impetuous wife Dominique sets out from their ranch with the help of their trusted foreman Rafael to help in her husband’s return.
