A couple years after earning his eyepatch, Walsh directed the first widescreen 70mm epic sound western, and gave John Wayne his first starring role. And it’s got title cards – I love title cards in a sound film. In the end it’s a bit awkward and overdone, but good effort.

Villains:

Wayne is on the trail of ugly murderer Red, who’s about to lead a wagon train west. Wayne gets himself invited along, so Red hires an evil blackhat cheating gambler as protection. There’s a girl of course, better known from Dracula’s Daughter and The Walking Dead, and a fake Swede, who played fake Swedes all his life. Red is Tyrone Power’s dad, in his final role before a fatal heart attack. He and the gambler (of Queen Christina) keep trying to murder Wayne even though he’s friends with the Cheyenne and arranging peaceful passage through their territory. Finally, grizzled John Huston-looking Zeke (of The Cat & The Canary) shoots the gambler.