Mickey Micklon An end of the era is coming. The Pony Express is nearing an end as the telegraph line is about to be put up, making the way the mail was delivered for years obsolete.Two Pony Express riders (John Wayne, Lane Chandler) decide to go into the stagecoach business, with the Pony Express horses that were given to them and other riders as a gift of thanks for their service. The two ask the owner of the local stagecoach service (Douglas Cosgrove) if they could purchase one of his older stagecoaches. However, he offers them their own franchise to a city almost an hour away, Crescent City.The two travel to the small city, only to realize they were tricked. Turns out that the city is rundown, and has only two residents."John Blair" (Wayne) decides it's not worth accepting the offer for the franchise, but the mayor of the city (Lew Kelly), who has a lot of other jobs in the city, informs him that the United States government is offering a contract to deliver the mail in the area via stage coach. As long as they win a race with other stage coach services in the area.At one point, "Blair" comes across the team putting up the telegraph wires for the area, and gets them to agree to bring the telegraph to Crescent City, and a much needed boost to the population.Word gets to "Cal Drake" (Cosgrove), who makes plans to sabotage the Crescent City line's chances in winning that contract.Now, "Blair" has to win the contract -- and try to keep the new residence of Crescent City there.The first problem with this movie is the length. It's almost 56 minutes long, and doesn't feel like a movie at all. However, it's got some pretty good performances that make it interesting enough to keep your attention.I can't remember how many early Wayne movies I've seen lately, but, as with all the previous ones, I think Wayne has the strongest performance in the film. The others are pretty memorable as well, with Phyllis Fraser with the weakest performance as the daughter of one of the original two Crescent City residents.One of the biggest problems this movie has, most likely due to the length of it, is character development. Many supporting characters had very little development. You get to meet them, and how they play in the story, but not much more. The movie basically focuses on Wayne's character, which doesn't give the supporting cast any screen time to advance any subplots they are a part of.One of those subplots that was completely missed was the romantic subplot between "Barbara Forsythe" (Fraser) and both of the lead actors. There is no story that describes how she appears to go after one of them, but ends up with the other.The soundtrack to the movie sounded to me like a early TV Western. Nothing when it came to music stood out at all. Even the music during the only fist fight in the entire film was pretty bad. This soundtrack will not go down as one of the greatest scores in movie history.Due to the time this film was made, the special effects are not done by a computer, and are, at best, OK. In scenes where the two characters are riding on the stagecoach, it is obvious that they are in front of a movie screen. But, this simplistic effect works real well.The movie is mainly shot outdoors. But, none of the scenes are memorable. There are a few horse chases, and the stage coach race that are shot fairly nicely. And the shots during the race where they go from the race to close-ups on stagecoach mock ups in front of a movie screen are edited together smoothly.Despite the flaws of this movie, this is not a bad movie. I would not put it in your must-see list, but you should check it out if you see it on Encore Westerns, and there is nothing better to do. In fact, it's currently on Hulu right now, which is how I watched it.I would also check it out if you are a fan of John Wayne. It will show you that he was destined for his legendary status in Hollywood.

kidboots Lane Chandler started out with Gary Cooper - they appeared together in "Legion of the Condemned" (although Cooper was the star) and he even made a film with Clara Bow as well ("Red Hair" (1928) but by the next year his name had started to appear way down the cast lists. By mid 1930 however, he had found his niche - Westerns!!!, sometimes as the star, more often as the amiable side kick!!Two friends, John Blair (John Wayne) and Larry Addams (Lane Chandler),who worked for the Pony Express, decide to pitch in and buy a stage coach - but they need a route!! Cal Drake, a crooked coach dealer, has a line that he will sell to them for $3,000 (in 3 easy payments)!!! They decide, on the spur of the moment, to buy it but afterwards learn that it terminates at a ghost town!!! There is a sheriff, Rocky,(a crusty old timer) who also doubles as a postmaster - he tells the boys that if they can win a stage coach race, they will win a mail contract worth $25,000. Drake, who is as crooked as they come, along with his evil henchman, Cherokee Joe (Bob Kortman) is determined that our two heroes will not win that contract.Blair's first passenger is Barbara Forsyth (Phyllis Fraser) and she is very excited to see the town. Her father has been writing to her - all about the fancy shops and the interesting townsfolk, so she is paying him a surprise visit. She is extremely upset to see it is a ghost town. Soon after her arrival, a wagon pulls up with a sick child - they are looking for a place to settle. Things are looking up for Crescent City. Blair then comes across a group of sick men - they have been drinking poison creek water - someone has removed the sign. He saves their lives and in return they promise to run telegraph wires through Crescent City. Drake offers Blair a job carrying a gold shipment, with a promise to wipe out his debt if he succeeds in delivering the gold. Of course Drake intends to have the shipment held up but Blair has a trick up his sleeve. He sends the henchmen on ahead, then takes the coach on a different route!!!Meanwhile Larry has been seriously hurt. While driving a coach full of men to work as linesmen, he is ambushed and shot. The old doctor is forced to operate and the success of the operation restores his eroded confidence. The mail race is about to start - but without Blair, who is in jail on a trumped up charge. No big deal, he is released on bail and furiously rides off to help Rocky and eventually save the day.This is one of John Wayne's best westerns. There is an exciting stage coach race, the story is interesting, the action never lets up and the love interest is kept to a minimum. Bob Kortman is excellent as Cherokee Joe - he always seems to play the "baddies" with much gusto. You will also recognise Jon Hall, as a handsome young pony express rider in the first scene.Recommended.

dougdoepke Strong story line that benefits from Lone Star's alliance with Republic Pictures. Poverty row Lone Star usually emphasized action at the expense of story-line. This resulted in lots of exciting chases, but often with little understanding of why. Here, however, the plot is very well developed with believable characters and good action. It's an excellent sketch of how guts, risk, and ingenuity helped transform an abandoned ghost town into a vibrant new community. The screenplay also does a nice job of showing the challenges of rebuilding a frontier town without losing the conventions that entertained kids of the time. Wayne delivers a nicely appropriate turn as the driving force behind the redevelopment, along with Lane Chandler as his buddy. This film especially shows Wayne's charm before the big-money responsibility of super-stardom made him more serious. Final stage race is well conceived along with how reviving the town also restores self-confidence of its inhabitants. Very positive story-line unusual for a B-Western of the time.

Jeffrey Skinner This is my favorite B-Rater from the 30's of John Wayne!!!!! Ilove this movie, and the COach race and all, action pack john wayne 54 Minute movie that will keep u interested all through the movie! I have the pleasure to Own the VHS Copy of this movie and all its B-Rating Oater Glory right now!!!!!! John Wayne is my favorite actor of the 30's always have been and always will be. And for who ever doesn't like this movie or John wayne, then you really don't know good from bad!!!!!On a end note, who ever likes b-rated westerns from the 30's this is a great choice to pick.I HOPE THIS Review Helps you!!!!!!!