Robert Emmett Tansey never wrote a plot he didn't get at least five versions out of over a period of 15 years or so, and this one is no exception with "Arizona Days" and "Harmony Trail" among the remakes. Government agent John Wyatt is searching for a counterfeit ring operating on the Mexican/Arizona border and joins Doc Carter's traveling medicine show as a sharpshooter. Since Carter was recently released from prison, Wyatt is keeping one eye on him and both eyes on his daughter Linda who performs as "Natasha" in John's shooting act. But Doc is searching for the former partner who framed him with the counterfeiting charges that unjustly sent him to prison. That man was Curly Joe Gale just up the road a piece in Los Piedros. Gale frames Wyatt and while he is escaping from the sheriff, Gale abducts Doc and Linda. Wyatt eludes the posse and crosses the border to get extradition rights from the Mexican Rurales Captain. The Captain has had his own man, Miguel, watching Gale and he promises Wyatt his government's support.Wyatt is mistakenly arrested by Mexican law officers while Gale heads for the Old Paradise Mine where he has the Carters prisoners. Will Wyatt get free again and arrive in time to save the Carters? Sent to find counterfeiters, John Wyatt joins Doc Carter's medicine show. They arrive in the town where Curly Joe runs his counterfeiting operation. Carter was once framed by Curly Joe and Curly Joe tries to get rid of him. But John foils his attempts and learning Curly Joe is the counterfeiter, goes after him. After enjoying Blue Steel.I went on to watch this,and i feel this is a really under-rated forgotten gem.<br/><br/>The plot: John Wayne is told by the U.S. government to stop a counter-fitting scream that some people in Mexico are helping do.Wayne is told by the U.S. government that they think the main people involved are the travelling "mediciine sellers"(The "Medicine" is a drink that has 90%00 alcohol in it!)The Carter family is not as involved in the problems as he had thought.But he and the family get in trouble when some fake "stolen" iteams are planted. View on the film: Screenplay/Direction.The screenplay was by Robert E Mmett and it gives a really good feeling of Wayne and the Carters becoming really good friends as time goes on.The director is Carl L.Pierson.The thing Pierson does well is to have the plot move along really well,while not taking anything out of the friendship and building the tension. The cast:The cast really work well as an ensemble and you really feel a good friendship between them all.<br/><br/>Final view on the film: A really good,sadly forgotten film. Posses on horseback chasing after Model T Fords has never been my idea of a Western. Though I tolerated it from Roy Rogers (as a child of the 50s) I can't take it as an adult fan of The Duke. If there are cars in the picture 'it ain't a western'.We do have the obligatory hide out in a cave and John Wayne diving in to river-he must have been a heck of a swimmer because he sure jumped in to lakes and rivers a lot in these B films of the 30s. It actually is not a bad story line as far as these old b&w movies go-but I go back to my previous point-cars and horses don't mix in my mind as to what a western should be. I'm not asking for my money back though-just my least favorite of the 30s western genre that helped launch the Duke's career.
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371 weeks ago