The New Frontier

An American Western. A story set in 1889 about pioneers who have raced ahead of the law to claim free land in Oklahoma after President Benjamin Harrison signed off Manifest Destiny. When an unscupulous dance hall owner in one new town has a man shot, his quick-on-the-draw son takes his post as sheriff and must avenge his death. This is a predictable but entertaining oater which is slight on the film's theme about the land grab and struggle of pioneers but it begins with a sympathetic and decent character played well by Sam Flint, and a strong performance by John Wayne as a great-trail wagon master, brooding, coming to the rescue of the churchgoing townsfolk. The finale and showdown is as spectacular as many of the bigger budget main feature Westerns that came later. There is a nice rendition of the Glenn Strange song "The New Frontier" in which he features and sings. It borrows stock footage from earlier Ken Maynard Westerns.

A must for serious John Wayne movie collectors. It is available on John Wayne Matinée Double Feature No. 4 with Sante Fe Stampede (co-starring, the Duke, as one of the Three Mesquiteers). Why aren't these titles on DVD. I have all four of this collection and both the video and sound are more than satisfactory. This early one, He becomes the Sheriff after his father is killed. He and his buddy, Al Bridges (of Preston Sturges fame ) clean up the town with a tremendous saloon shootout. A twist is Al is the leader of a gang of outlaws who the Duke deputized. Being a Republic, rather than a Lone Star makes this one better than most of this period of the Dukes B-Westerns.

John Wayne developing his iconic screen persona now with the improved Republic pictures does well with a solid cast. He is an expert trail guide with his dad, Sam Flint. Pioneer of American cinema, Warner Richmond plays the nefarious saloon proprietor and town de facto leader. He has other ideas about Flint's plan to clean it up. Favorite actress of sagebrush stars, Muriel Evans fears for Duke's life when he seeks revenge. Al Bridge plays a great role as an outlaw who owe's Duke a favor. This sets up the finale between Duke, Bridge, Richmond, and none other than the multi-talented Glenn Strange. The contrast with an ongoing town prayer meeting adds to the suspense and the anticipated devastation. "The New Frontier" has many great moments and an unforgettable ending.

A lot of 1930's B-Western movies are almost embarrassing to watch in their primitive acting and scripting. This one has plenty of both but I found myself hanging to to see how they would being about the expected happy ending. John Wayne's character sets about the task of avenging his father's death while ridding a town of it's lawless element. Of special interest is the juxtaposition of the prayer meeting lead by the parson with the gunfight between the lawless element and the town's menfolk led by Wayne. A lot of movies, even today, shy away from religious themes that involve actual religious characters but this one shows the irony prayerful words against a backdrop of killing and the burning of the town. Take a look if you get a chance.