Pacionsbo Absolutely Fantastic

Intcatinfo A Masterpiece!

Chirphymium It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

InformationRap This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

James Hitchcock John Wyatt is a government agent tasked with investigating the activities of a counterfeiting gang operating near the US/Mexican border. In the course of his investigations, Wyatt gets caught up with Doc Carter's travelling medicine show. Although Doc is an obvious fraud the film treats him as a lovable rogue, much less of a threat to society than the counterfeiters. Doc's attractive daughter Linda provides Wyatt's love interest. (Yes, Linda Carter. I thought of "Wonder Woman" too, even though that actress spelt her first name "Lynda"). The date at which the action takes place is never made clear. Wyatt wears standard cowboy gear suggesting a traditional late nineteenth century setting, but Doc travels round in a motor vehicle, the design of which suggests a date of at least 1920, as do the clothes worn by some of the other characters, especially Linda. My theory is that the action is supposed to take place during Prohibition and that Doc's supposed "medicine" (which we learn is 90% alcohol) is really only a ruse to get around the Volstead Act. This was one of many cheaply-made "Poverty Row" Westerns made by John Wayne in the years before he found stardom in "Stagecoach". Few of these were any good, and "Paradise Canyon" is not one of the exceptions. Apart from Wayne, the only well-known member of the cast is Yakima Canutt as the chief villain, and he was better known as a professional stunt man than as an actor. Wayne's acting is poor, giving little hint of the major star he was soon to become, and none of the other actors are any better. The plot is trite, the dialogue often ludicrous, the action scenes unconvincing and the fight scenes (a common fault on Poverty Row) badly choreographed with obviously pulled punches. Even confirmed John Wayne fans should steer clear of this movie. Or perhaps I should say, especially confirmed John Wayne fans should steer clear of this movie. Unless they want their illusions about their idol to be shattered. 3/10

Bill Slocum John Wayne grew as a screen performer during his days starring at the cheapo production company Lone Star. It's a shame the last film he made there turned out one of the worst.Government agent John Wyatt (Wayne) is sent on a mission to find a pair of suspected counterfeiters. One, Doc Carter (Earle Hodgins) runs a travelling medicine show selling gussied-up hard liquor as a "Famous Indian Remedy." The other, Curly Joe Gale (Yakima Canutt), is hiding out in Mexico, where he runs his illegal trade. The government suspects the two may still be in cahoots."Well, that's a new one for me," Wyatt tells his boss. "Looks like I'm going to have to join a medicine show."It's the one new wrinkle on what by now had become the Wayne formula at Lone Star. Once again he has a secret identity, once again he will meet a charming girl to bond with (Marion Burns as Doc's daughter Linda) and once again he will butt heads with Canutt when the crook crosses paths with his less crooked partner Doc and decides to get him out of the way for good.Director Carl L. Pierson may not be Wayne's regular helmer at Lone Star, Robert N. Bradbury, but he employs the same kind of flat storytelling devices and obvious padding. The film begins with Wyatt riding up to a town and discovering Doc Carter just rolled out under a cloud of community suspicion. The routine is repeated twice more before Wyatt finally links up with Doc and joins the show.An assortment of time-killing devices follow, including a lengthy section where Doc delivers his spiel, introduces a pair of guitar- playing singers who perform a couple of songs, then turns things over to his new attraction, "Cowboy John," who shoots targets around Linda. This amounts to a successful courting ritual for Wyatt, leaving us to wonder what kind of father lets a stranger fire bullets an inch from his daughter's head.A drunk one, I guess. Much of the humor involves how Doc Carter is his own best customer. In between pulls from the bottle, his tedious spiels suck away whatever passes for energy. As John W Chance points out in another review here, you get the feeling Pierson thought Hodgins was going to be in pictures long after the world forgot about this Wayne guy.There's also Canutt as the bad guy, a legendary stuntman who was no actor. The film has him try to bribe Wyatt to make Doc leave town, then resort to lame threats when Wyatt refuses."Alright, stranger, then I'll deal from the bottom of the deck," Curly Joe replies in his flat, wheedling voice. "You and that show be out of town tonight, or I'll be there looking for you." Eventually the criminal mastermind settles on having his henchmen take Doc and Linda to a cave where he can laugh and wait for Wyatt to show up before shooting them.There's also a number of needlessly cruel horse falls that punctuate long chase scenes. All of this is by-the-numbers Lone Star time kill, and hopefully fed some hungry dogs better than it does our need for excitement.The most disappointing thing about this film is Wayne himself. While he managed to show some real talent in his Lone Star work, here he's very clearly going through the motions and watching the clock. With such a dull supporting cast and a lame story, you can't blame him. Maybe he was thrown playing love scenes with an actress who had the same first name he did.Wayne's Lone Star films have some good moments, and at least one film worth recommending on its own merits, "Sagebrush Trail." Unfortunately, this one only shows why they called it "Poverty Row."

mark.waltz John Wayne is on the trail of a counterfeiting racket, and joins a medicine show in order to trick the bad guys. He falls in love with the daughter (Marion Burns) of the alcoholic owner (Earle Hodgins), and races frantically at the conclusion to prove that the guys always come out first. There's plenty to enjoy in this very short western comedy, and Wayne is at his low-budget best. We've seen him do this before, and some of the low grade westerns he did prior to "Stagecoach" are much better than others. This is one of the better ones. Hodgins proves that alcoholics can be funny (even if it is medicine he claims he is taking, 90 percent alcohol included) and Burns is a sweet, likable heroine.

John W Chance This film is structured like the formulaic Republic westerns to come from 1937 on. Too much talking, not enough action, unfunny comic relief, bad songs, and too many stationary locations. We can bid goodbye to the fast paced action of the earlier 'Lone Star' films.Here, while John Wayne is again a 'Federal' agent sent to track down a gang of, in this case, counterfeiters, the action gets bogged down in too many side characters and slow story. Wayne joins up with 'Doctor Carter's Medicine Show', which was somehow involved in the appearance of fake money. Finally he catches Curly Joe (Yakima Canutt), the head of the evil gang, who had captured and tied up Doctor Carter (Earle Hodgins) and his daughter Linda (Marion Burns). It's always great to hear Yakima Canutt as the villain, though, with that gravelly voice of his! Marion Burns and Reed Howes (here a 'henchman') helped to make 'The Dawn Riders' (1935) a much better film than this, since it was about a love triangle between her, Howes, and John Wayne. Everything in this one just plods along until it's action time going towards the end.One highlight is the extensive screen time given to Earle Hodgins as Doc. In one too long scene he goes on and on as a barker. The director, not R.N. Bradbury, probably said, "Let him go on! He does it so well!" Sure enough, he turned his carnival barker style of acting schtick into most of his over 300 movie and TV appearances! Although I love music, the duo singing here is strictly Republic (that is, highly forgettable). I give the film a 3.