The Lucky Texan

This is the 4th in the western series from Lone Star/Paul Malvern Productions, and directed by westerns veteran Robert N. Bradbury (father of westerns star Bob Steele) starring John Wayne and George "Gabby" Hayes. The plot in this film as in others in this series is a bit more complicated than the usual B western plot. Here Wayne and Hayes hook up after many years, start a blacksmith shop and then strike gold. Now the crooked assay office - real estate office owner Lloyd Whitlock (Harris) and his assistant Yakima Canutt (Cole) want Hayes ranch and the gold. But they'll have to get rid of Wayne and Hayes to accomplish this. Then it turns out that Earl Dwire's (Sherriff Miller) son is a thief and murderer and Wayne gets blamed for these crimes. Exonerated, he is later blamed for Hayes's death. What a life. In between all this, Hayes' lovely granddaughter Barbara Sheldon, with a little girl's voice, shows up and becomes Wayne's love interest. IMDB says Sheldon appeared in 4 films between 1933-34. For action, there is a lot of riding back and forth, a few fistfights, and a gunfight or two. Plot devices used in other movies in this series: jumping into the river to escape; riding (as if snowboarding) down a wet sluice to head off a bad guy; Wayne trying to jump from horse to horse to knock down a bad guy, missing and rolling down a hill; getting a serious kiss at the end. New devices here include chase by car, escape by RR motorized car; using a disguise o fool the bad guys; having a photograph taken at the end. And, a couple of little plot twists.