The potpourri of characters, engaging and interesting, draws us into their lives. We quickly get to know them. Gatewood, the nasty, blowhard banker, is obviously a crook. Ford gives us some cliches that ring true in this fanciful tale. Luke Plummer draws a dead man's hand, aces and eights, before facing Ringo in a gunfight.
Horses ride over the camera so the thundering hooves are right in our faces.
The sweeping grandeur of Monument Valley looms, huge and foreboding, in the background. Most importantly, John Wayne shows that he can act and establishes a credible basis for his long, distinguished career. Henry Fonda stars as Wyatt Earp in this beautifully filmed picture. Ford helped create much of the drama of the mythical West. Here he makes the audience care about Earp as a person while building him into an even greater legend.