Winds of the Wasteland

Plot synopsis:
The film is set in 1861. John Blair (John Wayne) and his partner, Larry Adams (Lane Chandler) are dismayed when the arrival of telegraph ends the Pony Express. Hoping to utilize their horse-riding skills, they decide to start a stage coach transportation business. They go to Buchanan City and ask local magnate Cal Drake (Douglas Cosgrove) if he is willing to sell them a stage coach. Instead, Drake offers them a franchise from his own stage coach line - a line out to bustling Crescent City.
Upon arriving at Crescent City, Blair and Adams quickly realize that they had been bamboozled into paying for the line as Crescent City is a ghost town. The only residents are the mayor, Rocky O'Brien (Lew Kelly), and Dr. William Forsythe (Sam Flint). The mayor is thrilled to get not only new residents to double the size of the town, but a stage coach line too. Blair disparages as there are no customers to transport and will have to lose his business so quickly. The mayor says there is a way for Blair to get all the money he owes and more. There will be a contest in the next few days where the fastest team in a race will win a $25,000 government contract to deliver mail to the area. With Blair's luck returning, he also meets a telegraph crew, who he saves from poisoning after drinking from a local water hole. In appreciation, the telegraph crew offers to run the line through Crescent City if Blair will give them laborers to build the telegraph line.
Blair is able to get laborers to build the telegraph line and the population of Crescent City begins to skyrocket. Drake, upset that Blair is actually a competing business out of his lie, then decides to hire Blair to drive a gold shipment to Sacramento only to ambush him. If Blair can get the gold to the destination, Drake will take $1,000 off of the original loan. Blair escapes the ambush and collects the money at gunpoint. Drake next hopes to stop Blair at the race. He gets his henchman to throw obstacles in Blair's way to defeat him by any means necessary. But despite all odds, Blair wins the race and the $25,000 reward.

Tags: violence

Review:
The story has two ex Pony Express riders, John Craig (Wayne) and Larry Adams (Lane Chander) starting up a stagecoach line.
They are duped into signing an agreement with bad guy Drake (Douglas Cosgrove) to operate the line between two towns one of which is deserted except for the disgruntled doctor (Sam Flint) and jack of all trades Rocky (Lew Kelly).
The highlight of the film, and a sequence that sets it apart, is the climatic and very well staged race between Drake's coach and that of Craig.
Jon Hall (using the name Charles Lochner), appears briefly at the beginning of the movie as a Pony Express rider who is seen talking to Wayne and Chandler.
Having seen most of John Wayne's pre 1939 westerns (including some of his more highly regarded ones such as Randy Rides Alone, Hell Town aka Born To The West, Blue Steel, West Of The Divide, Sagebrush Trail and Riders of Destiny) this is the most entertaining.
With the advent of the telegraph, Pony Express rider John Wayne and his friend find themselves out of work with a few horses as severance pay.
However, the two have a plan to make it work by winning a mail contract and bringing in the telegraph.One of Wayne's best B-pictures, Winds Of The Wasteland is irresistible, breezy fun, full of humor and can-do spirit, with a winning performance by the Duke.An exciting stagecoach race, full of villainous treachery and thunderous action makes for a good, satisfying climax.If you haven't seen any of Wayne's early westerns, this is a good place to start..
Ilove this movie, and the COach race and all, action pack john wayne 54 Minute movie that will keep u interested all through the movie!
And for who ever doesn't like this movie or John wayne, then you really don't know good from bad!!!!!On a end note, who ever likes b-rated westerns from the 30's this is a great choice to pick.I HOPE THIS Review Helps you!!!!!!!.
John Wayne B-movie path to stardom is clearly on the ascendant in this amiable, non-formulaic outing, thanks to fine support from Lane Chandler and the Republic Pictures team.John Blair (Wayne) and fellow Pony Express veteran Larry Adams (Chandler) are sold a bum stage route to ghost town Crescent City by the conniving tycoon of neighboring Buchanan, Cal Drake (Douglas Cosgrove).
Drake later admits the deal was "a lemon," yet Blair and Adams count on capitalist know-how and their handiness with fist and gun to turn the tables on the crooked Drake.As reviewer John W Chance rightly notes, this is another of those B- movie Waynes where the title makes no sense.
"Winds Of The Wasteland" is more concerned with the business of stage travel than that later western, and this focus provides "Winds" with much of its interest.The light comedic tone of the film is established early on, when Blair and Adams ride into Crescent City for the first time, shooting their guns into the air and expecting a hearty welcome from the healthy population Drake informed them reside there."Thirty-five hundred people don't make much noise," Blair notes as the gunsmoke blows through an empty street."Maybe they're out on a picnic," Adams suggests."Or just out," Blair responds.In fact, there are only two residents of Crescent City, a demoralized doctor (Sam Flint) and an eccentric coot (Lew Kelly) in the Gabby Hayes mold who styles himself mayor and pretty much everything else.
In time, Blair and Adams set to making Crescent City a bustling hub of activity, which draws the deadly ire of Drake and his nefarious crew.A dedication in the beginning of the film memorializes the telegraph-line builders "who gave their lives to bring the thin strands of communication across the trackless wastes of the great American Desert." In fact, a plot point involves Blair using his gun to help these telegraph men, though hardly in the way you might expect.
Wayne is in terrific early form here, showcasing his amiable side but hard when he needs to be."I didn't know school let out so early," he jibes one of Drake's henchmen.While entertaining, "Winds" has its share of story ellipses and contrivances.
It definitely compresses a lot of story development to fit its hour- long frame.But the film moves well, culminating in an exciting stagecoach race between Blair and Drake that emphasizes character over gunplay.
Former Pony Express Riders John Wayne and Lane Chandler get some free horses when the Pony Express disbands and decide to start a stagecoach line.
But through good old American know how and some hard work, Wayne and Chandler make a go of it.
I like the plot very much and there is an exciting climax with a stagecoach race to see who wins the government mail contract.And why wouldn't it be exciting since the King of Stuntmen, Yakima Canutt who did the chariot race in Ben-Hur had a hand in this one.Also look for a very nice performance from character actor Lew Kelly, the "Mayor" of the ghost town who keeps having a run in with a persistent skunk who has taken up residence in the old stagecoach Wayne and Chandler buy.But that's no comment on the picture..
Well ladies and gentleman the Pony Express rides again,, this time with John Wayne leading the charge.
A man and his partner ride into town looking to make some money,, and there chance is right in front of them 25,000 prize for the quickest Pony Express run..
Crescent City is where it all starts at,, and for the life of me I can't remember the ending point, but that's really not important,, so the Duke and his partner get the line,, now only to find out that the town in which they start at has a grand total of get this,, 2 people..
well eventually 3 more people are on the way so we got 5 all together,, the man who put up the prize money though isn't playing on the up and up , as he tries to sabotage the Duke and his partner from finishing the run from the one city to the other for the Pony Express,, I found this movie to be very interesting as I really don't know much about the origins of the Pony Express..
Wayne and partner Lane Chandler try to start a stagecoach route through a ghost town.
John Wayne appeared in sixteen Westerns for Paul Malvern's Lone Star/Monogram Pictures, and stayed on for eight more films when the group merged with Republic in 1935.
"Winds of the Wasteland" was the last one of these, and would be Wayne's final Western for a couple of years while working on six pictures for Universal in 1936/37.
It's a lively story that teams The Duke up with Lane Chandler; they only appeared together once before in Lone Star's "Sagebrush Trail".
With the dissolution of the Pony Express, the boys decide to form a stage line with the horses they receive in gratitude for their service.Wayne's character is John Blair, and along with Larry Adams (Chandler), the boys are quickly hoodwinked into buying a stagecoach route from Buchanan to Crescent City.
The first sign of trouble comes when the signboard for Crescent City's population reads '2', ever since villain Cal Drake (Douglas Cosgrove) had a falling out with Doc Forsythe (Sam Flint), with the population of the town following him to Buchanan.
It's a set up that doesn't make too much sense, but if you stay with it, you'll see that Blair stays one step ahead of Drake at every turn to revitalize Crescent City and win a government subsidy of twenty five thousand dollars.For those familiar with the work of stuntman extraordinaire Yakima Canutt, you'll recognize what might be considered a very early tryout for the chariot race in "Ben-Hur" some two decades later.
The seeds of that epic movie scene might have been planted here with the thrilling stagecoach race to Sacramento between Blair and Drake.
Blair outwits the villain's chicanery to win by a little more than a nose, thereby winning the government grant, along with Doc Forsythe's pretty daughter Barbara (Phyllis Fraser).
In that respect, Wayne's character kept the streak intact of winning the lady's hand at the end of each of his early Westerns.Another reviewer for this film commented on Phyllis Fraser's resemblance to Ginger Rogers.
I'd be curious to know if the name derived from 'B' Western film director Harry Fraser, who did a couple of Wayne's Lone Star yarns.Anyway, getting back to the film, you should have some fun with this one, as Wayne keeps things upbeat even when he's being railroaded by baddie Drake throughout the story.
By mid 1930 however, he had found his niche - Westerns!!!, sometimes as the star, more often as the amiable side kick!!Two friends, John Blair (John Wayne) and Larry Addams (Lane Chandler),who worked for the Pony Express, decide to pitch in and buy a stage coach - but they need a route!!
There is a sheriff, Rocky,(a crusty old timer) who also doubles as a postmaster - he tells the boys that if they can win a stage coach race, they will win a mail contract worth $25,000.
Drake, who is as crooked as they come, along with his evil henchman, Cherokee Joe (Bob Kortman) is determined that our two heroes will not win that contract.Blair's first passenger is Barbara Forsyth (Phyllis Fraser) and she is very excited to see the town.
No big deal, he is released on bail and furiously rides off to help Rocky and eventually save the day.This is one of John Wayne's best westerns.
There is an exciting stage coach race, the story is interesting, the action never lets up and the love interest is kept to a minimum.
John Wayne's extremely low budget features of the mid 1930's are an entertaining mix of various western themes that are often repetitive, yet never boring.
In the case of "Winds of the Wasteland", he is the sucker who buys a stagecoach of the practically vacant ghost town of Crescent City.
Lane Chandler is his "Gabby" Hayes like sidekick who humorously finds an interesting intruder into the stagecoach when they first come across the decrepit vehicle.
Of course, there's a young lady involved, and she's Phyllis Fraser, the big-city raised daughter of Crescent City's doctor who has lied to her in the mail over the city's population.
Lots of humor (especially the delight of the town's mayor/sheriff/drug store operator at doubling the town's population from 2 to 4!) fills up the short running time as Wayne cleverly goes up against the bad guys who commit a lot of nefarious actions in order to keep Wayne from winning the race.
Wow, I've watched a ton of John Wayne's B-westerns from the 1930s, but I have never seen one that featured such obscure actors throughout the film.
Familiar faces like Gabby Hayes and Yakima Canut are no where to be seen, so it's obvious that this is an even lower budget film than usual for Wayne--an actor who made a bazillion B-westerns.
Wayne and another ex-rider decide to go in to the stage coach business--even though they know absolutely NOTHING about it.
With a fresh plot and Wayne's usual effortless performance, it's among the best B-westerns I've seen.
This is an early John Wayne Republic western.
It doesn't take long to figure out who the chief villain is: Douglas Cosgrove, as Cal Drake, who owns the stage line headquartered at the fictional town of Buchanan City, presumably in California.
Wayne and his buddy Larry(Lane Chandler) are recently retired Pony Express riders, after the new telegraph line from the eastern US knocked them out of work.
Wayne decided they should save their collective 4 Pony Express ponies given them as a retirement present to pull a stage in a proposed new stage line.
Somehow, Rocky found a flier announcing a race contest between stagecoaches to carry the mail between Buchanan City and Sacramento.
It turned out that the only 2 contestants were Drake and the Crescent City line.
You can bet that Drake and his henchmen did everything they could think of to knock Wayne and his coach out of the race.
He did a good deed for the telegraph linemen, and talked the supervisor into stringing the line through Crescent City, rather than Buchanan.......I'm surprised that Barbara's father wasn't killed before the ending, thus symbolically transferring Barbara's affection from him to Wayne..
John Wayne (John Blair), Lane Chandler (Larry Adams), Phyllis Fraser (Barbara Forsythe), Douglas Cosgrove (Cal Drake), Sam Flint (Dr Forsythe), Lew Kelly (Rocky), Bob Kortman (Cherokee Joe), Jon Hall (Jim, a Pony Express rider), Yakima Canutt (Smokey), W.
COMMENT: One of the best of Wayne's pre-Stagecoach westerns, thanks to a superior screenplay by Joseph Poland, stylish direction by Mack V.
Wayne plays with a casually charming ease and is smoothly partnered by Lane Chandler, while Phyllis Fraser makes a convincing heroine and Lew Kelly a passable comedian.
The climactic stagecoach race is every bit as thrilling as the script promises with heaps of hard riding (excitingly filmed in running inserts), plus some really spectacular stunt-work..
WINDS OF THE WASTELAND is a B-movie western feature for the stalwart star of that genre, the one and only John Wayne.
This film's story is set in the dying days of the Pony Express and features Wayne and his buddy going into the stagecoach business, only to find their plans thwarted by a ruthless rival.
Sorry-- This One Doesn't Stand Out. For those who have watched John Wayne's 16 'Lone Star' westerns (1933-1935) (so cheaply available everywhere on DVD), this film is a major change in many ways.
The only thing that remains the same is the disconnect between the title of the film and what it is actually about.In this case, John Wayne (John Blair) and his Pony Express buddy Lane Chandler (Larry Adams) get tricked into buying a ghost town, Crescent City, which they magically transform into a thriving one in only a few days!
Apparently, the same day Blair gets workers to go to Crescent City to help build the telegraph, it also suddenly becomes a rebuilt town complete with restored store fronts, new homes, and a Chinese laundry (with racist stereotypes and music).Forget the shootouts, chases, fights and the spectacular stunts of the Mighty Yak (Yakima Canutt) that were the core of so many of the 'Lone Star' films.
The comic old timer / low comic sidekick part (later played in other westerns by Al. St John, Fuzzy Knight, Max Terhune among countless others)adds idiotic contrast to the main action, and in fact, as another indication of what is to come in junk westerns, ends the film.
A longer film would have really developed John Wayne's relationship with him (i.e., actually showing these scenes), as in their equal screen time pairing in the best 'Lone Star' western 'Sagebrush Trail' (1933).
If you want a real movie, watch 'Stagecoach' (1939) to see John Wayne in a full blown Movie Type Movie..
. sums up the plot of WINDS OF THE WASTELAND, as well as pretty much every other flick John Wayne made (except STAGECOACH) during the 1930s--about 70 pictures in all.
Perhaps it was not a Dory-like lack of short-term memory, but his Biblical Knowledge of every Working Girl on the California-Mexican border which had nearly all of Hollywood's screenwriters naming Mr. Wayne's characters "John," Question #8 of the "Trivia Quiz" on the 2000 Madacy Co.
A pretty good, but short, Wayne movie.
The Pony Express is nearing an end as the telegraph line is about to be put up, making the way the mail was delivered for years obsolete.Two Pony Express riders (John Wayne, Lane Chandler) decide to go into the stagecoach business, with the Pony Express horses that were given to them and other riders as a gift of thanks for their service.
Turns out that the city is rundown, and has only two residents."John Blair" (Wayne) decides it's not worth accepting the offer for the franchise, but the mayor of the city (Lew Kelly), who has a lot of other jobs in the city, informs him that the United States government is offering a contract to deliver the mail in the area via stage coach.
As long as they win a race with other stage coach services in the area.At one point, "Blair" comes across the team putting up the telegraph wires for the area, and gets them to agree to bring the telegraph to Crescent City, and a much needed boost to the population.Word gets to "Cal Drake" (Cosgrove), who makes plans to sabotage the Crescent City line's chances in winning that contract.Now, "Blair" has to win the contract -- and try to keep the new residence of Crescent City there.The first problem with this movie is the length.
However, it's got some pretty good performances that make it interesting enough to keep your attention.I can't remember how many early Wayne movies I've seen lately, but, as with all the previous ones, I think Wayne has the strongest performance in the film.
The others are pretty memorable as well, with Phyllis Fraser with the weakest performance as the daughter of one of the original two Crescent City residents.One of the biggest problems this movie has, most likely due to the length of it, is character development.
The movie basically focuses on Wayne's character, which doesn't give the supporting cast any screen time to advance any subplots they are a part of.One of those subplots that was completely missed was the romantic subplot between "Barbara Forsythe" (Fraser) and both of the lead actors.
There is no story that describes how she appears to go after one of them, but ends up with the other.The soundtrack to the movie sounded to me like a early TV Western.
In scenes where the two characters are riding on the stagecoach, it is obvious that they are in front of a movie screen.
There are a few horse chases, and the stage coach race that are shot fairly nicely.