Jerry Mason (John Wayne) is fresh out of college and has sought out old friend Jake Benson (George pre "Gabby" Hayes). Together they open up a blacksmith shop, but wind up prospecting a gold strike after following up on a quartz nugget removed from a lame horse's hoof. Their mining work allows them to while away some time as they wait for Jake's granddaughter Betty (Barbara Sheldon) to arrive home from school.
The film offers the obligatory bad guys, this time in the form of the crooked assayers, Harris and Cole (Lloyd Whitlock and Yakima Canutt). The pair conspire to steal Jake's ranch by having him unknowingly sign the deed over to them, while looking for a way to hijack the gold strike as well. They think they have it made when they shoot Jake in the middle of the desert, and frame Mason for the murder when he gets into town.
There's an interesting sequence in both this film and another Lone Star Wayne film, "The Lawless Frontier", where Wayne's character pursues a bad guy by riding a makeshift flume through a drainage trough, heading him off at the pass so to speak. Although innovative, it's not very believable given the setting.
When it comes time for Mason to stand trial for Jake's murder, Jake shows up incognito, dressed in a woman's clothing. As he gets ready to testify, he trips over his dress and reveals who he is, as Harris and Cole attempt their getaway through the courthouse window. What follows is a Keystone Cop style sequence, with the baddies hijacking a rail car, Benson in an auto, and Mason giving chase on horseback.
In true Lone Star style, the picture closes with John Wayne's character winning the girl, and a fumbling wedding photographer ready to capture the moment. This time, Wayne even gets to give her a kiss.
John Wayne made a little over a dozen Westerns for Lone Star Productions from 1933 to 1935. They all followed a similar formula as outlined above, some obviously better than others. For fans of the series, I would recommend "Riders of Destiny" and "Sagebrush Trail" as two of the better entries.
The film offers the obligatory bad guys, this time in the form of the crooked assayers, Harris and Cole (Lloyd Whitlock and Yakima Canutt). The pair conspire to steal Jake's ranch by having him unknowingly sign the deed over to them, while looking for a way to hijack the gold strike as well. They think they have it made when they shoot Jake in the middle of the desert, and frame Mason for the murder when he gets into town.
There's an interesting sequence in both this film and another Lone Star Wayne film, "The Lawless Frontier", where Wayne's character pursues a bad guy by riding a makeshift flume through a drainage trough, heading him off at the pass so to speak. Although innovative, it's not very believable given the setting.
When it comes time for Mason to stand trial for Jake's murder, Jake shows up incognito, dressed in a woman's clothing. As he gets ready to testify, he trips over his dress and reveals who he is, as Harris and Cole attempt their getaway through the courthouse window. What follows is a Keystone Cop style sequence, with the baddies hijacking a rail car, Benson in an auto, and Mason giving chase on horseback.
In true Lone Star style, the picture closes with John Wayne's character winning the girl, and a fumbling wedding photographer ready to capture the moment. This time, Wayne even gets to give her a kiss.
John Wayne made a little over a dozen Westerns for Lone Star Productions from 1933 to 1935. They all followed a similar formula as outlined above, some obviously better than others. For fans of the series, I would recommend "Riders of Destiny" and "Sagebrush Trail" as two of the better entries.