Paradise Canyon

This is not by any means a work of art, as Big John sorts out the counterfeiters who sneak across the border. However, it is remarkably entertaining, especially given it cost about three bucks to make. The background of a medicine show adds a little by way of originality, and I suspect this is a relatively realistic picture of a not-long-vanished West, that most of the audience will have experienced and remembered. John Wayne is on good form, with a particularly enormous ten gallon hat catching the attention. Mary Astor-lookalike Marion Burns is the love interest, and the difficult father-in-law-to-be is a nice performance from Earle Hodgins, who manages even to ruin their wedding. Yakima Canutt's acting is seen to good effect, as a hard-bitten villain, and Reed Howes is a good heavy. The stunts are as usual incredible, and presumably not every horse survived the picture. High Noon it is not, but there are worse ways of spending 50 minutes of your time.