La ruée sanglante

One of Poverty Row studio Republic's intermittent big-budget efforts, War of the Wildcats is a lively, if fairly routine, western notable for its early 20th-century setting. Wayne plays Daniel F. Somers, formerly one of Teddy Roosevelt's rough riders, who finds himself entangled in a love-and-oil battle with Albert Dekker. Wayne is fairly amiable here, representing the old west and the little man forced to adapt in the face of modern technology and the dawn of big business. Dekker, of course, represents this future. He drives one of them new-fangled auto-mobeels and is erecting oil wells just as fast as he can. He is also dismissive of the native population – he even has one, a Cherokee, scrub his back as he takes a bath – while Wayne shows them respect and receives it in return. I'm not quite sure how that stacks up today, given our knowledge that the treatment of the native American by the old west fell somewhat short of what can be considered fair.

Anyway, possibly the best aspect of this film is that Dekker's character isn't portrayed as an out-and-out villain, driven only by greed. He is smart and relatively sophisticated, and also brave. Anyone who has ever had the experience of working with or for a 'captain of industry' (for want of a better term) or a self-made man, will probably recognise oilman Gardner's characteristics exactly as those that account for the success of these people. They aren't necessarily bad people, just ruthless enough to do whatever is necessary in pursuit of their goals.

Martha Scott is a fairly bland heroine – it's difficult to see why such rugged individuals as Somers and Gardner would both be so keen to bed her. Gardner's frankness in this matter is also refreshing given the times in which this film was made. He makes no secret of what he desires from Catherine and doesn't resort to any particular underhand tactics to make his desires come true. Of course, he doesn't succeed – it would be another quarter of a century before Hollywood would allow a character like Jim Gardiner to win the girl (and the oil).

This was Republic's most successful picture of 1943, offering solid if unspectacular entertainment.

It is a somewhat unusual western, being set in the early 20th century and featuring an antagonist (played by Albert Dekker) who is a ruthless businessman rather than the conventional evil villain. Dekker represents modernity and Wayne, of course, the more traditional hard moral man.

The two male leads compete for the heart of a romance writer played by Martha Scott, and for the oil rights of the Indian territory, with Wayne representing a much less predatory way of doing business.

Add some humor and lively action scenes and you get a quite enjoyable product, if a bit formulaic.

This a John Wayne film like no other. Take it from a huge fan that's seen most of his movies. Although this not classified as a comedy, the Duke's turns in a sly performance full of great one-liners and facial expressions that had me rolling. Its action adventure in the oil fields and it's very entertaining and fun. Wayne is Cowboy Dan Somers and he competes with oilman Jim Gardner for oil lease rights on Indian land in Oklahoma, as well as for the attentions of schoolteacher turned scandalous book author Cathy Allen. It has a good supporting cast including George "Gabby" Hayes. You will never see the Duke quite like this in any other role. If you're a fan of the Duke, you will love this film. It was originally titled "In Old Oklahoma" and then reissued as "War of the Wildcats".

A lesser entry in the John Wayne canon, but not without interest. I thought Duke did quite well with the light comedy in the first part of the film before getting tough later on. And he looks as good as he ever did.

I liked the opening scene as the camera panned along the train interior catching the comments of the passengers - including, I'm sure, Guinn "Big Boy" Williams who had a few words to say, though the film doesn't appear in his filmography on this site or in Quinlan.

Albert Dekker is quite a likable villain, and, for the era in which the film was made, it's quite clear what his intentions are towards Martha Scott; the innuendo is strong, and in the hotel she even looks into the room adjoining hers and gasps when she spots the bed where he wants her to end up.

I'm a bit dubious about the total oil capacity of the various wagons at the end of the film and how easily some of the explosions occurred, but the sequence is quite a novel one. And the period - very early 20th century - is an interesting one, with the film making several allusions to the new life-style that will be made possible by oil.

Apparently Rhonda Fleming is in the chorus line in her very first film, and Gabby Hayes isn't too annoying in his customary old coot/sidekick role.

I didn't expect much from this one but it's better than it has any right being. On the surface it looks like an ordinary, run-of-the-mill B western with cowboy John Wayne leading a revolt against greedy oil baron Albert Dekker. Oh and the obligatory pretty school teacher Martha Scott, who catches the eye of both Wayne and Dekker. But it's actually a fun little movie that captures your attention and never drags. Wayne and Dekker play their white hat/black hat parts well, and Scott is charming with a nice chemistry with Duke. Supporting cast features greats like Gabby Hayes, Marjorie Rambeau, and Paul Fix. And just wait until Teddy Roosevelt shows up. That was my favorite part.