Terra Perdida

I'm agreeing with the previous reviewer in that I'm sure the Zane Grey novel from where this film came had a lot more depth to it than the almost 70 minute B western made from it. I'm sure a young James Stewart or John Wayne in the title role could have done a great deal more than James Warren did. Nevertheless Wander Of The Wasteland is a bit more than average for a B western.

Warren as a kid was found wandering in the desert by the migrating Raferty family and taken after his parents found dead on the desert, father shot and mother dead in their covered wagon. All young Harry McKim remembers is the brand on the horse which the rider road who shot the father.

McKim grows up to be Warren and stepbrother Tommy Cook grows up to be Chito Rafferty played by Richard Martin. Now Chito's character is always fun in films, especially after he partnered with Tim Holt, but I know he was not part of Zane Grey's novel.

When both go out searching for the brand they find it belongs to the Collinshaw family. Uncle in a wheelchair Robert Barrat, nice Audrey Long and nephew Robert Clarke together with a nasty foreman played by Harry Woods. Just the casting alone should tell you who are villains are.

The rest of the story concerns Warren his search for the truth about his parents and what he does. There are also some more contemporary problems involving the younger Collinshaws as well.

I would like to have seen this as an A budget film, but this one was all right.

A young cowboy rides out to avenge his father's killer. Eventually, he finds the scoundrel, but by this time opts not to kill him for the cowboy has fallen in love with the outlaw's niece. Later, the killer ends up killed and the hero is blamed for the crime.

I liked how the film started from the protagonist'a childhood, explaining his later motives of wandering around looking for his parent's killer via a distinctive brand. It's a compelling western, which held my attention - the performances are great all round, especially James Warren who does very well and comes across quite determined to find the culprit, but is also suitably conflicted over his mission when he falls for Audrey Long. A good package of intrigue and mystery is packed in such a short running, though a longer time could have expanded certain aspects.

This is one of those films which make you want to read the book it came from to get the complete picture. There is a lot of 'fill in between the lines' in this,adding more characterisation as you do.

This is a bit unfair to this movie which is quite good for it's type,and no film ever catches the complete nuances of a novel. Compared on it's own merit, it's a pretty decent 'revenge' thriller,as our hero sets out to find the man who shot his paw! But when he does, he realises that it wasn't exactly as he thought it would be. The love he feels for his target's daughter, complicates matters.

No academy award winning acting on view here, but the stars do their parts well and Chita (Richard Martin) as the hero's adopted brother, is particularly good, more interested in chasing girls than revenge gun-play, he stands beside his 'brother' just the same and backs his play.

Nothing earth shaking and I still feel like I should read the book!