The Desert Trail

The opening scene in the stagecoach is hilarious. Wayne shows a real comedic talent here and throughout this tongue-in-cheek 60 minutes that he seldom showed as a super-star. The dialogue surrounding Wayne's and Kansas's competition over the girls is delightfully funny. So is the scene with Anne having to stretch out for Wayne's ogling benefit. Credit should go to writer Lindsley Parsons and director Lewis Collins who keeps Wayne loose and in the mood. And where did the guy playing Kansa come from. He looks more like a banker than a side-kick. But he sure knows his way around a laugh line. Pairing him with Wayne is almost inspired.

I guess an entry like this is largely a matter of taste. It departs from the matinée formula by emphasizing a rather adult level of humor. Probably, most kids didn't much like it. The plot is pretty good, more coherent than most, with the usual hard-riding, big-shooting action. One thing for sure-- Lone Star didn't pop for locations on this one. I can almost see the LA outskirts in the distance. Anyway, this one gave me a lot more chuckles than I ever expected, and I may be wrong, but I don't think Wayne ever again reached quite this level of relaxed comedic acting.