The Big Stampede

Big Stampede with John Wayne, in one of his earlier credited roles... as John, deputy, in the cattle driving days. he's out to catch Sam (Noah Beery) and Joe (Luis Alberni) rustling cattle. Co-stars Mae Madison, as the love interest. It's a shortie, at only 55 minutes, but they pack a lot in. early talkie western. early credited role for J. Wayne. and it seems to be about the time New Mexico was looking for state-hood. they keep talking about how they will never get statehood with all the violence and rustling still going on. horses. bad guys. hero. all the great western ingredients. Directed by Tenny Wright, in one of the seven films Wright directed! He and Wayne made this one and Telegraph Trail together. apparently filmed in the hills between Merced and Monterey. Original story by Marion Jackson, who had written a whole bunch of western stories, which were made into films from the 1920s into the 1930s. it's pretty good. Sound and picture are surprisingly good for a film from 1932... either a very good quality print, or maybe its been restored. check it out!

Marshal John Steele (John Wayne) teams up with Mexican outlaw Sonora Joe (Luis Alberni) to take on villainous Sam Crew (Noah Beery). Paul Hurst plays one of Beery's henchmen. I'm used to seeing him in gangster pictures and other urban movies like that. He does fine here though. John Wayne made six of these B westerns for Leon Schlesinger that were distributed by Warner Bros. He appears with talented stunt horse Duke in each one. They're all watchable but nothing special. This is one of the better ones, thanks in large part to Noah Beery as the heavy. Luis Alberni is also lots of fun as the flamboyant Sonora Joe, even if he is Mexican by way of Madrid.

A number of John Wayne's early westerns looked alike, but that's not a criticism because the handful I've seen were all entertaining.

That's one similarity: others included the fact they only were about an hour long, had interesting (albeit strange) dialog, had a pretty lead female (here, Mae Madison) and a very talented horse named "Blue." Of course, the men were all tough guys.

There is a lot of action and interesting scenes packed into this one hour.

My only complaint was that Luis Alberini's character made the Mexicans look unnecessarily stupid.

"The Big Stampede" was the second of six "B" westerns starring John Wayne and his horse "Duke" made by Warner Bros. for the 1932-33 season. As was the case in this series, this film was a re-make of a Ken Maynard silent (in this case, 1927s Land Beyond the Law).

Sam Crew (Noah Beery Sr.) is luring settler's wagon trains (and their cattle) to New Mexico where he rustles the cattle for himself. Governor Lew Wallace (Berton Churchill), who in real life wrote "Ben-Hur", assigns John Steele (Wayne) as a Deputy Sheriff to clean up the problem.

He drifts into town and poses as a shiftless drunk to gain knowledge of the situation. A wagon train led by Cal Brett (Lafe McKee) comes to town and turns to Crew for help in settling in the area. But Crew has other ideas.

When Crew's gunman, Arizona (Paul Hurst) murders Brett, Steele vows to bring in the killer. It just happens that Brett had a young daughter, Ginger (Mae Madison) and a sling shot slinging son Patrick (Sherwood Bailey). Steele naturally takes to the two.

Bandito Sonora Joe (Luis Alberni) and his gang compete with Crew for the settler's cattle. Steele for some unknown reason has enough faith in Sonora Joe to have him throw in with him to bring down Sam Crew. In the final showdown there is a "big stampede" (lifted from the Maynard film) and.........................................

Wayne's inexperience really shows In this film. His acting is mediocre at best but he would gain valuable experience over the next seven years in films like this. There seems to have been a scene or two cut from this film. Wayne's transition from the drunken drifter to heroic sheriff is missing. He just suddenly becomes the upstanding hero without explanation.

This film is boosted somewhat by the casting of Noah Beery Sr. as the snarling villain Crew. Alberni is also good as Sonora Joe, providing the film's comedy relief. Berton Churchill would appear as Gatewood the banker in Wayne's breakthrough film, "Stagecoach (1939).

The Big Stampede (1932)

*** (out of 4)

Entertaining "B" Western has John Steele (John Wayne) taking over as the sheriff in a small town that has had an issue with local lawmen being murdered. He gets the help of Mexican bandit Sonora Joe (Luis Alberni) and the two try to track down the killer.

THE BIG STAMPEDE is the second of six Westerns that Wayne made while at Warner Bros.. The majority of these films have been forgotten because of what classics he would make throughout the next several decades but those interested in seeing where the legend started should enjoy this for what it is.

Obviously this isn't an Oscar-winner or any sort of ground-breaking film but it works as a small film. The film manages to keep you entertained through the short 54-minute running time thanks in large part to the cast. Wayne actually turns in a pretty decent performance here and especially early on when his character has some sympathy for wanting to take the job being offered. I thought Alberni stole the show in his supporting performance and Noah Beery is also good here. Yeah, Duke, the horse, is here too.

The film contains some nice shoot outs as well as some nice chases, which help keep the thing moving at a nice pace. Fans of Wayne or these early "B" Westerns should be entertained by this.