The Lawless Frontier
| The Lawless Frontier | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical poster | |
| Directed by | Robert N. Bradbury |
| Starring |
|
| Distributed by | Monogram Pictures |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 59 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The Lawless Frontier is a 1934 American Western film directed by Robert N. Bradbury and starring John Wayne, Sheila Terry, George "Gabby" Hayes, and Earl Dwire.
Plot
The movie opens with a family shooting from the window of their home, as they are robbed of their cattle. John Tobin (John Wayne) arrives home later that night and discovers his family killed and their cattle missing. John Wayne (Tobin) sets out in search Pandro Zanti (Earl Dwire) the local bandito, for all appearances a stereotypical Mexican outlaw, though the script is twice careful to tell us he is half white and half Apache and only pretends to be Mexican.
Zanti plans to kidnap Dusty's (George "Gabby" Hayes) daughter Ruby (Sheila Terry) for his lusty needs. This is an unusual villainous trait for 1930s matinee westerns, aimed at young audiences who expected villains to be claim jumpers and killers, not rapists. Ruby and her father hightail it out of there before she falls victim of the killer, escaping by a clever ruse [hidden in a large gunny sack] that almost gets Ruby drowned in a river. They run into Tobin tracking his family's killers. Tobin then saves the sack containing Ruby. Ruby, Dusty, and Tobin thereafter join forces.
Sheriff Luke Williams (Jack Rockwell) not only immediately takes credit for capturing Zanti when Tobin brings him in, but also arrests Tobin for the murder of Ruby's father Dusty, who took a knife in the back and collapsed. Later it is discovered Dusty only received a superficial wound and was knocked out. The Sheriff however makes a series of mistakes including handcuffing a bad guy's boot to a bed, so that all he has to do is take off his boot to escape, especially when Tobin made of point of telling Williams that Zanti can probably get loose.
A chase ensues, across the desert partly on foot, with Tobin after Zanti. The villain drinks from a desert watering hole, but in his fatigued state he does not see the sign marked "Poison. Do not drink," He dies soon after. With the chief villain now out of the picture, there is more hard riding and shooting, as Ruby and Tobin flee from Zanti's gang. When the happy ending finally arrives, Tobin becomes the new sheriff, replacing the inept Luke Williams.
Cast
- John Wayne as John Tobin
- Sheila Terry as Ruby
- Jack Rockwell as Sheriff Luke Williams
- George "Gabby" Hayes as Dusty (credited as George Hayes)
- Jay Wilsey as 2nd Zanti Henchman (credited as Buffalo Bill Jr.)
- Yakima Canutt as Joe, Zanti's Henchman
- Gordon De Main as Deputy Miller (credited as Bud Wood)
- Earl Dwire as Pandro Zanti, alias Don Yorba
See also
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to The Lawless Frontier. |
- The Lawless Frontier at the Internet Movie Database
- The Lawless Frontier is available for free download at the Internet Archive