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The Polkadot Bandit has struck again and has stolen a payroll
from a hotel safe. Unfortunately Sheriff Jake Withers (Gabby Hayes) has
spotted John Carruthers (John Wayne) investigating the scene of the crime
and has immediately come to the conclusion that he is the Polkadot Bandit
- and the very next day, he starts to track Carruthers down and soon
enough has followed him back to his shack, where he finds more and more
circumstantial evidence linking Carruthers to the crime, but nothing
conclusive let alone the loot. So he decides to stick with Carruthers, who
doesn't mind the company, especially since he knows Withers is the Sheriff
trying to track down the Polkadot Bandit (despite Withers being in
disguise).
Soon enough, Carruthers and Withers save young Betty (Eleanor Hunt)
from a gang of outlaws who have already killed her father and stolen all
the provisions he was supposed to deliver to the nearby town. In the
process of this, Carruthers saves the Sheriff's life.
Later, in town, it turns out that all the townspeople were depending on
the provisions to take them through the coming winter, only Malgrove
(Edward Peil sr) tries to lift their spirits by offering each one 100
Dollars for their homestead, as a fresh start elsewhere. Carruthers
immediately grows suspicious, especially when he figures out Malgrove's
right-hand-man Danti (Yakima Canutt) is the Polkadot Bandit - so he offers
the townspeople to go fetch provisions himself (with Withers of course),
just to spoil Malgrove's plans.
Malgrove invites Betty to his ranch to come over the loss of her
father, and she gladly accepts - until she overhears a conversatin between
Malgrove and Danti in which they discuss running the townsfolks off their
homesteads because of a giant oilfield right beneath the village. Betty is
caught overhearing the two of them and locked up at the hideout of
Malgrove's gang.
Carruthers immediately smells something's fishy and he trails Malgrove
down to the hideout, then the next day, when Malgrove and company think he
and Withers are on the way to the next city to fetch provisions, they
actually head for the hideout, overcome the few henchmen left behind as
guards, free Betty, and retrieve the provisions Malgrove and gang have
stolen in their last heist. As they are about to leave of course, Malgrove
and gang return, which amounts to a big chase in which the baddies are
eventually defeated when Carruthers uses some dynamite he has found in the
villains' hideout to make half a mountain fall on top of them.
In the end, Carruthers of course gets Betty while Sheriff Withers
learns that Carruthers is not at all the Polkadot Bandit but a gouvernment
agent ...
The Westerns John Wayne made for Monogram in the mid-1930's are
all pretty good, especially those directed by Robert N.Bradbury (over half
of them), and this one is no exception, an extremely likeable piece of
B-Western cinema that makes up for its budgetary shortcomings with an
exciting script, an abundance of action (including some great stunts
courtesy of Yakima Canutt), and Archie Stout's great camerawork.
If you're at all into B-Westerns, you should watch this one.
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