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When Randy (John Wayne) arrives at Half Way House to investigate some
crooked goings-on for the House's owner Ed Rogers, he finds everyone has
been shot, including Rogers, and rather recently too. Recently enough for
the sheriff (Earl Dwire), who arrives a short time later, to book Randy
for the killings. Randy, who doesn't want to blow his cover as
investigator, lets the sheriff arrest him, but soon enough he can convince
Ed Rogers' daughter Sally (Alberta Vaughan) that he is innocent, and soon
enough too, she helps him break jail.
While hunted by the sheriff and his mob, Randy rather accidently finds
the secret hide-out of the real gangsters, led by one Marvin Black (Gabby
Hayes), who is known in town as the mute and hunchbacked but mild-mannered
Matt the Mute ... but with his gang he shows his real face, lets hear his
real voice - and has no hunchback.
Black decides to keep Randy in his gang, as he figures he might be able
to use him. In the meantime, he has his men abduct Sally, as he wants the
money - a mere $ 30.000 - she has hidden somewhere in Half Way House, and
he wants Half Way House as well, because this would give him control of
the region. Sally though refuses to talk, but then gives the hideout of
the money away to Randy ... who promptly rides off to get the money and
replace it with dynamite, then gets the sheriff and his mob to follow him
to the gang's hide-out. But as if that wasn't enough, once back with the
gang, he spills the beans on the money's hiding place to Black (but of
course forgets to mention that he has replaced the dough with dynamite).
The whole situation culminates in a big shoot-out, with all the outlaws
being either shot or arrested, only Black gets away ... and heads for Half
Way House to at least get the loot.
Unfortunately though, he tries to shoot open the strongbox the money is
supposed to be in, only instead of money, there's dynamite inside ... boom
!
Ah yeah, and in the end Randy gets the girl.
John Wayne's Westerns for Monogram/Lone Star are all
pretty decent, even inventive efforts, and this one is no exception. The
standard plot of the loner tracking down a gang of outlaws while being
outlawed himself is expanded by non-genre-typical elements like the
gangster boss leading a doulbe life as mute hunchback, Half Way House with
its secret compartments, the villains' impressive mountain hideout, and
the main villain done away by a self-triggered, massive explosion in the
end. All that, combined with fast paced direction and plenty of usual
action make this a fine B-Western.
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