Leofwine_draca THE STAR PACKER is a simple and fast-paced B-movie western for rising star John Wayne. The story is a familiar one about an outlaw gang terrorising a small town, at which point Wayne decides to take up the mantle of sheriff and do something to stop them. There are low rent action scenes, a little romantic time for the ladies, and the usual genre tropes and staples. Hardly profound, but it does the job.

SanteeFats This is an early John Wayne oater. It is very typical for that era. John Wayne, of course, plays the good guy and a lawman, and Yakima Canute, who is in a ton of John Wayne's early movies, usually as a bad guy, plays a good guy for a change. even it it is a very stereotypical Indian sidekick, (insensitive by today's politically correct idiots). Of course this movie is in black and white, since color was still on the horizon, so some of the video does leave a bit to be desired but I did and still do enjoy the good guy versus bad guy movies where most things are pretty clear. I also like his later movies that had a bit more suspense.

John W Chance This epic 'Lone Star' effort has a huge cast (of riders), but seems too squeezed for its 53 minutes. It is filled with serial trophes (mystery villain, hidden gunshots, hollowed tree, 'ghostly' haunts, a final mass posse chase to capture the villain), but in contrast to most other Lone Star films, it tries to do too much in too short a time. It seems rushed. This one could have used a sprawling 90 minutes to: flesh out all the evil henchmen introduced by name, including 'Chuckawalla' Red, 'Slippery' Williams and 'Spike' Morgan; show the back story of how George Hayes took over the ranch; give the faithful Indian companion,"Yak," (played by Yakima Canutt himself!) more to do; and give development to the romance between the interesting blonde, Verna Hillie (showcased in a subtle bed sequence), and John Wayne --the last scene shows their domesticity with their now five year old son! (Contrast this with the last 30 seconds of Buster Keaton's 1927 'College'!) Yak, skin darkened to look more 'Indian,' speaks in Tonto talk: "We do-um," and "Hi you skookem! Big fun!" But mostly John Wayne just tells him to "Stay here and keep an eye out..." You can see even more of the versatility of the pre- 'Gabby' George Hayes as a REALLY despicable villain in the clunky serial 'The Lost City.' Finally, even though the movie moves along interestingly enough, suddenly, everyone in town is going to chase after the villain and his gang. The cutting and pace of the film abruptly quickens, and while we see in the final epic sequence hundreds of riders (well, maybe only about 40), it came up too fast for me, and the film ended too quickly.I'll give it an E for Epic, in other words, a five.

johnjredington This is a real B movie, right down to the historical imprecision of a location featuring both stage coaches and telephones, its clichéd dialogue, a totally predictable plot straight out of the comics and enough protracted chases and gunfights to fill in the gaps left by a very thin script.The Duke and his entourage provide plenty of ironic laughs but, if you want to take the movie at face value, it is quite enjoyable. The good guys win, the bad guys get their comeuppance, the Duke gets his gal and Yakima Canutt shows his tricks all in a setting that engrossed generations of schoolboys over most of the 20th century.The Star Packers should also be of interest to students of cinema as its structure encapsulates the early movement of silent film into the talkies.