''Westward Ho'' is a 1935 American

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

film directed by Robert N. Bradbury. It stars

John Wayne Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne and nicknamed The Duke or Duke Wayne, was an American actor who became a popular icon through his starring roles in films made during Hollywood's Gol ...

and

Sheila Bromley Sheila Bromley (born Sheila LeGay; October 31, 1911 – July 23, 2003), (The reference work ''Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2003'' gave her birth date as October 31, 1907). sometimes billed as Sheila LeGay, Sheila Manners, Sheila Manno ...

, with

Yakima Canutt Enos Edward "Yakima" Canutt (November 29, 1895 – May 24, 1986) was an American champion rodeo rider, actor, stuntman, and action director. He developed many stunts for films and the techniques and technology to protect stuntmen in performing t ...

in a supporting role. Released by the recently created

Republic Pictures Republic Pictures Corporation (currently held under Melange Pictures, LLC) was an American motion picture production-distribution corporation in operation from 1935 to 1967, that was based in Los Angeles. It had studio facilities in Studio City an ...

, it was produced by

Paul Malvern Paul William Malvern (June 28, 1902 – May 29, 1993) was an American film producer, child actor, and stuntman. He produced more than 100 films. He began his career as a child acrobat. He later worked as a stuntman before transitioning to an a ...

who had previously released his John Wayne Lone Star Westerns for

Monogram Pictures Monogram Pictures Corporation was an American film studio that produced mostly low-budget films between 1931 and 1953, when the firm completed a transition to the name Allied Artists Pictures Corporation. Monogram was among the smaller studios i ...

. According to

AllMovie AllMovie (previously All Movie Guide) is an online database with information about films, television programs, and screen actors. , AllMovie.com and the AllMovie consumer brand are owned by RhythmOne. History AllMovie was founded by popular-cult ...

, it is the earliest

revisionist Western The revisionist Western (also called the anti-Western, sometimes revisionist antiwestern) is a sub-genre of the Western film. Designated a post-classical variation of the traditional Western, the revisionist subverts the myth and romance of the ...

– the hero, John Wyatt (Wayne), leads a band of vigilantes on a quest for revenge.

Plot

Whit Ballard and his gang of outlaws steal a herd of cattle from the Wyatts, a family of drovers, murdering the parents. In the aftermath, Ballard takes a shine to one of the boys, Jim (Frank McGlynn, Jr., as an adult) and decides to take him along for kicks, but leaves behind his brother John (John Wayne, as an adult). Once grown up, in an effort to chase down the men who killed his parents and kidnapped his brother, John organizes a frontier Vigilante group of cowboys (who sing, wear black and ride white horses) to bring outlaws to justice, and they become renowned for their success. John joins on as a hand with a cattle herding family, and takes a particular shine to the lovely and sassy daughter Mary (Bromley). Jim (unrecognized by John), using the surname Allen, has also infiltrated the family, to provide intel to Ballard to assist stealing the cattle. John smells a rat, and rides away in the middle of the night, returning with his vigilantes in time to foil the outlaws's plan to rob the family. In the confusion of the gunplay and fighting, Jim manages to make it appear as if he saved the father, and stays unknown as a Ballard confidante. Interrogating one of the outlaws, John discovers that Ballard is the man responsible for killing his family. He lets the outlaw go but tells him to stay out of the local town where Ballard is laying up. John heads to town and recognizes the same outlaw. He starts a fight, but other outlaws join in and he is badly outnumbered. John makes a derring-do escape over roof tops, riding off to again retrieve his vigilantes. Meanwhile Jim tricks Mary into going to Ballard's hideout, where she is locked into a room. Ballard has a ransom note sent to John instructing him to come alone to a canyon if he wants her back. When John gets the note, he rides off alone to the canyon, leaving the vigilantes behind. Meanwhile, Ballard's gang robs the gold from the town bank and sets off for the canyon. Jim sees them ride off, abandoning him, and goes to the hideout, where he frees Mary, who tells him she overheard Ballard saying John is his brother and left Jim behind before he could discover that. Knowing a trap awaits John at the canyon, Jim rides off to the canyon while Mary rides off to get the vigilantes. Jim arrives at the canyon, and as John rides in, yells to warn him of the trap and stalls the waiting outlaws in a shootout. Jim joins John and tells him they are brothers, and the two try to escape on horseback. Their path intersects with Ballard in a wagon with the stolen gold, just as the vigilantes also arrive and engage the outlaws in a mobile shootout on horseback. John jumps aboard the wagon and fights Ballard, jumping off just before the wagon careens down an embankment, killing Ballard. John rushes back to Jim, who was shot in the action. Jim dies in John's arms, poignantly rueful of his bad ways. John tells Mary he is disbanding the group and leaving to become a California rancher. Mary kisses him as she calls him a "muttonhead", their pet name for each other, and it is apparent that she will be going with him.

Cast

as John Wyatt *

as Mary Gordon * Frank McGlynn Jr. as Jim Wyatt * Jim Farley as Lafe Gordon (herd owner) * Jack Curtis as Whit Ballard * Bradley Metcalfe as John Wyatt as a child *

Dickie Jones Richard Percy Jones (February 25, 1927 – July 7, 2014), known as Dick Jones or Dickie Jones, was an American actor and singer who achieved success as a child performer and as a young adult, especially in B-Westerns. In 1938, he played Artimer ...

as Jim Wyatt as a child *

Mary MacLaren Mary MacLaren (born Mary Ida MacDonald, also credited Mary McLaren; January 19, 1900 – November 9, 1985) was an American film actress in both the silent and sound eras."Thirteenth Census of the United States: 1910 Population", digital cop ...

as Ma Wyatt *

as Red (Ballard henchman) *

Hank Bell Hank Bell (January 21, 1892 – February 4, 1950) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 370 films between 1920 and 1950. He was born in Los Angeles, California, and died in Hollywood, California, from a heart attack A myo ...

as Mark Wyatt * Glenn Strange as Carter (singing rider)

References

External links

* * } * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Westward Ho (Film) 1935 films 1935 Western (genre) films American Western (genre) films American black-and-white films 1930s English-language films Films directed by Robert N. Bradbury Films shot in Lone Pine, California Republic Pictures films Revisionist Western (genre) films 1930s American films

Plot

Cast

See also

References

External links