In Old California (1942)

In one of The DUKE's more off-beat roles, he plays a Gold Rush era

druggist in this picture. Turns out John Wayne's father was a

druggist, which is why DUKE wanted to play the role.

Although he

does engage in some gunplay, for the most part, DUKE is not the center

of action in this one. Rather, he's more or less a gentle man of

science who tries to bring much needed medicines to Sacremento. In the

process of following his dream, and the attentions of saloon girl

Lacey Miller, he incurs the wrath of local bad guy and town boss Britt

Dawson and his brother.

Eventually, DUKE has to choose between two

girls, clear his name of selling poisoned medicines, have it out with

the Dawsons, and save a gold mining camp from typhoid fever. All in a

day's work for The DUKE!

Unfortunately, this 1942 effort is not

exactly a classic DUKE movie. Rather, it plays more like some of the

non-descript "B" westerns DUKE made between 1930's "The

Big Trail", and 1939's "Stagecoach".

Most of the

cast is forgettable, save DUKE and Patsy Kelly. Kelly played comedic

roles similar to those played by Mary Wickes, and she stands out better

than the bland villains in the film. Her comedic love interest is

okay, though somewhat William Frawley-ish.

As for the DVD, the

transfer is fair at best. The print is pretty well-worn, and even

identifies itself as being a re-release print in the opening

credits!

While DUKE's part is pretty interesting, unless you are a

DUKE or Kelly completist, you could probably pass this one up.

As I have said before, two movies for the price of one is always a good deal. These are two from Wayne's day at Republic Studios. While these do not rank with the Duke's best work they are action filled with good plots and some humor too. John Wayne plays a pharmacist in the selection "In Old California". This is a little different from the roles he normally played, but he wanted this because his father had been a pharmacist. Wayne saves the day as villians steal prospectors' gold and battles a disease outbreak as well. "Dakota" pairs him with Vera Ralston as his wife. Look for Walter Brennan and Ward Bond in this one also. It is the story of settlers fighting the bad guys over the passage of railraod tracks.

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The quality of the CD was good. The movies played well & the 2 stories put across their point very cleaverly.

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This was a gift for my husband for Christmas. He loves John Waynes movies, and will watch them over and over again. He does own most of them. I enjoy watching them with him too.

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I liked the movie. I replaced my old DVD with this Blu-ray disc thinking that they would have remastered it. But, the print that was used for this transfer was very obviously very well worn. This movie deserved better than this.

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