John Wayne and Ann Dvorak aren't one of the legendary teams of cinema- Wayne and Marlene Dietrich are, and that's who I assume Republic wanted for this movie. Wayne's a cowboy who winds up in Old San Francisco and falls for singer Dvorak; he gets ripped off by gambler Joseph Schildkraut then goes off, learns to gamble, and comes back to get revenge.
So it's part-cowboy movie part-20th Century Fox nostalgia musical - more of the latter really with Wayne using poker games instead of gunfights.
This really lacks colour and needed a few more songs and a proper musical star like Betty Grable or June Haver. Or maybe I'm just not used to Dvorak - she's got an enjoyable insolent quality and is refreshingly independent.
It's cheerful and lively - Joseph Kane does a decent job as director and Schildkraut is an effective villain. Borden Chase wrote the script.
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