Overland Stage Raiders

An American Western; A story set in a gold mining town in the Mojave Desert about hijacked gold bullion shipments reclaimed by three cowboys who have to fight off mobsters when it goes on transit. An unremarkable and predictable feature with plot-heavy dialogue, but it plays out with some vigour. There are the requisite fights, chases, shoot-outs, impressive horseplay and stunts. John Wayne as the leader of "The Three Mesquiteers" is pleasing. Louise Brooks's glamour is gilt-edged here but as a romantic lead she is not given much to do. Its modern setting with traditional Western film tropes is novel.

During the course of the Three Mesquiteers series from Republic Studios, the lineup of the three leads changed often. For a short time, John Wayne even was the main star in this series.....and "Overland Stage Raiders" is one of these films.

The story is a weird sort of amalgum of the old west and modern times....sometime Republic also sometimes did with their Gene Autry and Roy Rogers westerns. For example, you see folks riding about on their horses, using their six-shooters and sporting cowboy hats....but you also have buses, airplanes and telephones! Weird...that's for sure.

Well, this odd plot begins with an attempted robbery on the bus...and the Mesquiteers manage to arrive just in time to thwart it. Stony (Wayne) has an idea to avoid such robberies...to fly the gold shipments out instead of taking them by bus. The local ranchers all agree to help fund the air service...but, of course, you have a baddie who is determined to make it fail. And, in a ridiculous scene, you have a member of this air service griping and saying that he'll one day get his revenge. Take a WILD guess who the turncoat will happen to be who helps the baddies steal the plane?! Can the Mesquiteers manage to make things right?

This is pretty much what you see in any Mesquiteer film...a fast-paced plot, decent acting AND bad plot holes as well as Max Terhune using his ventriloquism skills! I have no idea WHY they had Terhune's character bringing his dummy Elmer with him everywhere and it's pretty stupid. It ONLY might have worked if in the final showdown you see Elmer taking shots at the baddies with a gun...that would have been marvelous. As it is, it's a flawed but agreeable B-western and no more...and a chance to see Wayne just before he hit super-stardom.

After several buses carrying a large payroll are ambushed by some bandits on horseback, a man by the name "Ned Hoyt" (Anthony Marsh) convinces the company that depends on the bus line, to utilize his new airplane instead. Needless to say, this doesn't sit well with the owner of the bus company who has been secretly working with the bandits all this time. So, when he learns that Ned will be transporting almost $100,000 on his next flight, he sends some men to skyjack that flight and steal the money it is transporting. What he doesn't count on, however, is that Ned is a good friend of the Three Mesquiteers who have invested a large amount of their own money on Ned's new airline, and they are determined to make sure it's a success. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this was an okay Western which seemed to lean more heavily upon John Wayne (as "Stony Brooke") than the other two Mesquiteers. Not that this was a bad thing, necessarily, as he put in a reasonably solid performance overall. Be that as it may, even though the film is rather short (55 minutes) and rather dated, it still managed to pass the time well enough, and I have rated it accordingly. Average.

Continuity was not a big thing back in the day with A films let alone B film serials. The Three Mesquiteers in their various adventures flipped back and forth between the old west and the modern west. Overland Stage Raiders is about as modern as you can get in their stories though.

The boys have decided to invest in an airline in this film. It seems as though the modern stage, make that bus, is constantly being held up and this seems a practical way to avoid robbers. Not to mention that Louise Brooks kind of perks John Wayne's interest.

The robbers however are not to be denied. I have to say that this is the only western I know with a plane holdup. That in and of itself is enough reason to try and see this film.

The once in a lifetime teaming of John Wayne and silent screen legend Louise Brooks is also a reason to see Overland Stage Raiders. Who would ever have figured on them as a screen team.

Overland Stage Raiders is one of the best of the three Mesquiteer series with a very novel setting for a story.

A real solid class "B" western with a pre-John Ford John Wayne at his shooting and roping best. Second of the "Three Mesquiteers" series, the plot is both far-fetched and intriguing for its ingenuity. Who would expect to go to a Saturday matinée and see a second billed western that involves the tactical integration of aerial spotting in defense of overland lines of communication, communications deception, gas hand grenades used to defend an improvised landing strip, parachuting cowboys and passengers, the hijacking and retaking of a cattle train, a talking ventriloquist's dummy in flight gear, and an in-flight robbery -- all within less than an hour! A more thorough examination of the plot reveals that John Wayne is aligned with the common folks against the evil and unscrupulous capitalist bus company owner who will go to no end to prevent the loss of his lucrative contract to carry the gold. I mean this movie introduces some basic economic theory into its entertainment. Quite a lot to process within such a short time. The bad guys are either shot outright, roped and hog-tied, or beaten into submission. Oh yes, Louise Brooks plays a quite forgettable part as the sister of the pilot. Not your run of the mill film. Not well made with a very lackluster ending, but worth your time. This one is a hoot!