In Old California [VHS] [1943]

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.

"In Old California" is a 1942 western starring John Wayne with Binnie Barnes and Albert Dekker, featuring Helen Parrish, Patsy Kelly and Edgar Kennedy

John Wayne (1907-79) was a bankable box office draw at the time. He made more than 100 films by 1942, although most of them had been forgettable B westerns. Then in 1939 he made "Stagecoach" with John Ford, and his career took an upturn. Stagecoach earned 5 Oscars including Best Picture. Wayne followed up with "Dark Command" (1940) directed by Raoul Walsh, and "Old California" was just about the last of the B films he would be handed. Wayne went on to make a series of war movies (e.g., "Flying Tigers" in 1942, "The Fighting Seabees" in 1944, "Back to Bataan" and "They Were Expendable" in 1945) and his classic westerns including "3 Godfathers" (1948), "Fort Apache" (1948), "Red River" (1948), "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon" (1949, "Rio Bravo" (1959), and "The Alamo" (1960) . Wayne was nominated for Best Actor for "Sands of Iwo Jima" (1949) and he would finally earn an Oscar for "True Grit" (1969).

FWIW - Wayne was excited about his role as a Pharmacist in this film since this was his father's profession, and he had passed away just a few years earlier. Yet his performance is less than expected, probably due to all the marital problems he was having at the time - his separation had just been announced.

Binnie Barnes (1903-98) plays a dance hall girl with a golden heart, who is romanced by evil Albert Decker but in love with Wayne. Barnes was a major star of the 30s, appearing in "Private Life of Henry VII" (1933) with Charles Laughton (won the Oscar), "Private Life of Don Juan" (1934) with Douglas Fairbanks (his last film role), "Diamond Jim" (1935), "Last of the Mohicans" (1936) with Randolph Scott and "3 Musketeers" (1939) with Don Ameche. Her philosophy was - "I'm no Sarah Bernhardt. One picture is just like another to me as long as I don't have to be a sweet woman."

Albert Dekker (1905-68) played the bad guy in more than 50 films such as Big Jim Colfax in "The Killers" (1946), the evil Dr. Thorkel in "Dr. Cyclops" (1940), the evil Dr. Soberin in "Kiss Me Deadly" (1955) and the evil railroad man Pat Harrigan in "The Wild Bunch" (1969). Occasionally he played a hero (e.g., "Wake Island).

Patsy Kelly (1910-81) provided comic relief in nearly 100 films between 1929 and 1979, including "Freaky Friday" (1976), "Please Don't Eat the Daisies" (1960), and "Topper Returns" (1941).

Edgar Kennedy (1890-1948) was a comic foil in more than 400 films between 1911 and 1949, including "Duck Soup" (1933), "Lil Abner" (1940), and "Anchors Aweigh" (1945). He was one of the original Keystone Cops and was called "the king of the slow burn".

William McGann (1893-1977) directs. He had an undistinguished career from 1930 to 1944 directing more than 50 films. "In Old California" is the best of his films.

The NY Times Bosley Crowther called the film "plain horse-opera in store-bought clothes" and bemoaned that "it stumbles and gets all mixed up in its own plot." He said - "If John Wayne and Binnie Barnes weren't in it, it would be down with the usual run of strays."

1942 was a good year in films - "Yankee Doddle Dandy" and "Mrs. Miniver" were the clear Oscar winners and at the box office. Other popular films included "Casablanca", "Woman of the Year", Alan Ladd's "This Gun for Hire", Gary Cooper's "Pride of the Yankees", and "Road to Morocco"

All things considered the film is OK. Wayne fans might watch it for nostalgia, but he did so much better work that it seems wasteful to spend time on this film. Both Kennedy and Kelly are OK but they gave such better performances that this film offers nothing special. Decker's villain in this film is among his weakest portrayals, and Binne Barnes looks a little tired. For hardcore B western fans, you might give it a look.

John Wayne is his typical tough guy in this. The film is well done and worth the purchase for any fan of Wayne dispite the age of the movie.John Wayne plays a pharmacist during the California gold rush and works to save a miner camp from deadly illness. Wayne's father was a pharmacist which is the main reason that he played this character.