The Fighting Kentuckian *** (1949, John Wayne, Vera Ralston, Philip Dorn, Oliver Hardy, Marie Windsor) – Classic Movie Review 7174

John Wayne plays Kentucky frontiersman militiaman John Breen and is again paired with his studio boss’s wife Vera Ralston as the upper-crust French woman Fleurette De Marchand he falls for, in writer-director George Waggner’s so-so, middling but robust 1949 Republic Pictures 1810s-set wartime Western.

That is the romance taken care of, while the unusual Western action plot has Wayne battling land-snatchers, led by greedy grabber Blake Randolph (John Howard), to save a group of French settler people who have put down roots in Alabama after Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo.

Oliver Hardy is an asset as Willie Paine, in one of only three films he made alone after meeting Laurel (Stan never appeared without him). Wayne was very happy with their easy-going screen chemistry and offered Hardy the role of permanent comic sidekick in his next movies. But then Laurel was well enough return to the Laurel and Hardy team, so Hardy had to decline Wayne’s offer.

Also in the cast are Philip Dorn, Marie Windsor, Hugo Haas, Mae Marsh, Grant Withers, Odette Myrtil, Jack Pennick, Mickey Simpson, Fred Graham, Mabelle Koenig and Paul Fix.

Other assets are the striking black and white photography by Lee Garmes and George Antheil’s score. Wayne produces the movie for John Wayne Productions, and it is well produced.

The Fighting Kentuckian is directed by George Waggner, runs 109 minutes, is made by John Wayne Productions, is released by Republic, is written by George Waggner, is shot in black and white by Lee Garmes, is produced by John Wayne and is scored by George Antheil.

© Derek Winnert 2018 Classic Movie Review 7174

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