The Fighting Kentuckian

Trailer—The Fighting Kentuckian

The Fighting Kentuckian

Vera Ralston is Fleurette De Marchand, a member of a group of French exiles (They supported Napoleon, poor saps) living in Alabama. The Duke plays JohnBreen, a Kentucky rifleman who falls in love with her. John Howard plays the evil Blake Randolph, a man of power and standing who contrives a dastardly plot to steal both Ralston and her family's land. Oliver Hardy plays it all for laughs. He makes a great comic sidekick and I wish he'd played that role a little more often. The surveying scene is priceless. This one is a cut above the usual Western oater with easy humor, romance and some enjoyable characterizations and dialogue

George Waggner directs this John Wayne classic. Soon after the Battle of New Orleans, in the early 1800's, a Kentucky rifleman(Wayne)and his fighting buddy(Oliver Hardy)linger in a settlement of French, homesteading in Alabama. The frontiersmen duo saves the community from a strong assault by land grabbers. Action packed and well photographed; and an attention holder throughout. This film is well worth watching again and again. Wayne and Hardy work well together and make an interesting team. The cast if full of talent: Vera Ralston, Philip Dorn, Anna Logan, John Howard and Marie Windsor.

John Wayne plays a frontiersman, who partners up with Oliver Hardy! This seems strange at first, but they have a great rapport and act well together. Vera Ralston is the love interest, and while she's pretty, she's not a great actress and is merely passable in the role. There's lots of fighting and heroic action in this movie, and it's a way to pass an enjoyable hour or two. John is at his most charismatic here.

This movie is pure Republic Pictures B-movie all the way, with relatively low production values, Vera Ralston (girlfriend of the CEO) and lots of action. And this is not necessarily a bad thing (apart from the lousy acting by Ralston), as the movie is highly entertaining. So, if you just turn off your brain and enjoy, this is a terrific film. I particularly love seeing Oliver Hardy playing a rare supporting actor role very late in his career. Is he believable? Not in the least. But, he's funny and quite the sidekick to John Wayne. The plot, such as it is, involves Wayne falling for Cajun Ralston (a Swedish actress playing a Creole woman?!) and getting into a wide variety of scraps along the way. Not much more to it than that but it is so much fun, who cares?! I can forgive all this because the film is somehow charming and memorable.

THE FIGHTING KENTUCKIAN has one of the most unlikely pairings in all of cinema: there's John Wayne, doing his stock cowboy hero type persona (complete with Davy Crockett hat!), teamed up with none other than Oliver Hardy as his comedy sidekick character, complete with all of the usual mannerisms we know and love from the actor! It's an unusual choice for sure, but somehow it all works very nicely and actually lifts this film quite considerably. The story is based on the lives of French settlers in America after the defeat of Napoleon. The usual criminal gang decide to use subterfuge to get rid of them, but Wayne and his buddies have other ideas. This film features a good mix of romance, action, various double-crosses and plot twists, and humour. It moves at a fair old clip and is rarely boring, instead building to some thrilling moments at the climax.