One of the best of John Wayne's westerns is Tall In The Saddle which came out in 1944 for RKO. Good characterization with a little more plot than the usual western.
Wayne is the straight arrow Joel McCrea-Gary Cooper like hero who's come to town because he's been sent for by Red Cardell, a local rancher who's concerned about an outbreaking of cattle rustling. When Wayne arrives he finds Cardell murdered and a few others occur before the truth comes out.
Wayne has two leading ladies, prim and proper easterner Audrey Long and hard riding Ella Raines. Raines in those tight cowboy outfits is something to see. Her scenes with the Duke have some real spark to them. Raines had a Lauren Bacall-like appeal and should have risen higher as a movie sex symbol.
Old friends of the Duke like Ward Bond and Paul Fix are in the cast as is Gabby Hayes. Hayes, who was the quintessential cowboy sidekick was never better than as Dave, the old stagedriver who befriends the Duke and sticks with him when it gets pretty dark for him. I remember Gabby Hayes with his television show for kiddies in the 1950s and supposedly he was anything but the illiterate old coot he normally played. During his pre-Stagecoach period, Hayes appeared in several films with Wayne. In fact my title quote is one of two favorite lines he says in Tall In The Saddle.
The other favorite line is a piece of wisdom that's just as valuable today as in 1944. When the Duke asks Gabby how he feels about law and order, Gabby replies "depends on who's dishing it out."
