Uriah43 Suspecting that a stagecoach carrying money is about to be ambushed by bandits "John Travers" (John Wayne) decides to rob the stage first and then quickly rides off. When the bandits arrive only minutes later and discover that there is no money they shoot both the driver and the guard and then let the stagecoach drive out-of-control with a young woman passenger by the name of "Anita Matlock" (Verna Hillie) still in the cabin. Fortunately, John Travers manages to catch up to the stagecoach before any harm comes to her. Once they ride into the nearby town it's learned that 2 sheriffs have been killed by these bandits who are led by a man known only as "The Shadow". And then the 3rd sheriff is shot and killed as well which causes John Travers to volunteer to become the next one. At any rate, rather than detail any more of this film and risk spoiling it for those who haven't seen it I will just say that although it's quite short (only 53 minutes) it managed to condense enough of the story to turn out an okay little western all the same. Obviously, it's not the best John Wayne movie ever made but those who enjoy his movies might want to give this one a try too. That said I rate it as about average.

FightingWesterner When the sheriff is shot dead by a gang of bandits he had sworn to eliminate, John Wayne pins the badge on and picks up where his predecessor left off.Though the Star Packer isn't as well paced as some of the other films Wayne made as a contract star for Lone Star/Monogram Pictures, there's a pretty thrilling chase climax worth waiting around for, featuring some good scenery and stunt work.There's also an interesting role reversal with George "Gabby" Hayes playing the president of the cattlemen's association, living a double life as "The Shadow", leader of the outlaw gang and the usually villainous Yakima Canutt playing the role of Wayne's Tonto-esquire Indian sidekick.

Dan Phillips I watched the beginning twice, could NOT make sense of it, and it bothered me for the whole movie.So, work this out with me: Wayne (the GOOD guy) jumps on the stagecoach, disarms the drivers (!), steals the money (?!), and takes off.Disarmed, one driver is then killed and the other wounded by the bad guys. Thanks to Wayne, who disarmed them, and then watched it happen.Then Wayne drops the money in the dirt, rescues the girl, rides into town, chuckles it up with Yak (too bad about the dead guy, I guess)...and then later says he "found" the money back at the scene. And everyone's okay with that.And he's the good guy? And I'm pretty sure there weren't small, hand-held flashlights at the time. And Bell did his first phone demo in 1876... were they in houses then? Am I thinking too hard about this one? Normally, I'm happy to suspend judgment to enjoy a movie, but this one bothered me. And that's a sign the move didn't really work for me.

keesha45 Pretty fair oater from the Duke's early years has some unusual casting. Yakima Canutt has his idea of some "skookum fun" as a good guy for a change from his normal villainous role, and Gabby Hayes plays against type as the bad guy. Canutt's part would seem to be an early model for another famous Indian buddy of a lawman, namely that of "Tonto." (Note also the Duke's horse could pass for "Silver.") As a resident from the same part of Yakima Canutt's home state, I was pleasantly surprised when Wayne as Travers identifies one of the Shadow's gang as a "lifer from Walla Walla" which is the site of Washington's maximum security state prison. Incidentally, Walla Walla is about an hour and a half's drive from Colfax, where Canutt was raised, and whose hometown he shares with Turner Classic Movies' host Robert Osborne. Fellow gangster Loco Frank, shown in the same scene, turns out to be Glenn Strange, who later had a famous role as Kitty's bartender in "Gunsmoke." The action scenes are not particularly outstanding, although the climactic chase scene is very distinctive involving the villain's canoe being chased downriver by the Duke on horseback. Although the title's a misnomer in that the Duke is never seen with a badge, that's the biggest fault in what I'd otherwise heartily recommend for something a bit out of the ordinary in the Duke's apprentice stage of his career. Dale Roloff