Admirable film.

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

Three Faces West presents two stories, that of a highly respected elderly Austrian doctor (Charles Coburn) and his daughter (Sigrid Gurie) who have fled the Nazi regime and come to American seeking a place to practice medicine, and also that of a small dust-bowl town in North Dakota in need of a doctor which is personified by John Phillips (John Wayne) who is a farmer and community leader. Initially the doctor and more particularly the daughter are not prepared for the hardships they find and wish to leave but a growing romantic relationship brings everyone closer together. A story like this wouldn't be complete without some more obstacles, and in keeping with the two part tale we have two obstacles one for the budding romance and one for the struggling town.The film is definitely very much about the message and it essentially has two messages to deliver, there is the message about tyranny and the sacrifices that may be necessary by those who oppose it and also that of the community and working together to overcome adversity. In light of the era that this was made it is not surprising to see such an approach. It is interesting from an historical point of view to observe the attitudes towards Nazi Germany in the United States of 1940 before they had entered the war.Beyond the good performances from the three principles as well as Spencer Charters in the side kick role there is nothing particularly impressive about the production, but a well intentioned story coupled with an atypical role for Wayne and the interesting historical perspective on both the dust bowl and early years of WWII make this worthwhile viewing for me. It's interesting to note that Sigrid Gurie despite a solid performance would barely make a dozen films over her career. On the other hand Charles Coburn who played her father wouldn't make his first film until he was 56 and continued into his eighties, he also won and Oscar and was nominated for two more.

One of the best parts of the picture are some scarce clips of Dust Bowl sequences woven into the picture. The actual location of a mountainous location near Lone Pine, California look nothing like the Great Plains, but you can tell when you see gang plowing by mules, and some other shots shot during the Dust Bowl, that they are the real deal. There is also some confusion when you're told at one point they're in Oklahoma, and in another North Dakota, but it captures at least some of the tough issues faced by the farmers of the Great Plains during the Dust Bowl.Frankly, it is simplistic to see any ONE treatment of these times as definitive. "Letters from the Dust Bowl," "The Worst Hard Times," GRapes of Wrath," etc. are ALL snapshot treatments. Same here. But watch it, take what you can from it, and keep reading and watching as much materials as you can.

This is by no means a great movie, but not a terrible movie either. This really is an update of a frontier movie with some good ol' American spirit thrown in. This is basically the story of an Austrian doctor and his daughter who come to America seeking refugee from the Nazi's. Then end up in a small town who have farmed the land to death and who themselves are seeking new land to make their lives. John Wayne does his normal thing as the so called leader of the townsfolk dealing with conflict along the way, and also the inevitable love interest of the doctor's daughter. Plodding and really so much inferior to the similar 'Grapes of Wrath'. Not one for me to be watching again.

This is really quite a remarkable picture, reminiscent more of the Warners Brothers films of the era than something Republic Pictures might have put out. Nominally it's considered a Western (I saw it today on the Encore Western Channel), but the only connection to that genre it has would be it's setting, as itinerant farm workers battle Dust Bowl situations in their settled home land only to be forced to move once again when conditions conspire against them. Leading the charge as it were, is John Wayne in a role that has him confronting the elements, along with a hostile contingent that opposes his choice of destination (Oregon) for the sunny climes of California. The story is wrapped around a budding romance between Wayne's character, and that of Sigrid Gurie as Leni Braun, daughter of an Austrian refugee, both of whom escaped the rise of Naziism in 1940's Europe. The story is complicated even further when it's discovered that Leni's former fiancé (Roland Varno), presumed dead the past two years, resurfaces to place his claim on Leni's heart once again.That last aspect of the picture just mentioned is somewhat troubling when one considers the initial premise of the story. Dr. Eric Von Scherer (Varno) presumably gave his life to help the Braun's escape from tyranny to the United States under a sanctuary program for refugee doctors. He turns up in the latter part of the picture attempting to convince the Braun's that life now under the Reich would be highly advantageous if they returned to Europe. The disconnect blows by pretty quickly, but if you know anything about history, the scene will have you going 'huh?' more than once before it's over. However it leads directly to Leni and John Phillips (Wayne) reconciling their feelings for each other, thereby allowing the movie to close on the Duke and his girl exchanging nuptials for the happy ending.Followers of John Wayne's early films will note that this was one of the rare occasions that you got to catch the up and coming legend in a jacket and tie! I've only seen that once before in 1933's "His Private Secretary". Once in his element though, Wayne's character is pretty much as you would recall him from his early Lone Star and Republic Days, dressed in pioneer attire and ruggedly individualistic. The romance with Sigrid Gurie's character plays a lot more emotionally than virtually all of his prior pictures, and it's rather intriguing to see him remain stoic through the heart wrenching scenes. Gurie was quite convincing as the torn lover between a loyal past and a bright future; her decision was made somewhat easier by the developments described earlier.One has to assume that the title of the movie represents Wayne's character along with the Braun's, otherwise it doesn't make much sense, though that didn't stop the naming of dozens of era pictures with no connection to their title. I managed to catch this one today on Encore Western's self proclaimed 'John Wayne 101' celebration in honor of his 101st birthday. I don't know if the film is commercially available, but it would be worth your while to scour the cable channels for this listing if you're a Wayne fan. It steps just outside of the early mainstream for The Duke, and offers a more introspective character than one is used to seeing in his earlier films.