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.

A slam-bang action climax makes up for a lot in this John Wayne period vehicle, including the odd spectacle of Oliver Hardy as Wayne's sidekick, putting up a game battle against some very indifferent material. Given some witty lines and amusing "business", Mr. Hardy may have proved the film's mainstay during some tedious romantic interludes between Wayne and Miss Ralston, but in the present context it is mainly Oliver's novelty appeal that keeps the film afloat.

At first, it appears that some regulars from John Ford's stock company are going to pop in and out of the action, but after the second-reel free-for-all attended by Jack Pennick, Hank Worden and Mae Marsh, this tack peters out.

Despite the amount of money lavished upon it, this film was a commercial flop - for which Republic stock-holders not altogether unjustly blamed Miss Ralston, though she has her fans (I quite like her) and anyway she is not in this film all that much, as Marie Windsor has a fair share of footage.

Direction is no more than routine, although the 2nd unit work (probably handled by Yakima Canutt) is impressive.