California Straight Ahead!

(1937)

67 minutes

Directed by Andrew V. McLaglen

Action /Drama /Romance

Cast:

John Wayne as Biff Smith

Louise Latimer as Mary Porter

Robert McWade as Corrigan

Theodore von Eltz as James Gifford

Tully Marshall as Harrison

Emerson Treacy as Charlie Porter

Harry Allen as 'Fish' McCorkle

LeRoy Mason as Padula

Grace Goodall as Mrs. Porter

Olaf Hytten as Huggins

Monte Vandergrift as Clancy

Lorin Raker – Secretary

Biff Smith is a school bus driver who has been dating Mary Porter. Mary’s mother is not very pleased with Biff’s lack of ambition, and so Mary decides to try to get him to go into business as a truck driver with her brother Charlie. When Charlie’s truck is disabled by rival company operative Padula, Biff carries the cargo in his school bus and gets fired for it. Charlie offers Biff a partnership, and he starts running the trucking company. As Biff tries to work towards the success of the company, he earns the ire of the local railroad district freight agent, Corrigan. A sudden strike in California presents a great opportunity for the company if Biff can get aircraft parts to California before they can get there by train. Corrigan orders Padula to sabotage the trucks along the way whenever he can, and the result is a race to California, winner take all!

Notes: This is one of six films that John Wayne did for Universal Pictures, and is unique in that it is not a western. It is thought that Universal was trying to broaden the young Wayne’s appeal by casting him in several movies that were not westerns. California Straight Ahead! is definitely an interesting and unique look into John Wayne’s career as an actor.