The Fighting Kentuckian (1949) User Reviews (27)

Oliver Hardy in a rare dramatic (sort-of) role and John Wayne in leather, what more could you want?

[countryway_48864 · 7/10 · 5 September 2001]

Not on the same level as The Searchers or Red River or even Hondo, But The Fighting Kentuckian IS an enjoyable film to watch.

I don't know how accurate the history really is, but I do know that the remnants of Napoleon's band of loyal followers DID establish a community in the Southern part of the US at about the same time that Andrew Jackson was fighting The Battle of New Orleans with the help of, (although not mentioned in this film), Jean Laffite who may have been a pirate, but preferred to be called a free-booter.

Vera Hruba Ralston is the lovely daughter of one of Napoleon's most important Generals. She is quite charming here. Her Czech accent could pass for French.

John Wayne looks marvelous in leather and delivers his lines like a true straight-man when partnered with Oliver Hardy. That is a side-kick combo like no other and worth the price of admission.

The film contains many site gags, but my favorite is the one where Wayne and Hardy pretend to be surveyors and Hardy ends up in a pond.

My favorite one liner in The Fighting Kentuckian is the one where John Breen (John Wayne), after being shot while surveying, comes to a cabin of French settlers, and is discovered by the men who shoot him. They offer him a drink, "Have a shot?" they ask. Breen replies as he mounts his horse, "No thanks, just had one..." and holds up his wounded arm.

There is no point in summarizing the plot line, it is only there to allow John Wayne to kiss Vera Ralston, in the moonlight illuminating the patio of her mansion, watched by her father, the general! That kiss is one of those patented "take her to the moon" kisses that Wayne gave select lucky ladies. (Those lucky ladies reeled for hours after.)

Oliver Hardy is the third part of this delightful three-some. There is action when the French are attacked by the evil river-men who want their land, and are in turn repelled by the Fighting Kentuckians,(the whole kit and kaboodle),lead by a trumpet-blowing Hardy.

When the film first came out it was a smash-hit, and it is easy to see why. There is an easy humor, gallantry and romance here that I miss in modern films. Films now are so message-conscience and so full of unappealing, gratuitous nudity and sex, that it's fun to relax with a film that suggests much more than it shows and does it with style and a wink of the eye.

The Alabama French

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 15 April 2006]

In The Fighting Kentuckian John Wayne steps back a couple of generations on the American Frontier from where he usually has his movie roles to play a frontier soldier. He's one of the Kentucky riflemen who saw action in the Indian wars and the Battle of New Orleans with Andrew Jackson. His company is going home to Kentucky to be de-mobilized. But in a town in Alabama called Demopolis, Wayne gets a bit sidetracked by the lovely Vera Hruba Ralston.

Ralston is the daughter of Hugo Haas who plays one of Napoleon's former generals who is now leading a party of French exile settlers who have settled on land granted to them in Demopolis. The problem is that the French settlers are being set up for a big con game by a quartet of villains, Marie Windsor, Paul Fix, John Howard, and Grant Withers. Because of Wayne's growing involvement with Ralston he and sidekick Oliver Hardy get drawn into the problems of the settlers.

That's right I did say Oliver Hardy. While partner Stan Laurel was having health problems Hardy did this film with John Wayne and another, Riding High, with Bing Crosby. It's a different Ollie we see in The Fighting Kentuckian, not the know it all forever getting hoisted on his own petard by his bumbling partner Laurel. For most of the film he's a traditional sidekick to Wayne in the Gabby Hayes tradition. However there is one scene where Ollie gets to use the Duke as a substitute Stan Laurel. Wayne and Hardy sneak into a party given by Haas as musicians, fiddlers to be precise. Hardy actually plays, but Wayne is going to fake it. That is until the piece they're playing calls for a solo. As each musician does his bit, the expressions on Wayne's face are pure Stan Laurel. Ollie who was never the creative one in their partnership had to have coached Wayne on this. He does all the traditional Stan Laurel shtick, but cry. It's very funny, totally not what you would expect from John Wayne. It's the highlight of the film for me.

On the negative side the film is a bit overplotted. The quartet of villains mentioned above are all not quite working in tandem. Each one has his own agenda and it makes the film a bit hard to follow.

Still I believe the Duke's fans will enjoy a somewhat different John Wayne and Laurel and Hardy fans would appreciate Wayne's attempts at a salute to Stan. I think Ollie worked better with the Duke than he did with Harry Langdon in Zenobia.

An unusual pairing, but it works

[Leofwine_draca · 7/10 · 14 May 2017]

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.

Babe and Duke: odd couple that clicked

[Oct · 27 October 2009]

By 1949 Laurel and Hardy were all but finished (we don't talk about 'Atoll K') but Oliver Hardy, always hard up, needed to work. Hence this unique but worthwhile turn as a genial Southron in George Waggner's middling-good oater.

John Wayne-- Republic's chief asset and now his own producer-- and Vera Hruba Ralston, its boss's wife-- were co-starring in a slightly unusual western. It is set in 1819, heyday of Andrew Jackson's 'manifest destiny' expansionism. French settlers in the Deepest South, Napoleonic exiles, were slogging it out with English-speakers for the ownership of a bit of Creole country.

Wayne and Hardy, attired like Davy Crocketts, are teamed as old Kentuckian pals, veterans of the Battle of New Orleans. Now they're on the loose in Alabama and (since this was still the gallant, humorous Wayne of post-'Stagecoach' vintage) assisting French settlers against larcenous land barons such as John Howard.

Contrary to what lazy film writers maintain, 'Repulsive Pictures', as some jaded employees called it, was never a pure Poverty Row outfit. By the late 1940s it was careful to keep Wayne's market value up by attention to production values, a policy which culminated in 'The Quiet Man'. Here gleaming photography by Lee Garmes and George Antheil's score enhance the Frenchified interest of the mise en scene, and there's a surfeit of plot. (Incidentally Vera Ralston is no worse than many a Maureen O'Sullivan either, despite the cries of uxoriousness against Herbert Yates, Mr Ralston.)

Once again the factor that lifted Wayne above the Audie Murphys and Randolph Scotts is visible abundantly: the charm and grace he cannot help exhibiting, even though he'd have knocked a man down for mentioning them. The lightness and assurance he projects makes it not crazy to compare him with Cary Grant-- who was also at his most beguiling when portraying embarrassment, despite his reputation for smoothness. It has kept many of Wayne's seemingly routine pictures fresh when more pompous major productions have long since become fossilised.

Hardy's main job is to inject slapstick or advise and admonish his chum when Wayne gets too romantic, but he is involved in the mechanics of the plot too. He does so well one feels that if 'Babe' had been less fond of the golf course and in better health, he could have followed many funny men before him into a second life as a character actor.

Used to equality in a double act, Hardy works well with Big John: there's a genuine warmth between them, since unlike too many comics Ollie does not try to dominate their interchanges. Nor does he use the broader schticks of his peerless partnership: he does not mutely appeal to the audience or speak in that slow, absurdly dignified way he uses to challenge Stan's stupidities. He is given business with hats, eats too much, twiddles his incongruously delicate fingers, falls in a river as in 'Way Out West'. But it's all done lightly; Willie Paine's a bit of a clown but not a gross buffoon.

Seeing Babe slugging and being slugged is novelty enough, and there is poignancy in his last shot: marching away at the wedding, as if bidding farewell unknowingly to his Hollywood career. It's an unexpected coda, a box office success to boot, and a heartwarming one after years stuck in unworthy programmers with Stan for Darryl F Zanuck.

Napoleonic French settle in the deep South.

[michaelRokeefe · 7/10 · 2 December 2006]

George Waggner directs this John Wayne classic. Soon after the Battle of New Orleans, in the early 1800's, a Kentucky rifleman(Wayne)and his fighting buddy(Oliver Hardy)linger in a settlement of French, homesteading in Alabama. The frontiersmen duo saves the community from a strong assault by land grabbers. Action packed and well photographed; and an attention holder throughout. This film is well worth watching again and again.

Wayne and Hardy work well together and make an interesting team. The cast if full of talent: Vera Ralston, Philip Dorn, Anna Logan, John Howard and Marie Windsor.

Worth it just for Wayne and Hardy

[MBunge · 6/10 · 25 April 2012]

While you certainly can't rank it among The Duke's best, how can you not love a film that teams John Wayne with Oliver Hardy? Like a lot of motion pictures of its era, The Fighting Kentuckian is a hodge podge of comedy, music, moralizing, romance, action and general good humor meant to satisfy the proverbial audience of everyone from 8 to 80. This isn't a great looking black and white movie and Vera Ralston may be the least impressive leading lady ever to share the screen with Wayne, but the story develops a surprising amount of nuance and complexity as it goes along. This thing would almost stand the test of time on its own. With two Hollywood legends leading the way, this 1949 production easily remains enjoyable all these decades later.

In the aftermath of Waterloo, the defeated officers of Napoleon's army were exiled from France and granted land by the U.S. government in the Alabama territory. The French men and woman held closely to their customs and established a thriving community called Demopolis. While on a visit to Mobile to meet her wealthy fiancée, the daughter of the leading French general (Vera Ralston) meets a member of the Kentucky militia marching their way back home from 5 years of war. John Breen (John Wayne) is enthralled with the young woman and, along with his portly sidekick Willie Paine (Oliver Hardy), Breen decides to stay in Alabama and win her hand. But her fiancée, the determined and ethically dubious Blake Randolph (John Howard), and his even more unscrupulous partner (Grant Withers) not only aim to foil Breen's courtship but have a dastardly plan for the whole French settlement.

It's hard to describe The Fighting Kentuckian in modern terms because it was made before genre stratification and audience fragmentation. It's impossible to imagine someone making a Western drama today that has this much broad comedy and this many people singing and also grapples with an outsider's impotence against the needs of a community and the differences between a hero, a villain and an ordinary man. A lot of the film's style will seem simplistic to jaded eyes, but the substance is a good bit more subtle than most mainstream, mass market movies now.

Ultimately, though, The Fighting Kentuckian teams John Wayne with Oliver Hardy and each shines separately and together like only stars of the Golden Age can. When I rented this, I only saw Wayne's image on the DVD and didn't even know it also starred Hardy until I got home and watched it. The two of them are delightful, with Hardy playing a part that's more than just comic relief to The Duke.

Again, I wouldn't exactly call this a great movie. It was a good flick for its era that is carried into the watchable present by two great movie stars. If you're a fan of either Wayne or Hardy or just want to get a taste of why so many are, give this film a gander.

Interesting and odd Wayne movie

[info-5918 · 6/10 · 9 June 2017]

The fighting Kentuckian is not your average Wayne movie. It's fundamentally a romance, with historical surrounds. In some ways, it is a tad surreal, with Napoleon's French gaurds fighting with cannons and muskets, and cavalry charges, against cowboys, in the West... who are then joined by Kentuckian militiamen. There is a complex array of bad guys, who make it a bit hard to work out who is who. The French all wear their Napoleonic uniforms at all times, and may as well still be in France. Oliver Hardy is delightful to watch but I did find him a bit of an odd pairing with John Wayne, and may be a bit distracting. He's also a bit overweight for a member of the Kentuckian Militia who march thousands of miles around the country! Overall, not John Wayne's best, and not the action movie you may expect, but certainly watchable.

Medicore sagebrush opera with excellent comedic hiatuses

[shakercoola · 6/10 · 20 July 2019]

An American Western-comedy; A story in Alabama in 1812 featuring Napoleonic army immigrants and the Kentucky militia. A Kentucky trooper makes the long journey homeward with his confreres but becomes involved with a plan by a robber baron to deprive hundreds of French army refugees of land promised by Congress. The trooper acts to prevent the villain's marriage to the daughter of a former French general. This is a routine Western which has incessant chases and gunfire. The romance is stilted with no chemistry between John Wayne and Vera Ralston, who also sounds more Czech than French. However, it boisterously maintains and it has sparkling photography, and the excellent comedy performances shine through its medicore storyline. As an aside, Oliver Hardy demonstrates his marvellous physical comedy, though as a supporting actor here his character is only slightly pugnacious, which feels muted in comparison to his high acclaim as a leading actor. John Wayne has screen presence too, but his light humour complements the piece very well, never overshadowing Hardy, which is a treat to watch: two great light comedy performances.

Duke in Coonskin Cap, saves Ralston, with Ollie!

[cariart · 8/10 · 6 September 2006]

John Wayne's second effort as star/producer (after "Angel and the Badman", in 1947), "The Fighting Kentuckian" is a VERY enjoyable tale, set in 1818 Alabama, of coonskin-capped Wayne, part of the Kentucky militia, falling for French immigrant Vera Ralston (in her second film with Duke), and discovering a plot to swindle the French community (composed of ex-officers of Napoleon, and their families) out of their land, by aristocrat John Howard and ruthless river boss Grant Withers.

What truly makes this film 'special' for me is Wayne's sidekick, portrayed by the legendary Oliver Hardy, of 'Laurel and Hardy' fame. Hardy, while a friend of Wayne, had only worked 'solo' once in a feature film in over twenty years (1939's "Zenobia"), and it took a LOT of coaxing (and Stan Laurel's 'blessing'), to get him to accept the role...and what a pleasure he is, to watch! Wayne and Hardy have a rich, warm chemistry, and the rotund comedian, with his infectious smile and Georgia drawl, makes even minor scenes (like swapping recipes with Ralston's mother) a joy.

With a first-rate supporting cast including Philip Dorn, Hugo Haas, Wayne 'regulars' Paul Fix, Jack Pennick, and Hank Worden, and Marie Windsor (who looks eerily like John Howard, in my opinion!), "The Fighting Kentuckian" is, despite the 'pans' you'll see in some of the reviews posted, one of my favorite John Wayne films...He was never more charming than you'll find him, here!

Oliver Hardy made a nice sidekick to John Wayne in The Fighting Kentuckian

[tavm · 7/10 · 2 August 2015]

Back in the late '70s-early '80s, my local station of WBRZ-2 had aired the "John Wayne Theatre"-which showed many of his movies, primarily from Republic. This was one of the movies from that studio-Wayne's home for a great many years. When stumbling into this one on a Sunday afternoon, I was pleasantly surprised to see among the players one Oliver Hardy-a rare film he made without his usual teammate Stan Laurel. I taped this picture in the mid '90s off of American Movie Classics but didn't watch it until now. I'll just now say that Mr. Hardy is quite an amusingly pleasing presence doing some of his familiar mannerisms but also a little different from his "Ollie" character. The highlight may be a fiddler-playing sequence of which Hardy's Willie Payne can play but Wayne's character can't! There's more but I'll just say go ahead and watch The Fighting Kentuckian if the mood fits you! P.S. This version had wraparounds by host Nick Clooney-George's father. In the beginning one, he mentions leading lady Vera Ralston had given Hardy a gift of a deck chair-specially made to fit his girth! In the one after the movie, he erroneously mentions this was Ollie's final film-his actual very last one was Atoll K (Utopia in the U.S.), once more with Stan Laurel. Oh, and since one of the locations of The Bluegrass State mentioned in the movie was Lexington, I have to mention that my family had briefly lived there in '74-'75 and my youngest sister and sibling was born there.

It's a fight to stay awake

[AAdaSC · 3/10 · 13 July 2013]

John Wayne (Breen) fancies Vera Ralston (Fleurette). Oliver Hardy (Willie) gets the annoying comedy sidekick role. Ralston fancies Wayne but is engaged to John Howard (Blake). I think we all know how things will pan out. This love story plays out against a story of land stealing in early 1800s Alabama.

I found myself drifting off to daydream land on two occasions within the first half hour! Nothing happens in this goddam film and the cast seem to mercilessly bore the audience with a stupid song to the tune of "She'll Be Coming Round The Mountain". Stop singing! At the end of the film, we get some horses running about and some shooting but it's all rather meaningless.

In the only interesting part of the film, Oliver Hardy plays the violin and it is quite an impressive moment. Unfortunately, one scene cannot carry a whole film. The plot involving John Wayne is pretty stupid as he abandons his military outfit to chase after a girl, and they then come back to rescue him when he is in trouble. Typical John Wayne nonsense.

I cannot believe other reviewers of this film when they say that they enjoyed this film. They are talking complete rubbish. This film is boring. Here are 5 better Westerns from the same year, 1949 - "Colorado Territory", "Lust For Gold", "Roughshod", "Bad Men Of Tombstone" and "Hellfire". A far better use of your time.

Has its moments!

[JohnHowardReid · 8/10 · 31 January 2018]

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.

dopey fun--and this isn't meant as criticism!

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 17 October 2005]

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.

Leading lady was not a good fit

[alpointer · 4/10 · 16 May 2018]

The leading lady was not a good fit. This could have been a 8+ star rating if not for Vera Ralston. She was the only weak link in this movie with poor acting and a voice that was like nails on a black board to me. On the positive side,Wayne and Hardy were a good team. The story was good and had real potential. If not for her I would have totally enjoyed this movie.

One of John's better films

[Marta · 9 July 1999]

John Wayne plays a frontiersman, who partners up with Oliver Hardy! This seems strange at first, but they have a great rapport and act well together. Vera Ralston is the love interest, and while she's pretty, she's not a great actress and is merely passable in the role. There's lots of fighting and heroic action in this movie, and it's a way to pass an enjoyable hour or two. John is at his most charismatic here.

Good, enjoyable film, but too much plotting

[theowinthrop · 7/10 · 19 December 2004]

People thinking of the historical record of the United States (prior to the controversy of the current Iraqi War) frequently overlook one peculiar diplomatic lapse. From 1812 to 1815 we were allied with Napoleon Bonaparte, at least unofficially. President Madison's decision to declare war on Great Britain in 1812 put us into this unique situation where instead of fighting for democratic government we were willing to be allied to a megalomaniac Emperor.

The War of 1812 is usually bypassed quickly in our schools (we lost it - the official line is it was a draw but our capital was burned in that war, and that never happened again). Napoleon was a cynical ally at best, but he never quite forgot that we were tied to him. After Waterloo he appears to have considered fleeing by French naval vessel to the U.S., using his brother Jerome's passport as his. He was captured before he could do this - possibly one of the most unexpected blessings in American history, for Bonaparte would not have stopped being Bonaparte if he had landed here.

However other French veterans did come here after the war - the restored Bourbon monarchy was not welcoming to soldiers who fought for Napoleon in the "100 days" of 1815. So many did come to our shores, and this film discusses how a party of them tried to settle in Alabama in 1819, but were nearly swindled out of their land.

The film is well made, especially in the casting of Babe Hardy as John Wayne's sidekick Willy. Wayne's sidekicks usually played it for laughs in his westerns, most memorably Gabby Hayes. Even Kirk Douglas (in THE WAR WAGON) is funny in his constant efforts to out-Wayne, Wayne by his gymnastic abilities. But Hardy has a marvelous rapport with Wayne. Witness the scene where they do the surveying (which neither of them knows much about). Hired (as a trick, as it turns out, by Grant Withers and Marie Windsor), they fumble around with the surveyor's telescope and the measuring stick, and (in following Wayne's orders) Hardy ends up defiantly holding up a measuring rod in the middle of a pond. Also the fiddle concert that both crash is a monument to surprise, as Hardy actually demonstrates he can play the fiddle and can do it comically. Wayne is less able to do that. On the other hand, Hardy can show a serious edge that is not frequently seen in his comedies with Stan Laurel. Listen to his calm discussion regarding his "putting away" hat with Wayne, or his care as a scout watching Wayne's capture, following him from a distance in the dark, and then heading for assistance.

The film is good to a point, but it's main problem is it is about 90 minutes long, but has enough plot for two hours. The film's initial villain is the smooth, apparently upper-crust John Howard, planning to swindle the French soldiers out of their money and land. Then it turns out that Grant Withers (Howard's business manager) is actually a more manipulative criminal than Howard, and is able to topple Howard unexpectedly. But Withers' girlfriend (Marie Windsor) plans to rob him of the money and run off with her actual boyfriend. All the villains are killed at the end by their criss-crossing situations (only one, Howard, dies redeeming himself), but the plotting and counter-plotting is so intensely complicated that the viewer has to accept it's intense pressure due to the time limitations of the movie.

Accept that, and the film is still entertaining. It gets a 7 on my voting.

"I said Kentucky whiskey, and that's what I want!"

[classicsoncall · 6/10 · 11 September 2005]

I would be hard pressed to find an odder casting of co-stars in a movie than John Wayne and Oliver Hardy, but the arrangement seems to work in "The Fighting Kentuckian". Both are members of the 2nd Kentucky Regiment, making their way home following the Battle of New Orleans; it's 1819 and the setting is Demopolis, Alabama. They manage to muster out of their assignments, as John Breen (Wayne) catches the eye of the pretty Fleurette De Marchand (Vera Ralston), and Willie Paine (Hardy) is given a pass to keep tabs on his buddy Breen.

The movie follows the story of a band of exiled French soldiers who were loyal to Napoleon. Following his defeat at Waterloo and exile to Elba, many of his followers found safety in the new land, settling in the southern United States. Curiously, the French soldiers maintain full military dress as they attempt to assimilate into their new surroundings, but at least it makes it easier to tell the good guys from the bad guys. Kentuckian Breen allies himself with the French when he discovers that the village boundaries they have settled were switched at the bequest of George Hayden (Grant Withers), who now plans to steal the land back for himself with the help of his river men allies. Standing between Breen and Madame Fleurette is her fiancée by arrangement, Blake Randolph (John Howard). Randolph has done much to insure the success of the French settlement, and has the backing of Fleurette's father, General Paul De Marchand (Hugo Haas). Needless to say, Breen has an uphill fight, and is constantly in mental discussion with himself as to what his battle plan should be.

In the course of action, Breen and Paine find themselves a helpful ally in French Colonel Georges Geraud (Philip Dorn). Watch closely, and you'll observe Oliver Hardy's character make three moves at once in a chess game against Geraud, proudly proclaiming to "crown it" as he manages to make it to the far side of the game board. Ever the vigilant sidekick, Paine rides after his Kentucky regiment when Breen is taken into custody by the scheming Hayden, now with a two day head start away from Demopolis. Needless to say, they arrive in time to settle the score with Hayden's river men and assure victory for the French settlers.

I have to admit, I was constantly in anticipation of Stan Laurel walking out from behind some tree or boulder to cameo in support of his comic partner. For his part, Oliver Hardy affects many of the familiar comic mannerisms of the partnership he became famous for, and though for the most part appropriate for the situation, they seemed out of place without Laurel on the receiving end.

As expected, John Wayne manages to win the hand of Madame Fleurette by film's end. That custom was established as far back as his mid 1930's Lone Star Film period, but in those days he didn't have to do much to get the girl. As "The Fighting Kentuckian", he had to try hard, real hard to win his lady.

Great Film Classic of 1949

[whpratt1 · 6/10 · 26 January 2008]

Enjoyed this film mainly because it featured a great comedian of mine, Oliver Hardy, (Willie Paine) who was the original team of Laurel & Hardy. Oliver Hardy only appear in this film because he was a good friend of John Wayne who produced this film and he also got the okay from his sidekick, Stan Hardy. John Wayne, plays the role of John Breen who falls in love with a very charming French Lady named Fleurette De Marchard, ( Vera Ralston) and is not really accepted by the French officers who protect her and also her French lover who has intentions of marrying her. John Breen constantly seeks after Fleurette and she in turns shows great love and affection toward him and he never gives up trying to seek her as his wife. Great film and not the average type of Western film. Enjoy

Big Bad John rides again

[tday-1 · 10/10 · 29 April 2007]

This is the movie that made John Wayne a millionaire. When Republic pictures agreed to make the film,studio head Herbert J. Yates insisted that his favorite leading lady, Vera Hruba Ralston be given the female lead. John protested until Yates agreed he could form a production company and own a piece of Wake of The Red Witch,his next outing. John did and Wake gave him over a million dollars in salary. I guess he should have thanked Vera for his success. Anyway,Kentuckian is a very good film with the Republic stock company backing John and Oliver Hardy playing his sidekick. I always liked Vera Ralston and thought she looked good in period films. She actually looks like portraits of women of the era rather than a conventionally movie star. Republic excelled in action scenes and the final stampede of wagons and horses is much more exciting than they do nowadays.

Though THE FIGHTING KENTUCKIAN is set in Alabama . . .

[oscaralbert · 7/10 · 3 March 2016]

. . . near the Heart of the South, there's not a single Black face among the hundreds of visages shown here. That's funny, since more than HALF of Alabama's population in 1819 fell into that demographic, and 60% of them counted toward Alabama's seats in the U.S. Congress. Because the masses of Blacks were NOT allowed to vote, these Congressional seats were STOLEN from Non-Racist Free States such as Vermont and Connecticut (just as Texas and other states of that ilk are using Voteless Mexican Citizens to steal MORE seats in Congress from states such as New York and Ohio even Today!). Back in the early 1800s (or FIGHTING KENTUCKIAN days), Black's presence in the Slave States was used to create NEW Slave States in a vicious-circle Congress rigged against Common Sense, Democracy, and Decency, just like Today's. Therefore, THE FIGHTING KENTUCKIAN is a historical hoax, as it creates an All-White environment where none has ever existed, and an Economy NOT based on Racist Exploitation, where such a thing has never come to pass. There should have been a lot of Wrongs for any Kentuckian to fight against, but Producer John Wayne cannot seem to find the hay in a haystack here!

Comic potboiler which might have worked better as a serious drama

[JamesHitchcock · 5/10 · 19 August 2016]

After the Battle of Waterloo partisans of Napoleon Bonaparte were not the world's most popular people. They were not wanted in the France of Louis XVIII and would not have been welcome elsewhere in Europe, particularly in those countries which had been at war with Napoleon or occupied by his forces, so they turned to America. Napoleon may have been a warmongering tyrant, but he had been an American ally (of sorts) during the War of 1812, so he counted as "our son of a bitch", and any friends of his were welcome to come to the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave.

"The Fighting Kentuckian" is in style, if not in geography, a Western. (Call it a "South-Eastern"). Despite the title, the story is not set in Kentucky but in what was then the Alabama Territory where in 1817 Congress had authorised the sale of land to a group of Bonapartist exiles. The action takes place in the following year. The title refers to the fact that a regiment of Kentucky militiamen are marching through the area on their way back to their home state. One of them, John Breen, falls in love with Fleurette De Marchand, the beautiful daughter of a Bonapartist general. The film then details Breen's attempt to thwart a plot by a gang of ruthless speculators to defraud the French exiles of their land. He also has a rival for Fleurette's hand in the shape of Blake Randolph, a wealthy local businessman.

For most of its length the film is essentially a romantic comedy with a historical setting. The overall tone can be gauged from the fact that one of the main characters, Breen's friend Willie Payne, is played by Oliver Hardy, making a rare appearance without Stan Laurel. Only at the end does the tone change significantly. Someone at Republic Pictures evidently decided that, for a John Wayne film, there was too much comedy and too little action, so there is a full-scale pitched battle between the French settlers and the thugs hired by the speculators to put them off their land. (It seems to me highly unlikely that the thugs, however much they had been hired for, would have wanted to slug it out with battle-hardened veterans of the Napoleonic Wars, quite willing to shoot to kill, but we'll let that pass).

The end of the film also sees a change in Blake's character. He is that rare thing in movies, a repentant villain. (The film's main, and quite unrepentant, villain is not Blake but George Hayden, the leader of the speculators). Blake was at one time a party to Hayden's scheme, but his quite sincere love for Fleurette means that he is no longer an enemy of her people but a defender of their rights, to the point where he is prepared to sacrifice his life for them. This makes him a more potentially interesting character than Breen (a bit of a rough diamond, but morally a straightforward hero) so it is a pity that more attention was not paid to building up Blake's character. This story might, in fact, have worked better as a serious drama, with Blake as tragic hero, than it does as a comedy. (The relationship between Blake and Breen reminded me of that between Sydney Carton and Charles Darnay in "A Tale of Two Cities").

In his best movies ("Stagecoach", "Fort Apache", "The Searchers", "True Grit", "The Shootist", etc.) John Wayne gave America some of its most iconic cinematic symbols of manliness and heroism. Even his greatest admirers, however, would have to admit that he made his fair share (perhaps more than his fair share) of potboilers, and "The Fighting Kentuckian" is one of these. Comedy was never really Wayne's forte and Breen will never rank as one of the great Wayne characters. 5/10 Some goofs. One of Willie's most prized possessions is a top hat which he says has been in his family for three generations. As top hats had only been invented some 20 years before the date when this film is set this seems unlikely. When playing chess with Breen, Willie takes three of his opponent's pieces in one move- something legal in draughts, but not in chess. In the final battle the French charge into battle on horseback with all guns blazing. This might have been possible in a Western set some sixty or seventy years later, but not in one set in 1818. The early nineteenth century cavalryman fought with sword and lance- before the invention of the revolver and repeating rifle single-shot firearms would have been little use to him. Little attention has been paid to period accuracy as far as costumes are concerned; some of Fleurette's dresses recall the Civil War era, some fifty years after the date of this film.

"Come on, you Kentucks!"

[Carycomic · 10/10 · 24 February 2006]

This is my favorite of John Wayne's b/w movies. The movie is based on a little-known fact: that the town of Demopolis, Alabama was founded by former officers and enlisted men of the Napoleonic French army, and their families. And, the Duke plays John Breen; a member of the Second Kentucky Regiment, just returning from a campaign against pro-British Creek Indians, during the War of 1812.

His outfit has marched to the port city of Mobile, to see if they can get a steamboat ride home. But, evidently, they didn't have enough money for the snobbish taste of Blake Randolph (the local shipping magnate). So, they have to resume traveling home on foot. A fact that the regiment keeps reminding the viewer of, via "...that g.d. song" (as my father so hilariously called it)!

Enter Fleurette De Marchand (Vera Ralston); the bored debutante daughter of Gen. De Marchand. She lets Breen steal her fiancé's carriage, just to perk up a dull afternoon. And, Breen--who doesn't want to wait until he's discharged in Kentucky, to make a fresh start--now has another reason to stay in Alabama. *Wink-wink! Nudge-nudge!*

But, as fate would have it, Fleurette's fiancé IS Blake Randolph! And, what's worse: he's in cahoots with George Hayden, the crooked boss of the riverboat men. *Think "union racketeer." *

Their scheme is to let the French develop the wrong land, then steal it out from under them. But, Breen--with the help of Willie Paine (Oliver Hardy, who's surprisingly good without Stan Laurel)--ultimately thwarts the scheme. And, following a great military showdown, wins the girl, as well.

In short, this is a great blend of romance, action, and comedy. And, just remember: "Only 600 miles more to go(More to go!). Only 600 miles more to go(MORE TO GO!). "

The Fighting Kentuckian

[coltras35 · 7/10 · 2 April 2024]

After Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo, 340 French families sought exile in Alabama. John Wayne plays brave Kentucky rifleman John Breen, whose love for a French general's daughter leads him to defend the settlers against his romantic rival, the wealthy Blake Randolph.

John Wayne is joined by Oliver Hardy as his sidekick in this typically entertaining Republic western laced with the right dose of humour, adventure, drama, romance and some double dealing villainy - the story is built up well which eventually conglomerates into action, which is well done. The Fighting Kentuckian is not considered as a classic as the Ford and Howard Hawk westerns, but its aim is to deliver some entertainment, no more, no less. Vera Ralston is charming as usual and gets unfairly criticised for her acting. I have seen worse- even a ventriloquist's dummy could do better.

Quite different, but very good

[mlevans · 26 May 2002]

I just happened to catch the last two-thirds of `The Fighting Kentuckian' on TV a year or so ago and was absolutely aghast to see John Wayne and Oliver Hardy working together. I was so stunned by this-previously unknown to me-partnership that it was only after the film was over that it began to sink in that this was really a pretty nice little movie.

Recently I had an opportunity to buy the video for a very modest price ($4) and grabbed it. Finally getting to see it from start to finish, it makes much more sense and definitely cements my original thoughts that it is indeed a fine production.

The move is set in circa 1820 Alabama, where a group of Napoleonic officers and French landed gentry have taken haven after Waterloo and their emperor's second exile. While I am not sure how many Napoleonic soldiers were actually exiled (At least a couple of Napoleon's marshals went on to hold important political offices in subsequent regimes.), the situation is plausible enough. Not being good with the language and unfamiliar with the customs, the uprooted French are somewhat at the mercy of strangers.

MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD

Unfortunately, one of their apparent friends in the new country has betrayed them and is planning to take over their compact French village. That `friend,' Blake Randolph (John Howard) had previously concocted a scheme to change boundary lines and let the French build their town outside of the land granted to them by the government. He had convinced George Hayden (Grant Withers), the local power broker, to support it. Randolph had second thoughts, though, when he met voluptuous Fleurette De Marchand (Vera Ralston), daughter of General Paul de Marchand (Hugo Haas). He arranges a marriage contract with the general-very much in keeping with French tradition-and apparently hopes to convince Hayden to abandon the plan to steal the French land after the marriage.

Into this `delicate situation' as one character puts it, rides Kentucky militiaman John Breen (Wayne), a member of a roughneck Kentucky militia group, apparently just now making its way home from the War of 1812. Breen, of course, falls for Fleurette and, naturally, neither the aristocratic French family nor Randolph are happy about his overtures. Fleurette, however, feels different and apparently hopes Breen will sweep her off her feet.

Without giving away the entire plot, the movie is a satisfying little venture. Just having the French culture implanted into the American frontier is a brave and unusual stroke for this time period (1949). That it is handled with dignity, sensitivity and historical accuracy is even more impressive. I can see viewers actually heading for the encyclopedia set after watching it, to check up on the French Revolution, Napoleon, etc. The fact that both Wayne and the Kentucky infantry's commander show clear respect for the general is commendable, too.

Of course we get some good action, including a great wagon and horse chase and a good Napoleonic battle scene. This is topped off by the surprisingly good chemistry between Wayne and Hardy. They play off one another very well, with Hardy playing the loyal, if obese and clumsy Willie Paine. Wayne and Ralston have wonderful chemistry together, too. Scenes with the General and Madame de Marchand (Odette Myrtil) talking about their past are both enlightening and endearing. These are not two-dimensional stereotypical `Frenchies' so often portrayed by Hollywood in this time period. George Waggoner wrote and directed `The Fighting Kentuckian' and shows that John Ford was not the only director to get great work out of Wayne. The story flows smoothly and is handled very well.

Overall, I would highly recommend this movie. It's a great one for kids and enjoyable for adults, as well. Any Wayne or Ralston fan would enjoy it and any Laurel & Hardy fan needs to see it, just to see Hardy in this role! It is also fascinating for anyone with an interest in 18th or early 19th century France. Viva la Kentuckian!

Adventure, Fun and Romance

[Imdad_Palijo · 6/10 · 9 July 2022]

A band of Kentuckian soldiers are on their way back home from a war expedition when cupid targets one of the soldiers John Breen (John Wayne) and a French settler Fleurette De Marchand (Vera Ralston) at Mobile, Alabama, a coastal town.

The fun and adventure ensues further on the French settlement at Demopolis, Alabama. Romance is very much in the air, however, the shrewd and greedy local influentials are hands in glove to usurp the land earmarked for French settlements.

Oliver Hardy as Willie Paine will surely make you laugh. The movie is in black and white, which has its own beauty.