Sharkflei Your blood may run cold, but you now find yourself pinioned to the story.

Rio Hayward All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Lucia Ayala It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

Allissa .Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

Leofwine_draca THREE FACES WEST is a John Wayne western with a difference: there are no explicit villains here, no bandits or ruthless criminals waiting to be gunned down by our hero. The enemy of the film is the environment itself, or rather the dust bowl that causes hero Wayne and his townsfolk allies to flee from their homes to re-settle in Oregon. There's some political subtext too about the plight of German refugees fleeing the Nazi regime to settle in America. It's not one of the Duke's most exciting pictures, but at least the novelty of the plot keeps it watchable.

smatysia I did not think that this was a very good movie. It bored me. It was largely a propaganda film, with John Wayne spouting clichés and inspirational fluff, presumably to uplift the morale of the nation as war rages in Europe and Asia. It also carried an anti-Nazi propaganda portion, (which is fine by me) but I sort of thought that Hollywood was OK with Germany in 1940, since they were allied with the Soviet Union at that time. Wayne, of course was a noted conservative and anti-communist, but I'm not sure how much power he wielded at the studio in 1940. The whole film just came across as preachy and fake. I don't really recommend it to anyone, not even John Wayne fans.

MartinHafer Well, if this isn't one of the more unusual films for John Wayne, I don't know what is! The film begins with a radio program in America where the host is encouraging small American towns to sort of 'adopt' doctors displaced by the war in Europe. While the US would not enter the war officially until almost 1942, this film had a very anti-Nazi tone--something new to Hollywood films.One of the doctors is Charles Coburn who plays an Austrian (!) and he has a daughter who is a nurse (Sigrid Gurie). They are offered a job in North Dakota and when they arrive they find that it is nothing but dust and misery. The two want to leave immediately, but the townspeople need them so much that they agree to stay. However, in the meantime two important things happen. First, the dust problem becomes so severe that the town decides to relocate to Oregon. Second, Sigrid falls in love with John Wayne. While her love for Wayne is no surprise, their impending marriage is scuttled when they learn that her long-dead fiancé is actually alive and coming to America. It seems that the Nazis didn't kill him after all. So we are facing two dilemmas. How to get everyone in town to move en masse to Oregon (especially when there are a couple hot-heads in the group) and how will Wayne and Gurie be able to marry? Tune in and see.I liked this film a lot more than I expected--much of it because of the historical aspects of it. Other than THE GRAPES OF WRATH and IT'S A GIFT (to a lesser extent), I can't think of any films that talked about the dust bowl years. And it was nice, also, because THE GRAPES OF WRATH offer a view that is a bit biased--as Steinbeck was trying to make more of a political statement in his writings (so the true historical nature of the Joads are sensationalized quite a bit). Here, it's a more optimistic view of this upheaval. Additionally, it was a nice change of pace for Wayne--who before this had done mostly Westerns. Overall, a surprisingly good film.PS--In a rather poorly done scene, a US Department of Agriculture representative is talking to Wayne and he points to the map where supposedly Wayne's town in North Dakota is located. The pointer actually appears to be about 1000 miles off!!

emdragon An old fashion moral tale with sweetness. John Wayne gives a great performance, and Sigurd Gurie shines as the daughter of a Viennese Surgeon (Charles Coburn). The historical significance of this picture is accurate and compelling, though rather melo-dramatic. Ms Gurie gives a kind and sensitive performance in one of the finest roles of her brief career. The Oklahoma dust bowl is the setting for this early 20th century tale that keeps an eye on several moral issues. It tells the brave tale of poor farmers who were strongly bonded with "good honest sweat", and who face a decision to stick together and head west. Spencer Charters, playing the town veterinarian/comedian gives a fine performance as do many of the players in this one. Well worth a watch.