As a young man, John Wyatt (John Wayne) witnessed an attack on a wagon train by the evil outlaw Wick Ballard (Jack Curtis).  John’s parents were killed and his younger brother Jim was abducted.  Years later, the grown John Wyatt realizes that the law cannot be depended upon in the wild west so he raises his own band of vigilantes and delivers justice to the frontier.  (Wayne’s second-in-command is played by the legendary Glenn Strange.)  Wyatt remains committed to taking down Ballard.  Going undercover as John Allen, Wyatt joins a cattle drive that he thinks will be attacked by Ballard.  Also working undercover as a member of the cattle drive is Jim Wyatt (Frank McGlynn Jr), John’s long-lost brother, who is now working for Ballard!  Both the Wyatt bothers end up falling for Mary Gordon (Sheila Bromley), the daughter of rancher Lafe Gordon (Jim Farley).

This was a good example of the the type of B-movies that John Wayne made in the years before John Ford cast him in Stagecoach.  The story is simple but Wayne gives a commanding performance as Wyatt.  Unlike many of the B-movies that featured Wayne as a callow singing cowboy or a fun-loving rogue, Westward Ho features Wayne playing the type of character that he would often play after he became a star.  Wyatt is determined to get justice for his family and to protect the innocents who are attacked by men like Ballard.  The presence of his brother in the enemy camp adds an extra dimension to Westward Ho.  Wyatt learns that vengeance isn’t everything.

It’s only 61 minutes long but it tells a good story and it has all the gunfights and horse chases that Western fans expect from their movies.  Of Wayne’s poverty row westerns, Westward Ho is one of the better ones.