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This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

Copyright 12 July 1940 by Republic Pictures Corp. New York opening at the Criterion: 18 August 1940. U.S. release: 12 July 1940. U.K. release through British Lion: 11 November 1940. No Australian theatrical release. 9 reels. 79 minutes.SYNOPSIS: Dust Bowl farmers move themselves and their North Dakota township 1,500 miles to Oregon.VIEWER'S GUIDE: Downbeat but inspiring. Suitable for all.COMMENT: John Alton's atmospheric cinematography is the major asset of this odd Americana drama. Although he has close to a characteristic role (a stubborn leader, a man of action and strong principles, yet comradely and romantic), John Wayne is not exactly going to please most of his fans, who are sure to find the setting bizarre. At the time of the film's release, Republic capitalized on Fox's The Grapes of Wrath, but few present-day viewers will make this connection. Another problem is that in order not to be accused of a direct steal from Steinbeck, this film's writers have clouded the central story with a major sub-plot about a refugee doctor, his beautiful daughter and (virtually right at the finish) a former suitor who turns out to be a Nazi. One feels that the story would have come across with more impact had some of these plot strands been eliminated and the Wayne character filled in and backgrounded instead. In fact, the focus of the film is firmly on Coburn for the first half, with Wayne playing a subsidiary role.The location scenes still impress. The dust-storm episodes are unforgettable - even when Alton's striking images are undermined by obvious studio cut-ins. Coburn handles the central role with his usual cunning authority, Sigrid Gurie is charming enough, while Spencer Charters makes the most of one of his biggest roles as Wayne's sidekick and town fixture. Bardette plays a minor villain with grumpy finesse, Russell Simpson over-acts the minister. The rest of the players, including thankfully Sonny Bupp (who I must admit is quite adequate here) have no more than cameos.OTHER VIEWS: Strikingly photographed by John Alton in a tone that is appropriately bleak and gray, Three Faces West is a bit of an entertainment no-no. The script's two stories are imperfectly welded, with audience focus and character motivation changing abruptly. Director Vorhaus is not much help. He's a great fan of close-ups, but does precious little to help the story's pace and drama. What paltry action there is, he seems anxious to get over with as quickly as possible, so that he can get back to more humdrum scenes with foregone-conclusions and lots of beating-about-the-bush dialogue.

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.

. . . exclaims Leni Braun at her first glimpse of John Wayne's bachelor pad in THREE FACES WEST. This flick has three screenwriters, since Republic Pictures decided to combine key elements of the scripts then circulating for GRAPES OF WRATH, CASABLANCA, and THE TEN COMMANDMENTS into one 79-minute low-budget show, giving each of the plot lines a happy ending. John Wayne takes on the future Henry Fonda, Humphrey Bogart, and Charlton Heston roles, with one are tied behind his back. This film made Sigrid Gurie's career, as she proves that she possesses all the talents of Ingrid Bergman. Paul Henreid's role as the courageous Resistance Fighter is greatly shortened, as he reveals himself to be a Nazi convert during his minute on screen. This, of course, allows Wayne's Rick-like character to marry Gurie's Ilsa stand-in for this feature's Grand Finale. Simultaneously, John's Moses gets to put down roots in the Promised Land, renamed "Oregon" here, which welcomes all the Dust Bowl Okies with open arms. There's no need for any women to wet-nurse grown men named "Joad," No Siree, Bob! Not so much as a turtle dies in THREE FACES WEST, as Wayne only punches out a few old-timers.

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!!