john wayne have be make low budget movie for almost 15 year when he star with claire trevor in the william seiter direct allegheny uprising . he must have felt his career be go backwards a the production value here be second rate even by the marginal standard of his early film . cast before the release of stagecoach and he and trevor be give a more central role in allegheny uprising a it be not an ensemble piece like stagecoach . the new popularity of the two b movie actor require p. j. wolfson to alter his adaptation of neil swanson novel the first rebel . in place of his straight historical fiction action adventure tale ( base on the smith rebellion and fort loudoun in southern pennsylvania ) wolfson be force to add a romance and pad trevor role . unfortunately adapt a novel to the screen be difficult enough without have to insert a character utterly irrelevant to a story already too expansive for easy adaptation . contemporary viewer will find the forced insertion of trevor into most of the scene rather puzzle and at least in part because she have little go for herself a an actress or a screen presence . the young john wayne be much good when pair with talented lead lady like ella raines and cecilia parker . set in pennsylvania conococheague valley in 1759 and wayne play title character james smith who return to the valley with a friend call the professor ( john frank hamilton ) . they find the local british commander ( george sander ) a martinet and a local civilian ( brian donley ) trading contraband good ( whiskey and weapon ) with the indian and in league with some corrupt soldier . trevor play janie macdougall and a loud tomboy who love smith and manages to insert herself into his affair at every turn . 1939 be not a good time for a movie which portray our soon to be ally ( insert the british here ) a stupid and corrupt . and southern california be not a good location for shoot a film about colonial america . there be far too many shot of grassy and almost treeless and california valley to maintain the necessary geographical illusion . also jar be the contemporary dialogue which leave you expect mickey rooney and lewis stone to pull up outside the fort in the family sedan . when not painful and the inattention to period detail be unintentionally amuse . my favorite scene involve the british soldier laugh at the idea of the settler take over the fort . it will remind you of the robin huck episode of huckleberry hound where he exhort his merry men to yuk it up a bit and they respond by go yuk and yuk and yuk . all in all and a weak example of the b movie product . then again and what do i know . i be only a child .