The Tornado Backdrop Blur
The Tornado Poster

The Tornado

The Tornado mostly followed pulp Western formula -- bad guys hold up a town, take a girl hostage, and the hero rides to the rescue. But there were a couple of twists that made it seem more personal than the usual cowboy fare. Ford's Jack Dayton ... is known as "the No-Gun Man" because he faces the villains unarmed, anticipating the character played by James Stewart in George Marshall's 1939 Western comedy classic Destry Rides Again. Dayton is an immigrant who uses the reward money to bring over his mother (Jean Hathaway) from Ireland, a prototypically Fordian situation if there ever was one.

Top Cast

  • John Ford

    John Ford

    Jack Dayton (as Jack Ford)

  • Jean Hathaway

    Jean Hathaway

    Jack's mother

  • Peter Gerald

    Peter Gerald

    Pendleton - banker from Rock River (as Pete Gerald)

  • Elsie Thornton

    Elsie Thornton

    Bess - Jack's daughter

  • Duke Worne

    Duke Worne

    Lesparre - the lead of Cayote gang

  • John Duffy

    John Duffy

    Slick - Jack's partner

Overview

The Tornado mostly followed pulp Western formula -- bad guys hold up a town, take a girl hostage, and the hero rides to the rescue. But there were a couple of twists that made it seem more personal than the usual cowboy fare. Ford's Jack Dayton ... is known as "the No-Gun Man" because he faces the villains unarmed, anticipating the character played by James Stewart in George Marshall's 1939 Western comedy classic Destry Rides Again. Dayton is an immigrant who uses the reward money to bring over his mother (Jean Hathaway) from Ireland, a prototypically Fordian situation if there ever was one.

Rating

5.5 / 10
2 Reviews
0 Popular

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