Angel And The Badman (1947)

A wounded gunfighter (John Wayne) is taken in and nursed by a Quaker family that doesn't believe in violence. He finds himself falling in love with the daughter (Gail Russell) which causes a conflict as she disapproves of his lifestyle. Wayne was the driving force behind the movie, he produced it and allowed the film's screenwriter James Edward Grant to direct for the first time. It's unusual among the Wayne westerns in that it's essentially a love story which ends with a tamed Wayne. The film was not a success which might explain why Wayne stuck (for the most part) to the tried and true and didn't play around with his image much. The lovely Russell has a sweetness to her and the contrast between her and Wayne makes for an attractive and believable screen coupling. It's a minor western to be sure and it doesn't rank with best of the Wayne classics but it's easy to fall a little bit in love with it. With Bruce Cabot, Harry Carey, Irene Rich and Stephen Grant.