I think I’m on safe ground by stating that John Wayne’s most faithful sidekick throughout his early career was George “Gabby” Hayes” who also moonlighted in the same capacity over the years for Roy Rogers, William “Hopalong Cassidy” Boyd, Gene Autry and Wild Bill Eliott, as well as a six-film stint with Randolph Scott. Altogether … Read more
For a brief period of time, John Wayne took a break from his contract with Republic Studios and signed on with Universal to appear in six non-cowboy adventure films. Within a year and a half, he returned to Republic Studios who put him right back in the saddle and riding the range once more in … Read more
We’re updating this particular article as yet another contender for the films in which John Wayne died has come to our attention, meaning there are now 14 movies in which poor old Duke meets his maker. These films fall into two categories: those in which we see John Wayne’s character actually die on screen, and … Read more
There’s a surprisingly interesting premise at work in this film. A boxer by the name of Gus “Knockout” Corrigan, played by Ward Bond, travels from town to town challenging any local to a fight. Turning up in a community in the Northwest he finds himself face-to-face with Farmer Jones, played by John Wayne. Conflict (1936) … Read more
So here we are almost two years after I went on to review every single film John Wayne appeared in from 1939 to 1976 before taking on all of the Westerns JW made in his wilderness years between 1930 to 1939. The following reviews are for the last two low-budget Three Mesquiteers productions for Republic … Read more
Having now made my way through all of the existing Westerns that John Wayne performed in for studios such as Warners, Lone Star and Republic from the early 1930s until 1939, I thought I’d revisit the last four of the Mesquiteer films that JW starred in before fame finally arrived via “Stagecoach” in the same … Read more
I bet even John Wayne didn’t realise that the next film he was to make after this would be the one that finally put paid to his almost decade-long stint in the wilderness as a B-movie actor. Way to go Duke. Red River Range (1938) Republic, Dir: George Sherman, b/w, 55m Cast: John Wayne, Ray … Read more
Get your hankies out for this one. The bad guys want someone else’s gold mine so bad they even kill a little girl. Lansakes, have they no heart? Santa Fe Stampede (1938) Republic, Dir: George Sherman, b/w, 55m Cast: John Wayne, Ray Corrigan, Max Terhune, June Martel, William Farnum, Le Roy Mason The Mesquiteers grubstake … Read more
The movie that finally put paid to the career of a one-time movie superstar – and we don’t mean John Wayne. Overland Stage Raiders (1938) Republic, Dir: George Sherman, b/w, 55m Cast: John Wayne, Ray Corrigan, Max Terhune, Louise Brooks, Anthony Marsh, John Archer This one had me intrigued from the word go seeing as … Read more
As with the recent article on the John Wayne movies in which Duke played real-life characters I’m going to fly by the seat of my paints and pull together all the instances I can think of in which he gets shot, wounded, knocked out and/or generally kicked around without actually giving up the ghost. For … Read more
Pals of the Saddle (1938) Republic, Dir: George Sherman, b/w, 55m Cast: John Wayne, Ray Corrigan, Max Terhune, Doreen McKay, Josef Forte, George Douglas Taking over the lead role of Stony Brooke from Bob Livingston who played the character in all but one of the previous sixteen entries in the series, this is the first … Read more
Whilst writing numerous articles and posts for Mostly Westerns over the years I would occasionally come across little snippets of information from various sources relating to some of the roles John Wayne played in his films. On closer examination there appear to be quite a few movies in which Duke’s character has some basis in … Read more
John Wayne plays a bit of a scallywag in this one, but despite this, he still manages to get the girl. Hell Town (aka Born to the West) (1937) Republic, Dir: Charles Barton, b/w, 55m Cast: John Wayne, Marsha Hunt, John Mack Brown, John Patterson, Monty Blue, Lucien Littlefield The opening of the film features … Read more
What’s your favourite 10 John Wayne Movies? Not just westerns or war movies but your best Duke films ever. It all started with my 10 Best John Wayne Westerns From My Childhood now a distant memory. I’ve now reviewed over 100 John Wayne movies for this site and I thought I would have a go … Read more
Just like the previous film John Wayne starred in for Republic, “The Lonely Trail”, this one also takes its cue from the history of the Old West, in this case, the demise of the Pony Express, which ceased running in 1861. Winds of the Wasteland (1936) Republic, Dir: Mack V. Wright, b/w, 55m Cast: John … Read more
Seeing as how the articles on John Wayne’s leading ladies made such an impression with all you John Wayne fans out there, I thought it might be worth looking at some of Duke’s leading male co-stars as well. This article lists my favourite top 10 actors who have appeared opposite John Wayne, in ascending order. … Read more
If this John Wayne 1936 Republic oater isn’t one of those “JW in disguise sent by the Governor to sort out local corruption” scenarios, we’ll eat our horse and try a couple of spurs for dessert. The Lonely Trail (1936) Republic, Dir: Joseph Kane, b/w, 56m Cast: John Wayne, Ann Rutherford, Cy Kendall, Bob Kortman, … Read more
Howard Hawks was more of a “genre-hopper” as opposed to a director known for working in one specific type of movie. He made screwball comedies (“Bringing Up Baby”, “His Girl Friday”), gangster and crime thrillers (“Scarface”, “ The Big Sleep”) and musicals (“A Song is Born”, “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes”). However, to most John Wayne fans, … Read more
Here’s another John Wayne Western in which Yakima Canutt plays the bad guy again, this time around a character called Henchman Pete. Don’t those outlaws ever have a surname? King of the Pecos (1936) Republic, Dir: Joseph Kane, b/w, 55m Cast: John Wayne, Muriel Evans, Cy Kendall, Jack Clifford, Arthur Aylsworth, Herbert Haywood Villain Alexander … Read more
The next review should have been for “The Oregon Trail” but it seems to have gone missing somewhere along the way which is a shame as it may have turned out to be one of the best of all the Poverty Row Westerns John Wayne made in the 1930s. We’ll never know, so in the … Read more