John Wayne Movie Reviews From The 1930s To The 1970s | Mostly Westerns
Barely five minutes into the film and stranger-in-town John Mason, played by John Wayne, is already engaged in a bout of fisticuffs with one of the locals, Ben McClure, played by Reed Howes. The Dawn Rider (1935) Lone Star, Dir: Robert N. Bradbury, b/w, 53mCast: John Wayne, Marion Burns, Denny Meadows, Reed Howes, Joe DeGrasse, … Read more
The Desert Trail (1935) Lone Star, Dir: Cullen Lewis, b/w, 54mCast: John Wayne, Mary Kornman, Paul Fix, Eddy Chandler, Carmen LaRoux, Lafe McKee The opening sequence in this film is actually quite entertaining. Wayne, as rodeo rider John Scott, is travelling with his gambling friend, Kansas Charlie, played by Eddy Chandler, to Rattlesnake Gulch and … Read more
Rainbow Valley (1935) Lone Star, Dir: Robert N. Bradbury, b/w, 52mCast: John Wayne, Lucille Brown, George Hayes, Leroy Mason, Lloyd Ingraham, Buffalo Bill Jr. On the way to Rainbow Valley JW, as John Martin, encounters the proper “Gabby”, the one we all know and love and in full ‘old-timer’ mode, who asks him for some … Read more
Texas Terror (1935) Lone Star, Dir: Robert N. Bradbury, b/w, 51mCast: John Wayne, Lucille Brown, Leroy Mason, Fern Emmett, George Hayes, Buffalo Bill Jr. When the film starts, John Wayne as John Higgins is – unusually – the local sheriff so we just know he’s going to be due for a fall early on in … Read more
‘Neath the Arizona Skies (1934) Lone Star, Dir: Harry Fraser, b/w, 53mCast: John Wayne, Sheila Terry, Shirley Jane Rickert, Jack Rockwell, Buffalo Bill Jr., Yakima Canutt “‘Neath the Arizona Skies” is the last of the nine Westerns John Wayne starred in for the year of 1934. It’s not quite up there with the twelve films … Read more
The Trail Beyond (1934) Lone Star, Dir: Robert N. Bradbury, b/w, 54mCast: John Wayne, Verna Hillie, Noah Beery SR., Noah Beery Jr., Robert Frazer, Iris Lancaster. Another Lone Star production, based on a story rather than a production-belt script, by James Oliver Curwood, and filmed in and around the stunning location of Mammoth Lakes in … Read more
The Lawless Frontier (1934) Lone Star, Dir: Robert N. Bradbury, b/w, 50mCast: John Wayne, Sheila Terry, Jack Rockwell, George Hayes, Buffalo Bill Jr., Yakima Canutt This entry in the Lone Star series is a bit more dramatic than others, the opening sequence in which John Wayne, as John Tobin, finds his murdered parents highly reminiscent … Read more
The Star Packer (1934) Lone Star, Dir: Robert N. Bradbury, b/w, 54m Cast: John Wayne, Verna Hillie, George Hayes, Yakima Canutt, Billy Franey, Ed Parker Another Lone Star production. Same costume and horse for John Wayne, so nothing changed there. Then surprise surprise. Yakima Canutt isn’t a baddie this time. He’s a Native American called … Read more
Blue Steel (1934) Lone Star, Dir: Robert N. Bradbury, b/w, 54mCast: John Wayne, Eleanor Hunt, George Hayes, Edward Peil, Yakima Canutt, Lafe McKee Someone’s goofed. George “Gabby” Hayes has been made the sheriff. On top of that the Gabby persona is now really starting to kick in – big time. His mouth seems to be … Read more
Randy Rides Alone (1934) Lone Star, Dir: Harry Fraser, b/w, 54m Cast: John Wayne, Alberta Vaughn, George Hayes, Yakima Canutt, Earl Dwire, Arthur Ortego Compared to the previous Lone Star offerings, this has quite an eerie opening scene with Wayne, as Randy Roberts, entering a saloon full of dead people. A pianola plays in the … Read more