John Wayne Movie Reviews From The 1930s To The 1970s | Mostly Westerns
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
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
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
This is the first in a series of articles in which we take a look at some of the directors John Wayne worked with on more than a number of occasions, starting with Andrew V. McLaglen. Son of actor Victor, Andrew was a British born director who went on to work with some of the … Read more
John Wayne strums his way through this whilst miming to the questionable vocal talents of Glenn Strange, an actor who went on to play the Frankenstein monster a few years later. You have been warned. Lawless Range (1935) Republic, Dir: Robert N. Bradbury, b/w, 53m Cast: John Wayne, Sheila Manners, Frank McGlynn Jr., Jack Curtis, … Read more
“The New Frontier” should not be confused with the later 1939 John Wayne / Republic vehicle “New Frontier”, which was retitled “Frontier Horizon”. Glad we can clear that one up. Read on, pardners. The New Frontier (1935) Republic, Dir: Carl L. Pierson, b/w, 54m Cast: John Wayne, Muriel Evans, Warner Richmond, Alan Bridge, Sam Flint, … Read more
If you’re a fan who likes to watch as John Wayne mimes along to someone else’s singing voice, then this one is for you. Westward Ho (1935) Republic, Dir: Robert N. Bradbury, b/w, 60mCast: John Wayne, Sheila Mannors, Frank McGlynn Jr., James Farley, Jack Curtis, Yakima Canutt Looks like Duke’s gone and jumped ship and … Read more
John Wayne revisits old territory as an undercover agent called John Wyatt required to infiltrate a counterfeiting gang who work under the guise of a travelling medicine show. Paradise Canyon (1935) Lone Star, Dir: Carl L. Pierson, b/w, 52mCast: John Wayne, Marion Burns, Reed Howes, Earl Hodgins, Gino Corrado, Yakima Canutt The only difference between … Read more
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