John Wayne Movie Reviews From The 1930s To The 1970s | Mostly Westerns
Another 1930s western movie where John Wayne as Jerry Mason, comes back from college. College? What did he study? Riding shotgun? “Gabby” Hayes plays a character called “Grandy” Benson. The Lucky Texan (1934) Lone Star, Dir: Robert N. Bradbury, b/w, 54m Cast: John Wayne, Barbara Sheldon, Lloyd Whitlock, George ‘Gabby’ Hayes, Yakima Canutt, Eddie Parker … Read more
Although I wasn’t expecting too much from yet another of John Wayne’s early period oaters, I have to say that on occasion something comes along that really makes you sit up and take notice. West of the Divide (1934) Lone Star, Dir: Robert N. Bradbury, b/w, 54m Cast: John Wayne, Virginia Faire Brown, George Hayes, … Read more
John Wayne Movie Western Reviews – Sagebrush Trail By my reckoning 1933 was one of the most prolific in John Wayne’s career with twelve of his films being released, Sagebrush Trail the fifth and last Western he starred in for that year. I actually started watching a colourised version of this film, which also appeared … Read more
Here is another review of a 1930’s western with John Wayne as a “singing” Sandy Saunders. This time it’s… Riders of Destiny (1933) Lone Star, Dir: Robert N. Bradbury, b/w, 54m Cast: John Wayne, Cecilia Parker, Forrest Taylor, George Hayes, Al St. John, Heinie Conklin There’s some good news and some bad news. The good … Read more
Remember that line in Jaws? “That’s one bad hat, Larry”. Well, I thought Somewhere in Sonora was bad but The Man from Monterey is even worse, in fact, it’s so bad I don’t quite really know where to begin. The Man From Monterey (1933) Warner Bros, Dir: Mack V. Wright, b/w, 57m Cast: John Wayne, … Read more
John Wayne Western Movies of the 1930s – Somewhere in Sonora As these John Wayne western movie reviews are an ongoing work-in-progress. I’m hoping at some point that someone decided Leon Schlesinger wasn’t really a good fit as a producer for these early 1930s JW cowboy vehicles. Let’s hope we get to the end of that … Read more
Another John Wayne cowboy movie review of the 1930’s This time… The Telegraph Trail 1933 Warner Bros, Dir: Tenny Wright, b/w, 54m Cast: John Wayne, Frank McHugh, Marceline Day, Otis Harlan, Albert J. Smith, Yakima Cannutt Upon firing up this movie on my PC I was somewhat surprised to note that everyone was talking in … Read more
The Best Western Movies of the 1950s As a kid growing up in the 1950s I only saw two John Wayne westerns in the cinema – The Searchers and Rio Bravo – which I’d say is a pretty good starting point when it comes to sampling the oeuvre of the man. Suffice to say Hollywood … Read more
In a continuing quest to find and review every cowboy western movie John Wayne ever made in the 1930s we present this little nugget from 1932. Haunted Gold: Warner Bros, Dir: Mack V. Wright, b/w, 57m Cast: John Wayne, Sheila Terry, Harry Woods, Erville Alderson, Otto Hoffman, Blue Washington Welcome to another John Wayne / … Read more
John Wayne’s Movie Verbal Magic Moments Having delved into the JW film catalog and selected some of my favourite non-verbal ‘magic moments’ in John Wayne’s movies, I thought I’d list a few of the memorable verbal moments as well. A pivotal moment in this Ford / Wayne classic in which JW proves to the many … Read more