jw 1930s

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 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