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John Wayne Movies KING OF THE "B" WESTERN 1933-1937 During this period, John Wayne established himself as the premier star of "B" Western movies. So much so, that when he did other types of movies, his fans were not pleased, or sometimes were even down right angry. There are a variety of movie types in the forty listed in this section. Except for his serial, The Three Musketeers,only the Westerns, of the movies in which he starred, were successful, although during this time Duke also played a playboy, lumberjack, sailor, truck driver, camerman, and hockey player. The Telegraph Trail 1933 - Warner Brothers Main Cast: John Wayne, Marceline Day, Frank McHugh, Yakima Canutt. Directed by Tenny Wright. Playing John Trent, Wayne is a government scout who undertakes the task of taking a supply train through to the camp of the men building the first telegraph line across America. The Three Musketeers 1933 - Mascot Main Cast: John Wayne, Ruth Hall, Jack Mulhall, Francis X. Bushman Jr., Noah Beery Jr. Directed by Armand Schaefer. In this, Duke's third and final twelve-part serial, John Wayne was again a pilot, but this time in French Africa. He plays Tom Wayne and helps three French Foreign Legionnaires against the mysterious El Shasta and his rebels. In 1946, the footage was editied and released by Favorite Films as a feature called Desert Command. Central Airport 1933 - Warner Brothers Main Cast: Richard Barthelmess, Sally Eilers, Tom Brown, John Wayne. Directed by William A. Wellman. John played a small part in this Richard Barthelmess picture. Duke is seen near the end of the picture as the co-pilot of a plane which has crashed into the sea. While trying to save the live of one of his passengers, Duke's character drowns. Somewhere In Sonora 1933 - Warner Brothers Main Cast: John Wayne, Henry B. Walthall, Shirley Palmer, J.P. McGowan. Directed by Mack V. Wright. Playing John Bishop, Wayne is a cowboy whose reputation has been wronged. When he finds himself in Mexico, he proves to be a real hero. His Private Secretary 1933 - Showmen's Pictures Main Cast: John Wayne, Evalyn Knapp, Alec B. Francis, Reginald Barlow. Directed by Philip H. Whitman. Duke, as the son of a rich man, can't take his mind off girls long enough to make a start in his father's business. He meets the granddaughter of a minister who eventually straightens him out and reunites him with his father. The Life of Jimmy Dolan 1933 - Warner Brothers Main Cast: Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Loretta Young, Guy Kibbee, Fifi D'Orsay, Aline MacMahon, Lyle Talbot, Mickey Rooney. Directed by Archie Mayo. John Wayne plays Smith in this movie about prize fighting. The lead was played by Douglas Fairbanks Jr. Duke plays one of the boxers. Several years later, the picture was re-made as They Made Me A Criminal with John Garfield. Baby Face 1933 - Warner Brothers Main Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, George Brent, Donald Cook, Margaret Lindsay, Douglass Dumbrille, John Wayne. Directed by Alfred E. Green. John Wayne plays Jimmy McCoy, a department store floorwalker who is used by Stanwyck as she sleeps her way to the top, floor by floor. The Man From Monterey 1933 - Warner Brothers Main Cast: John Wayne, Ruth Hall, Luis Albert, Francis Ford. Directed by Mack V. Wright. As Captain John Holmes, Duke carried swords instead of guns in this costume drama set in Spanish California, where he overcomes swindlers. Think of Zoro without the mask and cape. Riders Of Destiny 1933 - Monogram Main Cast: John Wayne, Cecelia Parker, Gabby Hayes, Forest Taylor. Directed by R. N. Bradbury. This was the first of sixteen Westerns John Wayne made for Monogram. Eash had abudget of about $10,000 and a shooting schedule of about a week. Monogram wanted to make John Wayne into a singing cowboy, but he wouldn't let the studio use his flat voice. In those pictures, Duke mouthed the lyrics, as another sang the song. In this picture, Duke played an undercover agent, Singing Sandy, sent from Washington D. C. to a small Western town to investigate water tights prblems among the ranchers. College Coach 1933 - Warner Brothers Main Cast: Dick Powell, Pat O'Brien, Ann Dvorak, Hugh Herbert, Herman Bing, Lyle Talbot. Directed by William A. Wellman John Wayne and buddy, Ward Bond, once again as bit players in another football story. Duke had one line in the picture. Sagebrush Trail 1933 - Monogram Main Cast: John Wayne, Nancy Shubert, Lane Chandler, Yakima Canutt. Directed by Armand Schaefer. As John Brant, Duke is sent to jail for murder, but escapes and finds the real killer. John Wayne and Yakima Canutt were the pioneers of realistic film brawls. They worked with the cameraman to make each fight or stunt look as lifelike as possible. They perfected the long punch, the follow through, and various riding tricks which have become the mainstay of the Western since then. West of the Divide 1934 - Monogram Main Cast: John Wayne, Virginia Browne Faire, Lloyd Whitlock, Gabby Hayes. Directed by R.N. Bradbury. John Wayne as Ted Hayden in a story of revenge, Western style. He returns to his family's ranch to find his father's killer and locate his missing brother, who turns out to be one of the outlaws. The Lucky Texan 1934 - Monogram Main Cast: John Wayne, Barbara Sheldon, Gabby Hayes, Yakima Canutt. Directed by R.N. Bradbury. John played Jerry Mason, a college boy who goes west and finds gold with Gabby Hayes. Those who run an assay office then try to steal the mine from them. Blue Steel 1934 - Monogram Main Cast: John Wayne, Eleanor Hunt, Gabby Hayes, Noah Berry Jr., Yakima Canutt. Directed by R.N. Bradbury John played U.S. Marshal John Carruthers, saving a town from an outlaw plot to ruin a town because of gold in the surrounding soil. The Man from Utah 1934 - Monogram Main Cast: John Wayne, Polly Young, Gabby Hayes, Yakima Canutt. Directed by R.N. Bradbury. In this picture, Duke played a deputy sheriff who uncovers rodio racketeers after joining the rodeo. Randy Rides Alone 1934 - Monogram Main Cast: John Wayne, Alberta Vaughn, Gabby Hayes, Earl Dwire. Directed by Harry Fraser. As singing cowboy Randy Bowers, Wayne captures a gang who has been robbing the local express company. Duke is accused of murder, jailed, and set free by the heroine. Duke hated his singing roles and finally was able to get our of them. Monogram finally signed Gene Autry as their singing cowboy. The Star Packer 1934 - Monogram Main Cast: John Wayne, Verna Hillie, Gabby Hays, Earl Dwire. Directed by R.N. Bradbury. As sheriff John Travers, Wayne set out to catch a villain called the Shadow. The Trail Beyond 1934 - Monogram Main Cast: John Wayne, Verna Hillie, Noah Beery Jr., Noah Beery Sr. Directed by R.N. Bradbury. Featuring canoe stunts and leaps into waterfalls, this film has John playing Rod Drew, who saves the girl and a gold mine from outlaws in the Pacific Northwest. The Lawless Frontier 1934 - Monogram Main Cast: John Wayne, Sheila Terry, Gabby Hayes, Earl Dwire. Directed by R.N. Bradbury. John Tobin (Wayne) sets out after a Mexican outlaw to avenge his parents death, and clear his name. 'Neath Arizona Skies 1934 - Monogram Main Cast: John Wayne, Sheila Terry, Jay Wilset (Buffalo Bill Jr.), Shirley Rickert. Directed by Harry Fraser. As Chris morrell, John is the guardian of a young Indian girl who is heir to oil-rich land, and goes looking for her long lost father, to keep her from losing it to outlaw predators. Texas Terror 1935 - Monogram Main Cast: John Wayne, Lucille Brown, LeRoy Mason, Gabby Hayes. Directed by R.N. Bradbury. Duke played a sheriff, John Higgins, who gives up his badge because he thinks he's killed his best friend. He helps the dead man's sister and later learns he wasn't responsible for her brother's death. Rainbow Valley 1935 - Monogram Main Cast: John Wayne, Lucille Brown, LeRoy Mason, Gabby Hayes. Directed by R.N. Bradbury. John played agent John Martin, who goes undercover and becomes a convict in order to get information about the bad men who are trying to take a rich gold mine property from the local townspeople. The Desert Trail 1935 - Monogram Main Cast: John Wayne, Mary Kornman, Paul Fix, Edward Chandler. Direced by Cullen Lewis. Duke played John Scott, a rodeo man who captures holdup men to clear himself. Paul Fix, a life-long friend, appeared with Duke. The Dawn Rider 1935 - Monogram Main Cast: John Wayne, Marion Burns, Reed Howes, Yakima Canutt. Directed by R.N. Bradbury. John plays John Mason, out to settle a score with those who he saw kill his father after they rob an express office. Paradise Canyon 1935 - Monogram Main Cast: John Wayne, Marion Burns, Reed Howes, Yakima Canutt. Directed by Carl Pierson. Undercover agent John Wyatt is after counterfeiters along the Mexican border. Westward Ho 1935 - Republic Main Cast: John Wayne, Sheila Mannors, Frank McGlynn, Jack Curtis. Directed by R. N. Bradbury. John is John Wyatt, who goes after the outlaws who killed his parents, only to find that their killers are led by a mon Wyatt didn't know was his brother. The Lawless Range 1935 - Republic Main Cast: John Wayne, Sheila Mannors, Earl Dwire. Directed by R. N. Bradbury. Duke is again an undercover agent, who saves the town from those seeking gold. The New Frontier 1935 - Republic Main Cast: John Wayne, Muriel Evans, Murdoch MacQuarrie, Alan Cavan. Directed by Carl Pierson. As John Dawson, John Wayne played the leader of a wagon train, who becomes a sheriff and helps the people fifght for their land which has been requisitioned for the building of a dam. The Oregon Trail 1936 - Republic Main Cast: John Wayne, Ann Rutherford, E.H. Calvert, Yakima Canutt. Directed by Scott Pembroke. Duke played Captain John Delmont pursuing renegade frontiersmen, who lured his father into an ambush and forced his troopers to starve in the mountain snows while leading a supply train along the Oregon Trail. The Lawless Nineties 1936 - Republic Main Cast: John Wayne, Ann Rutherford, Harry Woods, Gabby Hays. Directed by Joseph Kane. John Tipton, a Federal agent, is sent to Wyoming to guard against voting corruption. The cast included Ann Rutherford, who went on to be a fairly well-known movie star. King of the Pecos 1936 - Republic Main Cast: John Wayne, Muriel, Cy Kendall, Jack Clifford. Directed by Joseph Kane. John Clayborn, a law student, who returns to Texas seeking the revenge of his parents murder, turns to violence when he finds the law is ineffectual. Winds of the Wasteland 1936 - Republic Main Cast: John Wayne, Phyllis Fraser, Douglas Cosgrove, Yakima Canutt. Directed by Mack V. Wright. John Blair, a former Pony Express rider, competes with a stageline owner for the government mail-hauling contract. The Lonely Trail 1936 - Republic Main Cast: John Wayne, Ann Rutherford, Cy Kendall, Bob Kortman. Directed by Joseph Kane. After the Civil War, John, a Texas rancher, helps rid the state of Carpetbaggers, at the request of the Texas governor. The Sea Spoilers 1936 - Universal Main Cast: John Wayne, Nan Grey, William Bakewell, Fuzzy Knight, George Irving. Directed by Frank Strayer. Duke left Republic to make six pictures with Universal, after being promised some better, non-Western, pictures, with a higher budget. Indeed, the budget was better. Instead of $10,000 to $20,000, these pictures had a budget of around $60,000. However, the quality wasn't much better. Poor writing and poor direction left the pictures doing poorly at the box office. And, John Wayne's fans wanted him to be a cowboy. They didn't want to see him in other types of movies. In this picture, Duke played Bob Randall, a Coast Guard commander dealing with murderers, smugglers, and kidnappers. Duke showed the shades of the John Wayne who would become a superstar, but he still had more to learn, as well as needing better writing and better directing. Conflict 1936 - Universal Main Cast: John Wayne, Jean Rogers, Tommy Bupp, Eddie Borden, Ward Bond. Directed by David Howard. John plays Pat, a luberjack who takes on fighter Ward Bond. California Straight Ahead 1937 - Universal Main Cast: John Wayne, Louise Latimer, Robert McWade, Tully Marshall. Directed by Arthur Lubin. Duke as Biff Smith, a trucker in a race with the railroad to deliver aviation parts to the west coast before a labor strike begins. He must battle the elements to win the race. I Cover The War 1937 - Universal Main Cast: John Wayne, Gwen Gaze, Don Barclay, Pat Somerset. Directed by Arthur Lubin. Wayne played Bob Adams, a camerman in North Africa after a good story, and who manages to save a company of British lancers during an uprising. Idol of the Crowds 1937 - Universal Main Cast: John Wayne, Sheila Bromley (formerly Sheila Terry), Charles Brokaw. Directed by Arthur Lubin. As Johnny Hanson, Duke played an outstanding hockey player, who rejects a big money bid to throw the championship game. Adventure's End 1937 - Universal Main Cast: John Wayne, Diana Gibson, Montagu Love, Maurice Black. Directed by Arthur Lubin. Set in the South Pacific, John Wayne played Duke Slade, a pearl diver who dives into unsafe waters. He is rescued by a whailing ship, helps pur down a shipboard mutiny, and then marries the Captain's daughter. Born to the West Hell Town 1937 - Paramount Main Cast: John Wayne, Marsha Hunt, Johnny Mack Brown, Monte Blue. Directed by Charles Barton. Dare Rudd, a drifter, is made the leader of a cattle drive, who defeats the cattle rustlers and proves himself worthy of the owner's daughter. The picture also contained a young Alan Ladd who went on to become a major movie star. The picture was originally released as Born To The West, but was re-released as Hell Town, and can more commonly be found by the latter title.
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