Die Spielhölle von Wyoming

This one’s slightly better than Texas TERROR, mainly because it features a better-than-average cast – apart from Wayne, of course, there’s Johnny “Mack” Brown as The Duke’s cousin/boss, Marsha Hunt (later co-star of the classic Anthony Mann noir RAW DEAL [1948]) as the girl who comes between them, Lucien Littlefield as Wayne’s sidekick/conscience, and Monte Blue as the villainous (but ostensibly respectable) leader of a gang of cattle rustlers.

Based on a Zane Grey novel, the film was originally released as BORN TO THE WEST – but this got changed on its re-issue to the more vivid HELL TOWN; interestingly, Wayne’s leadership of a cattle drive here anticipates Howard Hawks’ Western masterpiece RED RIVER (1948), in which he gave one of his finest performances.

Again, the film runs for less than one hour while involving standard excitements – a saloon brawl, various cattlemen-vs.-rustlers clashes, a marathon poker game erupting into violence, etc. – and familiar embellishments, such as comedy relief and romance (except that lovely young Hunt makes for a much more interesting partner for the Duke than the wooden Lucille Browne of Texas TERROR). All in all, though, the film remains strictly a potboiler.

After six non-western B-movies, John Wayne returns to the saddle for what would be the beginning of the final chapter of his B-movie career. Rather than the standard formulaic B-western where Duke is the known hero who will get the girl, here his cowboy hero status is in question – he has to chase the girl and he's not exactly the squeaky clean character we have always known him as up to this point in his filmography. The story is by acclaimed western novel writer Zane Grey which helps explain how this is different from all that came before it for the Duke.

5.7 / 10 stars

--Zoooma, a Kat Pirate Screener

While it has a story that is not bad in itself, "Born to the West" (or "Hell Town") is mostly carried by John Wayne's screen presence, with some help from Johnny Mack Brown and the rest of a pretty good cast.

Wayne plays a gambling-addicted cowboy who runs into his respected and influential cousin (Brown) while passing through Montana. The two become rivals for the affections of Brown's girlfriend (Marsha Hunt) while at the same time they must join up to deal with cattle rustlers and crooked card players. A lot of the story is routine, but there are some interesting features, and it moves at a good pace. The scenery is also pretty good at times.

The film is a decent Western in its own right, and is also worth watching to see Wayne's performance as a man who has to combine action with some careful thinking about his future. It's not hard to see why soon after this movie he started to get the big roles and the attention due to a star.

A good little movie that runs out of time before it runs out of story, "Born To The West" offers a rare chance to see John Wayne making a western in the 1930s with a decent budget for a change, even if it is still a B-picture.

Also known as "Hell Town" (which is the title with the version I saw), the film presents Wayne in an unusual role, that of the aptly named Dare, "a wild and crazy fellow" as his cousin Tom (John Mack Brown) calls him. Dare happens into Tom's home state of Wyoming looking for work, and not particular how he gets it.

An opening scene sets up the character, as Dare and his comic-relief buddy Dink (Syd Saylor) show up in the middle of a gun battle between two groups of strangers.

"Which side you favor?" Dare asks.

"Which side's winning?" Dink answers, thinking of his stomach.

Dare and Dink would just as soon blow out of town after Tom hands over $100 in travelling funds, until Dare gets a look at Tom's girl Judy (Marsha Hunt). "Hell Town" then becomes an involving duel of personalities between Dare and the upright Tom, who offers Dare plenty of opportunities to mess up and lose his claim on Judy.

"Hell Town" benefits from a solid cast, funny dialogue, and able direction from Charles Barton, who knew how to make a genre film work. (His best-remembered film combines two genres, "Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein.") Dink is always trying to sell lightning rods, while Dare is out to prove himself the best poker player west of the Mississippi. Neither are successful, but it's fun watching them try and fail again.

The conflict involves a gang of cattle rustlers and their boss, who works on Dare trying to get him to switch sides. Because the film runs under an hour, there's little chance to develop any tension regarding what Dare will do, and the ending is downright perfunctory in most particulars. But you do get a chance to see a nifty poker- playing scene where cousin Tom steps in and helps Dare handle a tense situation, the film's highlight.

The rest of the film is pretty good, too, and represents a chance to see Wayne play a kind of ne'er-do-well. He banters enjoyably with Saylor while showing ample nerve with Hunt: "Since you're not already spoken for, I guess I'll just marry you." Wayne would play stolid good guys, and hard cases, but here is a rare chance to see him as likable rogue, a direction his career might have gone if not for John Ford.

John Wayne and sidekick Syd Saylor are heading from Montana to Wyoming to the ranch of Wayne's cousin Johnny Mack Brown. Wayne's a cocky sort, fancies himself a great lady's man and poker player. The Duke even in his later and more irascible years usually didn't have parts that called for that, but here he does show that side of his character and shows it well.

Wayne moves in on Marsha Hunt who is Brown's girl friend. That does throw a monkey wrench into the relationship between the cousins. Later on at the hands of cardsharps Monte Blue and James Craig, Wayne gets himself in quite a hole.

Johnny Mack Brown had an interesting career. He was an All American back for the Crimson Tide of Alabama before Paul Bryant took over the team. He opted for a Hollywood career and appeared opposite stars like Mary Pickford and Greta Garbo in silents. His Alabama drawl made him a natural for westerns and he was grinding out the B films just like the Duke was at this time. This is their only film together and they both complement each other's persona well.

Although another great football player Jim Thorpe has a bit role in this film, some lists have Alan Ladd in the cast. I have to say that I examined it frame by frame and there's no trace of Mr. Ladd.

Even without Ladd it's a passably good B western, could have used some better editing, but better than some of what Wayne was doing at Monogram at the time.