Rainbow Valley

That's the whole point, there ain't no road to Rainbow Valley and the outlaws want to make sure that it stays that way. By controlling the narrow pass into the valley they can starve the miners out collect on the potential riches they've found. Of course all this is reckoned without the presence of John Wayne.

As was pointed out by another reviewer this takes place during the first decade of the last century as typified by both the picture of the current president on the post office wall, Theodore Roosevelt. And by the fact that mailman Gabby Hayes delivers the mail in one of those new fangled contraptions and automobile with a crank starter.

The car proves to be a double whammy for both the outlaws and the good guys. Since it's the only car in the valley when Gabby Hayes is captured by the outlaws it makes it real easy for the Duke to follow as he laughingly points out. Of course when Gabby tries to rescue Wayne during the climax, he doesn't reckon on another problem for early automobiles, they run out of gas and there ain't no filling stations built yet. I have to confess a chuckle or two as Gabby and Lucille Browne hitch up some harness horses to his Model T and have to go out that way to the final gun battle.

Rainbow Valley is not a bad western for a Lone Star Monogram production. At a bigger studio with a better script and better production values this could have been a classic.

Filmed in 1935 this movie stars John Wayne as a cowboy named "John Martin" who is on his way to the small, isolated town of "Rainbow Valley". While riding his horse he happens to come across an old man by the name of "George Hale" (George Hayes) who tells him he needs water desperately for "Nellie". Figuring that he needs it for his horse, John gives him his canteen only to discover that "Nellie" is an automobile and George is the mailman for Rainbow Valley. Having added the water to his car's radiator George thanks John and tells him he will probably see him again in Rainbow Valley. Since both are headed that way John decides to follow George from a distance. It's at this time that he hears gunshots and notices that some outlaws on horseback are chasing after George. Naturally, John rides to the rescue and after taking on the crooks one by one escorts the now-wounded George to the doctor in Rainbow Valley. Once he gets to town he is informed that Rainbow Valley has been plagued by crooks and that the residents are in desperate need of someone who can fend off the outlaws trying to stop the workers from restoring the only road connecting Rainbow Valley with the nearest town 60 miles away. At any rate, rather than detailing the entire story I will just say that this was a decent Western B-movie all things considered. Besides being quite old it is also a bit short (about 52 minutes). But the acting was adequate enough and the movie turned out to be somewhat entertaining all the same. That said, I suppose it merits an average rating.

This was probably made in a matter of days with a minimal budget and given that, it does better than ok for just under an hour. The Duke, as usual partnered with "Gabby" Hayes is this time embroiled in a dodgy plan to sabotage a new road being built through the Rainbow Valley. His pal - ostensibly, at any rate - "Butch" (Jay Wilsey) is the schemer but will the aptly named "John" be able to thwart this destructive plan? Wayne looks every inch the star here, even in a rather over-sized, but fetching striped prison uniform, and as ever Hayes comes along at just the right moments to ensure a minimum amount of jeopardy with the plot - of which there are a few twists here. It doesn't hang around, there is plenty of action and some quite well choreographed fist fights before a suitably explosive finale.

John Wayne rallies George "Gabby" Hayes and the other residents of Rainbow Valley against a gang of bandits who patrol the myriad roads out of town, stealing the fruits of the local gold mines and are now sabotaging the construction of a new main road.

Even though there isn't as much action in this as there is in other Wayne Lone Star productions, it's still a pleasant enough diversion with at least one great action sequence where Wayne and a dozen or so men with rifles route the bad guys, while Gabby chases them off in his horseless carriage, throwing sticks of nitro as they flee!

This time around, Wayne's stunt double and B-western nemesis, Yakima Canutt, is nowhere to be found. He must've went on vacation.

in my mind this is a fluffy,light movie,but very entertaining and fun to watch.Basically,John Wayne is stranger in town who agrees to help the men get a new road built.the workers have been continually threatened and harassed or worse,by a gang of outlaws who don't want the road built.there is no law to speak of in the town,so the gang has pretty much done whatever they please.until now,that is.this is a pretty standard western movie,which follows the general formula of westerns at that time.however,i think it it is well acted,exciting and fast paced.it's a pretty short movie(less than 90 minutes)but there'a lot jammed into the short running time.if you're in the mood to simply be entertained,you might like this movie.it's not an epic,like many of John Wayne's movies,but so what.i think "rainbow Valley" is a strong 8/10