Hell Town

I actually liked this one quite a bit. Wayne's character was given some depth and most of the action is solid including some impressive horse stunts.

John Wayne back in the saddle after 6 non-westerns for Universal. He does seem to have matured as an actor during that year. Plus his status have grown a little as Johnny Mack Brown, who usually plays lead cowboy himself in these low budget productions, is playing support to John Wayne and his sidekick Syd Saylor. This is still a pretty standard low budget 1930s western even if it's sponsored by Paramount. Average plot. Average production values. And nothing original about it.

I found this pretty endearing, especially by the standards of black and white 30s westerns. The characters and their friendships are charming and there’s a lot of laugh out loud funny dialogue. My two biggest complaints are the unfunny running joke about lightning rods (take a shot every time someone says lightning rod) and that Wayne’s character doesn’t really seem to learn his lesson in the end.