1937: Born To The West (59th)

What else happened this year? Amelia Aerhart went missing. It's correct, but her name is spelled Amelia Earhart. That ought to show people that I know global history, all right.

What is the plot - in one sentence? A couple of cowhands (one of whom is John Wayne) come to town, and meet a cousin who is now a successful cattle driver / entrepreuner.

I don't have time, just spoil it for me? The cowhands are put in charge of a cattle drive, defend the cattle from a rustling, and then almost lose all of the money in a rigged gambling game. Almost... at the end the cousin wants him to stay, and presumably let him continue hitting on his girlfriend.

What is the meaning of the title? The title card says 'Born to the West (reissue title Hell Town)'. Neither of those make sense. Hell town makes no sense, as there's not even really a town they're in for very long, and it's not exactly hellish. Born to the west doesn't make sense either, as they talk of their home back east. I'm guessing it's just a random jumbling of Western-style words.  

This scene never happens in the movie, she's never in peril from anyone but him. [source]

Anything that's not aged well? Does a woman get slapped around? The 'action' scenes of cattle driving and horse chasing are all taken from earlier silent movies which then had some sound dubbed on top of them. The other scenes, mainly set in bars and offices, are the new footage. It's jarring as hell if you don't know what's going on, because the film is shot in two different styles. 

As for violence? The woman of the movie (tm) is treated very well by the two cousins. More on her later. This also has another of those Western tropes which doesn't play well today: the besotted best friend. John Wayne's mate comes everywhere with him, which seems a fairly common theme in Western movies, but is much more fun to read them as being a gay couple. He's obsessed with lightning rods, you can't tell me that's not a phallic coincidence.

Any thoughts? This is not even an hour long. there must be about 15 minutes of cattle and horse footage from other movies, and the rest follows the 'plot' such as it is. But because there's so little time, there's no real need for any deviation from the story or characterisation. There's no slieght of hand with plot or characterisation: they don't trust him? they come out and tell him. There's going to be an attack. We see it planned, undertaken, and then the aftermath. they then move on. There's no time for subtext.

The only diversion is the relatively lengthy romance stuff between John Wayne and the one woman... even though she seems to be with the cousin at the beginning. Anyway, they flirt a lot and have some zippy dialogue, and it's fine, she's very pretty and cute, and John Wayne still has some youth in his cheeks. However, the most remarkable thing is that this woman, Marsha Hunt, who was the romantic lead in a movie from 1937, is still alive in 2021, she's over 100 years old. It's nice to know that someone who was able to flirt with John Wayne before WWII is still kicking around in a nursing home somewhere.

Would you recommend this? Not really. It's weird seeing footage from other movies thrust into another movie, and it's weird seeing a plot which is so straight forward that it's over in a hour, and it's nice to see a movie from this long ago with a star who's still alive, but it doesn't all add up to anything I'd want to watch again.

Final thoughts? The 'successful' cousin (who is a sheriff and businessman, it seems) at the end is henpecked into making John Wayne a partner, despite the fact that he just saved him from losing all of the money he got from a cattle drive. We'd call him a gambling addict now. John Wayne also spends all his time hitting on this guy's girlfriend. It's not a good idea to make him a business partner.

The opening title has 6 different actor names: 3 of them are named John.

This movie is also notable for John Wayne slinking around it with a black eye, after some losses from gambling. Of course. Anyway, this is a completely unremarkable movie, yet I've still made a lot of remarks about it.

 

This is the 59th in a series which may end up being over 100. I hope you're as excited as I am. Anyway, the other 58, and any which will arrive in the future, are all to be found here, for your erotic pleasure.