Hell Town [1937]

Customer Reviews:

The best of The Duke's B westerns.......2003-05-06

I can’t argue with those who call Hell Town John Wayne’s best B western. Two years before Stagecoach made Wayne the undisputed king of the cowboys, this well-shot film based on a novel by Zane Grey is a pure joy to watch. Originally titled Born to the West, this Favorite Films Corporation release is a notch above Wayne’s numerous Lone Star Productions and other miscellaneous films of the 1930s; the picture is sounder, the music is much more in tune with the movie, and the plot is well-developed and drawn out. Wayne plays Dare Rudd, a drifter on his way to Wyoming, hoping to get a much-needed meal and perhaps some spending money from one of his relatives there. He and his pal Dinkie Hooley (Sid Saylor) arrive in the middle of a cattle rustling drama and, having chosen the wrong side to help, encounter a suspicious sheriff who turns out to be Rude’s cousin. Cousin Tom Fillmore (Johnny Mack Brown) gives Dare a check and sends him on his way, but Dare decides he wants to hang around in town after all and maybe even settle down once he casts his eyes on Tom’s girlfriend Judy Worstall (Marsha Hunt). Something of a sparking contest is set off between the cousins, but eventually Tom entrusts Dare with the job of moving his cattle to market and returning with the money. Dare’s biggest weakness is poker, and after he outsmarts the cattle rustlers, they switch to Plan B, trying to cheat him out of all the money in a rigged poker game. The ending is quite good, and Johnny Mack Brown gives what I consider a superb performance. The film comes in at under an hour in length, but it has everything a good old western needs – desperadoes, horse chases, gunfights, card games, some light comedy, and of course John Wayne. I like all of The Duke’s early westerns, but if I had to recommend only one of them, it would definitely be Hell Town.

Average customer rating:

Hell Town / Blue Steel [1937]
Starring: John Wayne , Marsha Hunt , Johnny Mack Brown , Alan Ladd , and James Craig
Director: Charles Barton , and Robert N. Bradbury
Manufacturer: Elstree Hill Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0001B3XG6
Release Date: 2004-01-12

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Hell Town [1937]
Starring: John Wayne , Syd Saylor , Marsha Hunt , Johnny Mack Brown , and Alan Ladd
Director: Charles Barton
Manufacturer: Whe Europe Limited
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000127MA8
Release Date: 2003-12-08

Average customer rating:

Hell Town [1937] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Starring: Monte Blue , Jack Boyle , Johnny Mack Brown , James Craig , and Jack Daley
Director: Charles Barton
Manufacturer: Beverly Wilshire
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000A2W7FE
Release Date: 2003-10-21

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