WasAnnon Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

Raetsonwe Redundant and unnecessary.

CrawlerChunky In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

ThedevilChoose When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

Bill Slocum 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.

Michael Morrison Though the copy of "Hell Town" I saw was pretty miserable, the quality of the script and of the acting more than made up for it.John Wayne by the time this was made was already a veteran actor, mostly in B Westerns. That "B" designation, by the way, was purely a reference to the size of the budget, something too many people don't seem to realize.This B Western, despite its budget, had a really intelligent script and a talented director and, most of all, some of the best actors available: John Wayne, Johnny Mack Brown, and the lovely Marsha Hunt, as well as the busy but today under-rated Syd Saylor, who, despite his being the hero's sidekick, doesn't even get screen credit!On a purely personal note, catching this film at westernsontheweb.com gave me my first opportunity ever to see "Hell Town," and I am so very grateful. As many reviewers have written here, this film is a milestone in the Duke's career, giving him an opportunity to show his innate talent, and giving audiences an opportunity to appreciate that talent.It is well past November, but I am giving thanks for my own opportunity to view this remarkable motion picture, and I am grateful to IMDb and to westernsontheweb for the information and the film, which I urge everyone to take time to watch.

MartinHafer Throughout the 1930s, John Wayne made a ton of B-westerns--all with incredibly low budgets but, overall, are pretty entertaining. Most have a real predictability about them--but somehow "Born of the West" (also known as "Hell Town") managed to be extremely different--and not necessarily in all good ways. Instead of his usual goody-goody role, Wayne, oddly, plays a rather amoral guy at the beginning of the movie. When he and his partner happen upon a pitched gun battle, they decide the join one side because they thought they would win and thought they could get a free meal out of it!! It turns out they were helping cattle rustlers!!! This is NOT a very heroic sort of role, that's for sure!! Fortunately, Wayne and his buddy are not killed but captured by a guy who just happens to be Wayne's goody-goody Cousin. This Cousin castigates Wayne for being a lazy schlemiel and shames him. After Wayne meets a pretty lady (who happens to be the cousin's lady), Wayne falls instantly in love and completely....or somewhat completely changes to the side of good! If only it were that easy!! Later in the film, Wayne's Cousin places him in charge of a cattle drive. It's win-win for the Cousin--if Wayne screws up, it will help the Cousin win the girl once and for all and if Wayne succeeds, he'll have turned his life around once and for all. What happens next is not at all out of the hero mold for Wayne and yet he still manages to get the girl! Weird...and certainly demotivational for the heroes out there watching the film! Despite a morally suspect hero and some dumb behaviors on his part, the film is pretty entertaining. So, ignore the inconsistencies and just enjoy.

John (opsbooks) 'Hell Town' is an underrated gem with a snappy script and lots of action. Full of humour, I thoroughly enjoyed this John Wayne movie from start to finish. Monte Blue as the Duke's sidekick is fabulous! The cast all seem to be enjoying themselves. The film may have been shot in black and white but the characters are pretty well developed. Even the bad guys are likeable. The romance is mercifully kept to a bare minimum. John Wayne really comes over as a larger than life character here. It's no wonder he developed such a following in his early days.