Pluskylang Great Film overall

Bergorks If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

Calum Hutton It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Philippa All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

weezeralfalfa The plot of this1935 Lone Star John Wayne oater makes no sense to me! Supposedly, the road from ? to Rainbow Valley was washed out by a flash flood, and the local criminal element wants it to remain that way, to aid in their criminal activities, and induce the gold miners to abandon their diggings for the criminals to take over. But, in the beginning ,Wayne rides over the 'trail' from ? to Rainbow Valley, and meets Gabby Hayes, stuck with his primitive car needing radiator water. Wayne empties his canteen and the two resume their journeys to Rainbow Springs, along a wide 'road'. Wayne foils an attack on the auto, and Gabby continues on toward Rainbow Valley, delivering the mail to the P.O. Obviously, the existing road is good enough for an auto to traverse, so what's the problem??!!........Also, things get confusing for me near the end. Supposedly, there is a road work gang ,the criminal gang, and a citizen mob converging on the road work site. But, it looks like the mob confronts the work gang, which looks like it is the criminal gang! The whole bandit gang is blown up as they scramble to get out the way, right to where the dynamite is buried. The head criminal has a fight with Wayne, and somehow accidently pushes the plunger for this dynamite. Wayne then uses the remainder of a dynamite, which he had fenagled from the gang, to finish building the road. See it at YouTube.

Bill Slocum Business as usual at Lone Star Studios 1935: A solid John Wayne anchors a leaden production about foiling bad guys out west.Wayne is John Martin, who shows up one day at an isolated town named Rainbow offering to help with their road problem. Since the existing road was washed away by a cloudburst, the town has been at the mercy of a gang of desperadoes, one of whom, Rogers (LeRoy Mason), plays the part of an upstanding citizen. Martin organizes the town to build a new road. As time passes, people wonder whether Martin's on the level.This is a pretty novel idea for a western, road engineering as a plot point. But the slipshod manner of the story's development creates more potholes than the finest engineer could work around.The story opens with Martin in a store, buying guns and a horse. The sequence establishes that there's a town named Rainbow that lost its road, but serves no other purpose, especially as this exposition is basically repeated shortly after when Martin meets a mail courier named George (George Hayes), who pretty much says the same thing. If you know the work of director Robert N. Bradbury on these Lone Star westerns, you won't be surprised by the padding.There's also a protracted, silly subplot about a bad guy named Butch who's been sent away to prison but is magically freed when Rogers somehow gets the townspeople's signatures on a petition for clemency. Why we need Butch in this production is never explained, nor is the reason for Martin having a suspicious prior relationship with the felon. Since it doesn't figure in the story, it's just more padding.But "Rainbow Valley" does stick out in a better way. In addition to the road idea, Wayne is in very good form here, natural and enjoyably reactive in his work with the other actors. Just as good in his own more colorful way is Hayes, not yet known as "Gabby" here but in that zone. He and Wayne play well off each other here, establishing a baseline of charm that assuages the weakness of the storyline.There's a fun bit where Martin is trying to talk up a pretty mail clerk who, suckered in by Rogers, has no time for him. As she cuts Martin off and walks away, George looks on, impressed: "She's fallen for you already."If you like Wayne and Gabby Hayes, you will like this movie at least a bit. But even they aren't enough to make me think it's good.The supporting performances are better than usual, with Mason making a mark despite a one-note role. There's clever use of an automobile (Lone Star westerns usually seem to be set in the beginning of the 20th century, though it's never stated clearly) which George carries mail in, a springy jalopy called "Nugget Nell." Dynamite explosion stunts add some excitement. And no horses seem to have been killed in the making of this film, which is good to see.But the negatives pop up too frequently. It's true these were short films, made as casual entertainments to run under an hour as part of a larger movie-house program, but "Rainbow Valley" is too casual that way, suffering from a typical lack of continuity and characters turning on a dime.At least Wayne is good, as said, and in a way that helps you see why he became such an overnight sensation just four years later. He's got the charm, the toughness, and the presence that keeps you watching even when the rest of "Rainbow Valley" lets you down. He's just playing an engineer here, but he builds a decent bridge to the future all the same.

Uriah43 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.

Kenneth Eagle Spirit And with John Wayne and Gabby Hayes, what else could it be? For the time, and given that this IS one of those B movies churned out constantly by the various production companies, this thing is a hoot. Its fun for fans of the Duke, seeing him in such an early role. It has its elements of excitement and plot twists. It has its style of humor, fitting for the day. Its honestly well put together for the time. None of the other players are bad actors, and several are very good. The villains, Buffalo Bill Jr. ( aka Butch Galt ) and LeRoy Mason in particular, were both very fine actors and come across quite well in their roles. The plot? Its not complicated, but it makes for a good story. Fight scenes? Several. Just keep in mind that choreography was not then what it is now. When I watch something like this I try to put myself in the time during which the flick was made. That seems to put it into perspective and helps make it a lot more entertaining. If you can wrap your head around the era, recognize that churning out B movies doesn't necessarily mean poor quality as a standard, and be thankful that Wayne doesn't sing in this one ... Rainbow Valley? Well, pilgrim, it ain't a big valley, but it is a fun one.