John Wayne and sidekick Syd Saylor are heading from Montana to Wyoming to the ranch of Wayne's cousin Johnny Mack Brown. Wayne's a cocky sort, fancies himself a great lady's man and poker player. The Duke even in his later and more irascible years usually didn't have parts that called for that, but here he does show that side of his character and shows it well.
Wayne moves in on Marsha Hunt who is Brown's girl friend. That does throw a monkey wrench into the relationship between the cousins. Later on at the hands of cardsharps Monte Blue and James Craig, Wayne gets himself in quite a hole.
Johnny Mack Brown had an interesting career. He was an All American back for the Crimson Tide of Alabama before Paul Bryant took over the team. He opted for a Hollywood career and appeared opposite stars like Mary Pickford and Greta Garbo in silents. His Alabama drawl made him a natural for westerns and he was grinding out the B films just like the Duke was at this time. This is their only film together and they both complement each other's persona well.
Can Dare Rudd prove he is responsible enough to win the heart of Judy and also outwit the crooked saloon owner?
Dare Rudd and Dinkey Hooley, roaming cowhands, drift into Montana, where they meet Dare's cousin, Tom Fillmore, cattleman and banker. Tom offers them jobs but they pass, until Dare sees Tom's sweetheart, Judy Worstall and decides to take the job. He is put in charge of a cattle drive, replacing ranch-foreman Lynn Hardy, who is in cahoots with Bart Hammond, rustler. Dare delivers the cattle to the railhead and is about to return when he is persuaded into a poker game by Buck Brady, a crooked gambler. Dare is almost cleaned out when Tom appears and takes a hand and discovers the dealer is switching decks.
It took six murdering rustlers and a girl to make a reckless rover settle down to love!
John Wayne fans should watch this film.
Although another great football player Jim Thorpe has a bit role in this film, some lists have Alan Ladd in the cast. I have to say that I examined it frame by frame and there's no trace of Mr. Ladd.
Even without Ladd it's a passably good B western, could have used some better editing, but better than some of what Wayne was doing at Monogram at the time.
While it has a story that is not bad in itself, "Born to the West" (or "Hell Town") is mostly carried by John Wayne's screen presence, with some help from Johnny Mack Brown and the rest of a pretty good cast.
Wayne plays a gambling-addicted cowboy who runs into his respected and influential cousin (Brown) while passing through Montana. The two become rivals for the affections of Brown's girlfriend (Marsha Hunt) while at the same time they must join up to deal with cattle rustlers and crooked card players. A lot of the story is routine, but there are some interesting features, and it moves at a good pace. The scenery is also pretty good at times.
The film is a decent Western in its own right, and is also worth watching to see Wayne's performance as a man who has to combine action with some careful thinking about his future. It's not hard to see why soon after this movie he started to get the big roles and the attention due to a star.