SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

Micah Lloyd Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.

Skyler Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

Staci Frederick Blistering performances.

Edgar Allan Pooh . . . that A MAN BETRAYED actually refers to Marion Mitchell Morrison's Dear Old Dad, cruelly dumped by Ma Morrison as he lay dying in an age when the Scandal of a "Broken Home" usually marked a boy for Life. The future "John Wayne" was so traumatized that he insisted that his former school chums begin calling him "Duke," after the mutt of a family he no longer wished to call his own. When he was old enough, Fido embarked on a film career in roles consistently unmasking the mercenary Black Hearts of the Greedheads, such as those whom did in his Pa. Then, at the apex of his career as the Socialist Robin Hood investigative cowboy Stony Brooke (eight wonderful flicks), Dogman fell into the Evil Clutches of American Fascist Propagandist Director John Ford. With A MAN BETRAYED, filmed after a few months under Ford's Bad Influence, Rex flip-flops his screen personae 180 degrees, marrying into the Fat Cat Family that has just slaughtered his Best Friend Johnny (as Rin Tin Tin himself sold out to the Rich People Dark Side that had swallowed "Oh, My Papa" whole in Real Life not so long before).

classicsoncall Well here's a John Wayne film you probably never heard of and it actually turned out fairly entertaining in my estimation. For old time movie fans there are a wealth of references to other pictures but you have to be paying attention. My summary quote was spoken by the picture's understated heavy Tom Cameron (Edward Ellis), and it immediately brought to mind the 1936 film "Bullets or Ballots" starring Edward G. Robinson with an assist from Humphrey Bogart. Cameron's right hand man, portrayed by Ward Bond, seemed to be modeled on Lon Chaney's Lennie character in "Of Mice and Men", another film preceding this one by a couple of years. I was a little baffled by that in as much as Cameron seemed to be running a pretty tight political machine and Floyd the Spider (Bond) seemed like a loose cannon most of the time.There was another cool scene right after Lynn Hollister's (Wayne) impromptu radio pitch for the Cameron political organization which he did with feigned sincerity. Outside the station, a waiting doorman proclaimed to Hollister and Sabra Cameron (Frances Dee) that "It was pretty good, but I still prefer Gene Autry". Autry was going great guns for Republic Pictures at the time, so it made a lot of sense for them to plug one of their main stars. Interestingly, while Wayne's character manhandled his female co-star by placing a checkered tablecloth over her head and popping her over his shoulder, Autry put a leading lady over his knee for a spanking in at least a couple of his Westerns.Another reason I can chalk up for enjoying this picture had to do with the place names. There really is a Spring Valley located about thirty miles north of New York City, that being Hollister's home town. Not far from Tarrytown actually, mentioned by Marlon Brando in "On the Waterfront", a place he didn't like because the crickets made him nervous. Both locations today are a far cry from being small country towns, much like Newburgh, where the editor of The Globe was about ready to retire to and grow the biggest asters. Newburgh was actually named America's best small town in 1960, but you wouldn't know that today either.Played with about equal parts drama and light humor, I see the movie doesn't resonate a whole lot with other viewers here so I guess I'm a little outside the mainstream on this one. But like I say, it was some of the little things that kept me focused on the story besides the main idea of election tampering that eventually brought down the corrupt politicians with Hollister's help and Boss Cameron's sudden change of heart and mind.

Michael O'Keefe In 1941 Republic Pictures goes out on a limb to broaden the range of its biggest commodity, John Wayne. A weak experienced lawyer, Lynn Hollister(Wayne) will attempt to take on big-city crime and corruption. Tom Cameron(Edward Ellis) is a highly successful political figure, but is suspected of being a heavy handed crook. Of course, seemingly above any overt suspicion, Hollister's job is not going to be an easy one. Making things a bit harder, Lynn finds himself with a strong attraction to Cameron's lovely daughter, Sabra(Frances Dee).Audiences weren't immediately thrilled, but the saving grace is the Duke does get the chance to put his dukes up! A strong, well rounded cast also features: Wallace Ford, Harold Huber, Edwin Stanley and Ward Bond.

Mark Price Going out for the day and seeing the BBC had a John Wayne movie on for the afternoon I left and set the tape running. Later I started to watch it expecting a western, I was disappointed at first and then pleasantly surprised. I have seen very few John Wayne movies that were not westerns and not always good but this I enjoyed. Good storyline and a plot which was well thought out. This is the first time I have seen Frances Dee and she was very convincing in her conflict of emotions in loyalty to her father and love for the "Duke". Edward Ellis was wooden but he was old school so I could put up with that. Ward Bond was unnerving in his role as the simple-minded killer henchman. I shall keep the tape and look for more Frances Dee movies, a good actress easy on the eye - and married for 57 years to the same man - respect!!