Protraph Lack of good storyline.

Payno I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Bob This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

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

classicsoncall John Wayne made six films under the Four Star Westerns banner, a unit of the Warners Studio, this was the fifth. I'd been on the lookout for all of them when they suddenly showed up on Turner Classics a couple weeks ago and they were shown one right after another in the order of original release date. Sometimes it pays to be patient.This one plays out like a preview for Wayne's stint as a member of the Three Mesquiteers, a series of flicks made by Republic during the 1938/1939 season. Wayne's character is John Bishop, and he's got a couple of partners going by Shorty (Billy Franey) and Riley (Frank Rice). The pair have a feuding gimmick of sorts, and they run a neat little scam on deputy sheriff Buzz (Pat Harmon) to break Bishop out of the local hoosegow when he was arrested on 'no charge' by the sheriff. It looked like Bishop might have had a stagecoach wheel tampered with to win a race, but that business got cleared up later on in the story.The picture also has a couple of female characters, a bit unusual for these early oaters since the story usually required only one female lead for the hero's attention. In this one, Bishop gets off on the wrong foot with the gals with that sabotaged stagecoach business, but eventually Mary Burton (Shirley Palmer) warms up to him and takes over the romantic lead. I'd have to say John Wayne's character pulled a pretty slick move teaching Mary how to handle the reins of a buckboard. In a way unusual story element, Wayne gets to kiss the girl well before the story's over, and not once but twice! In virtually every other B Western Wayne appeared in, he had to wait until the end of the picture to close out with a smooch.This might be the earliest picture in which I've seen Paul Fix, probably best remembered as the Sheriff of North Fork in the 'Rifleman' TV series. Fix's character is part of a gang operating south of the border, who was framed for a murder a couple years earlier. Since he's the son of Bob Leadly, the ranch owner Bishop works for, Bishop takes it upon himself to rescue Bart from the Monte Black (J.P. McGowan) operation before it's too late. See if you agree, Fix here looked a bit like a cross between Stan Laurel and Victor Jory.In all these Four Star films, Wayne rode a white horse named Duke, and the one downside to this picture was that he didn't have much to do. Duke was pretty talented but all he did here was pull on a warning bell letting the citizens of Paloma know that the bad guys were on the way. That did the trick well enough, as Bishop hooked up with the Mexican rurales to put away Black and his bad guys for good. For his trouble, he got one more kiss to close out the picture.

utgard14 Remake of 1927 silent western has a young John Wayne (riding his horse Duke) repaying a favor to a friend (Henry B. Walthall) by going across the border to Sonora, Mexico to locate the man's son (Paul Fix). To find him he has to go undercover in the gang of notorious outlaw Monte Black, a perfect name for a western bad guy. Some nice rodeo stock footage. It's apparently pronounced "ro-day-o" as one character admonishes another. Wayne's accompanied by two comic relief sidekicks, played by Frank Rice and Bill Franey. They are responsible for most of the movie's best parts. There's also two annoying girls who keep popping up and seem to share one brain cell. Pretty routine '30s B western.

MartinHafer I was a bit shocked when I looked at the summaries for this film on IMDb. While the movie clocks in at only 59 minutes, its summary is about as long and detailed as you'd expect for "Gone With The Wind"!! Someone must have really, really liked this film! "Somewhere in Sonora" is one of a half dozen John Wayne B-westerns he made for the Leon Schlesinger Studio (which, in turn, were distributed through First National-Warner Brothers). Today I actually sat down and watched four of the six films and found them to be a very mixed bag. The first two, "Haunted Gold" and "Ride Him Cowboy" were simply dreadful--with nothing to recommend them. This was a bit of a surprise, as Wayne made a ton of B-westerns in the 1930s and most of them are better than the films of his contemporaries, such as Gene Autry. Fortunately, the third film I saw, "The Big Stampede" turned out to be a dandy little film. Was this an abberation or are there other good Schlesinger/Wayne films to be seen--and would "Somewhere in Sonora" be one of the good ones? The film begins with two Easterner women traveling out west where they meet Wayne. Wayne is about to race in a buckboard race and makes a quip about the other guy's wagon falling apart during the race. When this actually occurs (due to the machinations of evil gamblers, not Wayne), he is immediately assumed to be guilty. The two uptight ladies completely hate him (who can hate him?!) and Wayne is left to rot in jail--until his friends help bust him out of jail. He travels to Sonora, Mexico and deliberately insinuates himself with an evil gang--as he wants to help a friend break up this group of thugs. His cover as an escaped prisoner will no doubt help him in this task.Later, when the two uptight and annoying ladies happen upon Wayne again, he manages to save their lives. At this point, it's obvious even to the most oblivious in the audience that romance is in bloom between Wayne and the less annoying sister. But can Wayne get the girl and break up Monte Black's gang? This is the SAME gang that boasts that no member has ever left the gang....alive! But, of course, Wayne is the handsome hero and this is a B-western, so is there much doubt?! One thing that makes this film a bit difference from the usual B-western of the era is the presence of two sidekicks--not one. The two guys are pretty cute together and they made a sweet couple--though I am not sure whether or not this was the writer's intention. They sure seemed VERY happy together--just like an old married couple. Considering that this film debuted in the Pre-Code era, perhaps this WAS the implication--especially since the two were confirmed misogynists.Overall, this film is pretty much what you'd expect from a Wayne B-film. He's likable and the film is pleasant, but like all B-westerns, not terribly original or believable but still a lot of fun. Worth seeing.

bkoganbing Henry B. Walthall goes to bat for John Wayne after an overzealous sheriff charges him with a crime during a rodeo. Henry likes Wayne's riding skill and he reminds him of his lost son who fled after being accursed of a murder and hooked up with a murderous gringo gang South of the Border. Wayne repays Walthall's kindness and goes to Mexico to search for Walthall's son played by Paul Fix.Paul Fix, very good friend of the Duke and father-in-law of Harry Carey, Jr., had more films with John Wayne than any other player. This was the second joint venture for the two of them and the last would be Cahill, U.S. Marshal, 40 years later. Fix is in a terrible fix, the gang who took him in is one of those once in, never out outfits. But Wayne with the help of his trusty horse Duke sets things to right. Of course Duke the horse plays a mighty big hand in the final showdown.Somewhere in Sonora entertained many a kid at the bottom half of a double bill for Warner Brothers on a Saturday afternoon. It still holds up pretty good today.