John Wayne Classics (2005)

Synopsis: This compilation features 10 early John Wayne movies, all but one from the 1930s (when Wayne was in his twenties), individually described below: HELL TOWN (1937) - A frontier rivalry ensues when... This compilation features 10 early John Wayne movies, all but one from the 1930s (when Wayne was in his twenties), individually described below: HELL TOWN (1937) - A frontier rivalry ensues when young Dare Rudd (John Wayne) becomes attracted to his cousin's girl. Dare loses the money for the family's cattle drive in a crooked card game and his jealous cousin hatches a plot to kill him. Featuring Johnny Mack Brown. BLUE STEEL (1934) - A lawman (John Wayne at age 27) learns that a supposed pillar of the community schemes to choke off the other ranchers by sealing out all incoming supplies in order to force them to sell their land. Featuring George "Gabby" Hayes and Yakima Canutt. THE DAWN RIDER (1935) - Alice (Marion Burns) nurses John Mason (John Wayne) after he's been shot in a robbery in which his father was murdered, but John doesn't realize that it was Alice's own brother who pulled the trigger. Featuring Yakima Canutt. LAWLESS FRONTIER (1934) - Outlaw Pandro Zanti murdered the parents of John Tobin (John Wayne), and Tobin catches him just as he's about to kill another man and kidnap a beautiful woman. Zanti slips out of the handcuffs and escapes into the desert, with a desperate Tobin in feverish pursuit. Featuring George "Gabby" Hayes and Yakima Canutt. THE ANGEL AND THE BADMAN (1947) - An offbeat western with John Wayne as a gunfighter who must choose between the girl he loves and his guns. Outlaw Quirt Evans (Wayne), wounded during a bank robbery, finds himself taken in by a gentle Quaker family and nursed back to health by their lovely daughter Penelope Worth (Gail Russell). Quirt begins to rethink his violent lifestyle after falling in love with Penelope and being hounded by his vicious rival Laredo Stevens (Bruce Cabot) and a laconic U.S. marshal named Wistful McClintlock (Harry Carey). Quite similar in some ways the 1985 Harrison Ford thriller WITNESS, this sensitive romantic film marks a departure for Wayne. THE STAR PACKER (1934) - Two-fisted Sheriff John Travers (John Wayne) and his Native American sidekick Yak (legendary stuntman Yakima Canutt) square off against the fiendish "Shadow" (George "Gabby" Hayes in a non-Gabby role as a villain!) and his murderous henchmen. Travers discovers that the Shadow's desperados receive their orders from a phony wall safe, which is all he needs to know to begin to concoct a clever plan of his own. THE LUCKY TEXAN (1934) - Partners Jerry Mason (John Wayne) and Jake Benson (Gabby Hayes) find gold in their mine, but Joe Cole (stunt icon Yakima Canutt) shoots Jake and the sheriff blames Jerry for his death. Two extremely compelling chase sequences include pumping a railroad handcar for dear life to outrun a 1930s vintage jalopy; wildly imaginative stunt work helmed by Yakima Canutt remains the hallmark of these early John Wayne westerns. THE MAN FROM UTAH (1934) - The town marshal (George "Gabby" Hayes") sends John Weston (John Wayne) to investigate a crooked rodeo. This energetic western also features stunt legend Yakima Canutt as Cheyenne Kent. HIS PRIVATE SECRETARY (1933) - John Wayne was 26 years old when he played a carefree suitor in this light romantic comedy, and he's surprisingly effective; had his career taken a different turn, he might have been Cary Grant's strongest competitor. THE HURRICANE EXPRESS (1932) - Originally presented as an action-packed episodic 12-part serial, airline pilot Larry Baker (John Wayne) attempts to discover the identity of "The Wrecker," a train derailment saboteur responsible for killing Baker's railroad engineer father (J. Farrell MacDonald). [More]

Starring: John Wayne, Gail Russell, Johnny Mack Brown, Eleanor Hunt

Starring: John Wayne, Gail Russell, Johnny Mack Brown, Eleanor Hunt, George "Gabby" Hayes, Evalyn Knapp, Marion Burns, Verna Hillie, Tully Marshall, Sheila Terry, Lloyd Whitlock, Barbara Sheldon, Polly Ann Young