Westward Ho: Robert N. Bradbury

I'll be totally honest...I have a hard time differentiating between all of the films that John Wayne did for Republic Pictures back in the 1930s before he hit it big with John Ford in Stagecoach (1939). They tend to blend together into one big mush of bad Western films. But I will never forget Westward Ho. Why? Because this was the first time that I have ever heard John Wayne sing. Well, he didn't sing so much as he moved his mouth and had somebody else dub over it. But I'm counting it! I had heard that Wayne did a stint as a "singing cowboy" early in his career...but I had never heard evidence of it with my own ears until Westward Ho. Oh, sure, there's a plot, I guess. Wayne's family was attacked and killed when he was a child by bandits. These bandits also kidnapped his younger brother. Now, over ten years later, Wayne has organized a group of vigilantes to seek out the bandits who destroyed his family. And, to be fair, Westward Ho has a rare surplus of narrative cohesion for a 1930s Poverty Row Western. But I don't care. For me, this is the film where I finally got to hear John Wayne sing! I guess that makes up for all of the horrific shot editing, sound editing, cinematography, and acting. But just barely.

3/10