I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

. . . on which the first automobile arrives, which turns out to be Gabby Hayes in a Stanley Steamer (a steam-powered car, NOT a carpet cleaner's orange van). The outlaws, of course, keep their horses. (As Charlton Heston once said, "When horses are outlawed, only outlaws will have horses.") But every single Honest Citizen in RAINBOW VALLEY sells their horses (except for Gabby Hayes, who keeps his around for when his auto runs out of steam; at the rate Toyotas seem to be breaking down nowadays, they ought to have horse hitching posts up front, too). This American Trait of Fickle Consumerism which causes the RAINBOW VALLEY town folk to betray their trusty steeds backfires, of course. When the Bad Guys set out to blow up the new road being built for Regular Cars such as Packards and DeSotos, the 50-geezer town Vigilante Committee is forced to trot five miles ON FOOT (lugging their rifles and shotguns), since they're totally Horseless, and their cars cannot be brought in yet. They're too winded to shoot straight when they finally reach the outlaw horde, so John Wayne is forced to set an example for Today's Dallas Police Chief by simply blowing them up with explosives.

I can't write a lot on films like this. There were hundreds of low budget westerns with similar stories so they all seem almost the same. However, I liked several moments in this one, particularly a chase sequence between Wayne, Gabby Hayes and the bad men. It is Gabby who ends up the hero here, throwing dynamite down at the villains while driving a car which doesn't blow em' up, just slows em' down, scares em', and ultimately, drives em' off. It is presented humorously, making the predictable story and obvious conclusion easier to watch. It would take a couple more dozen of these before Wayne would rise to "A" list stardom with "Stagecoach", but these films passed many an hour for film fans on matinée days in a more innocent time.

John Wayne rallies George "Gabby" Hayes and the other residents of Rainbow Valley against a gang of bandits who patrol the myriad roads out of town, stealing the fruits of the local gold mines and are now sabotaging the construction of a new main road.Even though there isn't as much action in this as there is in other Wayne Lone Star productions, it's still a pleasant enough diversion with at least one great action sequence where Wayne and a dozen or so men with rifles route the bad guys, while Gabby chases them off in his horseless carriage, throwing sticks of nitro as they flee!This time around, Wayne's stunt double and B-western nemesis, Yakima Canutt, is nowhere to be found. He must've went on vacation.

A routine "B" western in the Lone Star series of westerns Wayne made in the 30's. What sets this one apart is John Wayne as a "Singing" Cowboy. This was the time of the beginning of the Singing Cowboy era in "B" westerns (e.g. Gene Autry). Wayne's voice is obviously dubbed. He sure doesn't look comfortable serenading the heroine or warbling a tune while riding across the prairie. Fortunately for all concerned (especially the Duke) this experiment was quickly ended.Anyone who wants to hear the Duke's "real" singing voice should watch the opening credits of "Cahill U.S. Marshal".