Somewhere in Sonora (1933)

John Bishop discovers a plot to rob a silver mine belonging to his girlfriend Mary's father and, to foil the evildoers, he joins them.

Director:

Mack V. Wright

Writers:

Will Levington Comfort (story), Joseph Anthony Roach (adaptation)

Stars:

John Wayne, Duke, Henry B. Walthall

Cast

Complete credited cast:
John Wayne	...	John Bishop
Duke	...	Duke - John's Horse
Henry B. Walthall	...	Bob Leadly
Shirley Palmer	...	Mary Burton
Ann Fay	...	Patsy Ellis (as Ann Faye)
J.P. McGowan	...	Monte Black
Paul Fix	...	Bart Leadly
Ralph Lewis	...	Mr. Kelly Burton
Frank Rice	...	Riley
Billy Franey	...	Shorty

Storyline

Framed for a stagecoach accident, John Bishop is jailed. Bob Leady helps break him out and in return John heads for Sonoora to look for Leady's missing son. He finds him when he joins Monte black's gang, a gang from which no member has ever escaped alive.

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Plot Keywords:

gang | mine | rurales | horse | silver | 

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Taglines:

Reach for a piece of sky, stranger...or you'll get six feet of earth!

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Drama | Romance | Western

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

27 May 1933 (USA)

Also Known As:

Abrechnung in Sonora

Filming Locations:

Alabama Hills, Lone Pine, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

59 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Using the name "Monte Black" as the villain was something of an in-joke at Warners, where Monte Blue was a star during the silent era. After sound came in, he was relegated to minor supporting roles at the studio, albeit in some very good films like Casablanca and Key Largo.

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Quotes

Bob Leadly: [Talking about his missing son] A man was killed. Some of the men who were present seemed to think Bart was the guilty party. They found out later that he was innocent, but... Bart's gone.
John Bishop: Hung? Where is he? What happened?
Bob Leadly: I'm not sure, but I heard he was south - somewhere in Sonora, a bandit in the gang of Monte Black.
John Bishop: Monte Black?
Bob Leadly: Once a man joins that gang, he never comes out alive. It's known as the Brotherhood of Death.

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Connections

Referenced in Toonheads: The Lost Cartoons (2000)

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Soundtracks

"Lady of Spain"
(1931)
Music by Tolchard Evans
Played by a band in the Mexican saloon

User Reviews

Fun "B" Western with Wayne

Somewhere in Sonora (1933)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

This was one of six early films John Wayne made before Warner shortly before he would enter "B" movie kingdom until finding fame six years later in John Ford's STAGECOACH. The plot here is pure "B" stuff but has Wayne playing a good-hearted cowboy who is accused of fixing a stagecoach race, which nearly kills a man during an accident. Thanks to a father (Henry B. Walthall) he is eventually proved innocent and to repay the man he heads down to Mexico to try and save his son who has fallen in with some bad guys. When one watches a "B" Western it's best not to put too much thought into it because more often than not the screenwriter put even less thought into it. As you'd expect this movie features a plot that never really makes too much sense but then again each scene is just put together quickly so that the next one can get the film closer to the 58-minute mark so that THE END will pop up. The film has action, wannabe drama, laughable romance and some really bad comedy but all of this is what you'd expect to find (once again). I think the most annoying thing about this movie are two female characters, one will go onto be the love interest and the other is her annoying friend. The two are constantly accusing Wayne of murder and it's obvious that the producers were trying to make these two out to be a watered-down version of Tood and Kelly. The woman are extremely annoying here and the one's romance with Wayne is extremely forced and laughable. As for Wayne, he certainly hadn't gotten his acting chops down yet as there are many scenes here where he comes off rather poorly. The action scenes are the ones he does the best in as even at this early stage of his career he knows how to throw a punch and make for a fun hero. Where he doesn't do well at is the romance and drama. Just take a look at the scenes where he tries to play serious, which he does by simply lowering his voice. The lowering of the voice effect never works and in the end just comes off as being silly. Frank Rice and Billy Franey give the comic relief as Wayne's sidekicks who are constantly fighting with one another. Their humor isn't all that funny but at the same time the two actors are good enough to keep you entertained. Walthall appears very briefly in the film but easily gives the best performance. He gets second-billing but doesn't have that much to do. I'm sure those willing to sit down and what this film know what they're going to get. If it's cheap entertainment you're after then you'll find it here but there's no question this is for Wayne die-hards only.