Somewhere in Sonora (1933) User Reviews

Rescuing Paul Fix

[bkoganbing · 5/10 · 26 May 2006]

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.

John and Mary Ride Again!

[bsmith5552 · 5/10 · 10 December 2006]

"Somewhere In Sonora" was one of six "B" westerns starring John Wayne and his horse "Duke" made for Warner Bros. for the 1932-33 season.

Set in the "present", two city gals, Mary Burton (Shirley Palmer) and Patsy Ellis (Ann Faye) drive onto Bob Leadly's (Henry B. Walthall) spread where John Bishop (Wayne) is the foreman. Mary is on her way to visit her father somewhere in Sonora (get it?). As it happens a rodeo (courtesy of some stock footage) is about to take place. Bishop invites the girls to stay over. He participates in the rodeo and drives in the stagecoach race for Leadly.

An "accident" happens to the rival stagecoach, a man is seriously hurt and Bishop is blamed and arrested. Leadly and Bishop's two sidekicks, Riley (Frank Rice) and Shorty (Billy Franey) manage to help him escape. Bishop learns that Leadly's son Bart (Paul Fix) wrongfully accused of murder, is running with a gang...now wait for it...somewhere in Sonora.

Bishop goes to Sonora and meets up with Mary at her father's (Ralph Lewis) ranch. Bishop and his sidekicks learn that Bart Leadly is running with a gang led by the notorious Monte Black (J.P. McGowan). Bishop infiltrates the gang and befriends Bart. While the gang attempts to rob Mr. Burton's silver mine Bishop............................

This film was arguably the weakest of the six WB features. Wayne's inexperience in the acting department really shows here. A lot of time is devoted to the dumb antics of the two sidekicks. However, Wayne does get to embrace the heroine rather than his horse.

This was Wayne's first of many films over the next 40 or so years with his friend Paul Fix. Henry B. Walthall had been in films since the early silents and made over 300 pictures. He is probably best remembered for his role as "The Little Colonel" in D.W. Griffiths "The Birth of a Nation" (1915). Also, watch for "B" favorites Slim Whitaker, Bud Osborne and Glenn Strange as members of McGowan's gang.

Wow...get a load of IMDb's second summary...as well as John Wayne's two friends.

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 27 May 2010]

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.

Wayne Down South

[wes-connors · 3/10 · 25 January 2009]

A Twin Forks (Arizona) "Stage Coach Race" mishap lands participating John Wayne (as John Bishop) in jail. Ranch boss Henry B. Walthall (as Bob Leadly) thinks Mr. Wayne is innocent, but attractive brunette Shirley Palmer (as Mary Burton) isn't sure. After escaping, Wayne decides to help the kindly Mr. Walthall by rescuing his son, Paul Fix (as Bart Leadly), from some southern border bandits. Coincidently, Ms. Palmer is also headed south, with annoyingly accented blonde companion Ann Faye (as Patsy Ellis)...

The best thing to be said about Wayne's penultimate Warner Brothers western may be "he was still learning his craft". It doesn't help that "Somewhere in Sonora" is another sloppily pieced together re-make of an older "silent". Ken Maynard's 1927 version looks like it was more exciting, judging from the excised footage included here. Walthall (second-billed!) hasn't much to offer. Old boyfriends Frank Rice (as Riley) and Billy Franey (as Shorty) are amusing. Mr. Fix (a Wayne film regular) does well, in an early role. The part of the ending shootout with J.P. McGowan (as Monte Black) taking aim at Wayne is memorable.

*** Somewhere in Sonora (5/27/33) Mack V. Wright ~ John Wayne, Shirley Palmer, Paul Fix, Henry B. Walthall

Not Enough Action, But Not Bad

[FightingWesterner · 6/10 · 8 February 2010]

After an old man helps John Wayne in the face of a rodeo accident frame-up, he travels to Mexico and town of the title, to find the man's long-lost (also framed) son, in order to tell him that he'd been exonerated. However, the young man is part of a gang of gringo bandits that only allow members to quit feet first.

One of six B-movies the Duke made for Warner Brothers' Four Star Westerns, this isn't quite as memorable as other films in the series. It is okay though and really looks good, with some nice location photography.

The action is a little weak this time around, but Somewhere In Sonora picks up a bit when Wayne infiltrates the gang, leading to a climax featuring stock-footage from one of Ken Maynard's old silent vehicles, possibly the 1927 of the same film.

"I've always been a lucky sort of a cuss."

[utgard14 · 5/10 · 22 April 2014]

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.

Fun "B" Western with Wayne

[Michael_Elliott · 9 June 2010]

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.

EARLY j wayne..

[ksf-2 · 6/10 · 8 December 2020]

John Wayne FINALLY got his oscar for True Grit, years after making Sonora. Wayne had mostly un-credited roles up to about 1930. here, in 1933, he's still early in his cowboy career; doesn't have the slow, bigger than life swagger yet. He's Bishop, trying to show off for the girls at the rodeo. but when there's an accident, he is framed for it, and is sent to jail. stuff happens, and now Bishop is off to mexico to look for a cowboy friend of the family, who may have joined a rough gang. adventures along the way... the same girls that Bishop had spoken with at the rodeo pop up down south, and cause him trouble. Bishop and his pals have stumbled into a plot to rob a mine, owned by the girl's dad. although it feels like the girls and Bishops' two cowpoke pals are just along for laughs... they get all the jokes, while Bishop plays it pretty seriously. and Joe Dominguez has quite a few lines as Captain Ramirez, but he only gets uncredited! it's just a shortie film from Warner Brothers. Original story by Will Comfort. Directed by Mack Wright. worked his way up as actor, AD, then director. filmed in the alabama hills, like SO many other films. amazing landscape. Wayne would go on to get his big break in Stagecoach.

"Looks like them mugs is hankin' for trouble!"

[classicsoncall · 5/10 · 6 June 2016]

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.

Routine Mexican border rescue drama

[shakercoola · 5/10 · 8 June 2022]

An American Western; A story about a stagecoach rider in New Mexico who discovers a plot to rob a silver mine belonging to his girlfriend's father and, to foil the criminals, he joins them, but ends up accused of a crime during a rodeo race. This film is based on a 1925 novel by Will Levington Comfort called "Somewhere South". It is a remake, roughly edited, using stock footage from the original made in 1927. John Wayne is to the rescue, with boyish charm, heading to the eponymous Mexican state aiming to inflitrate a gang. Conflict inevitably ensues though a melodramatic J P McGowan, as the leader of the bandits, doesn't raise the tension too high. Frank Rice and Billy Franey as the cronies provide light relief, filling the gaps. All in all, it's corny and predictable with its theme about someone beig framed and then exonerated. The acting is a bit stiff here and there but there is ample action before it wraps up and some nice desert photography throughout.

The Middle Class John Wayne

[Single-Black-Male · 17 May 2004]

It's in these early films that you see how middle-class John Wayne really is before he assumed the immortal identity of the American cowboy. He was obviously socialised into high society through his university connections and has a healthy interest in women. Thanks to John Ford he was just churning out the B-pictures one after the other. However, as a self-contained project, the film looks quite stagy as though it was fresh from the theatre. The dialogue is stilted and clumsy, but then that's down to the writing. I don't think that screenwriters and directors got to grips with the new medium that is cinema at this point, making this offering painful to watch.