In the early 1900s, the town of Rainbow Valley is trying to complete a road that will connect it to another town.  Outlaw Rogers (LeRoy Mason) doesn’t want that road finished because he wants to buy up all the land around Rainbow Valley.  He brings in a hired gun named Galt (Jay Wilsey) to intimidate the townspeople.  When a traveler named John Martin (John Wayne) saves mail carrier George Hale (George “Gabby” Hayes) from the outlaws, the townspeople ask Martin to serve as their marshal and to help finish the road.  Martin agrees but it turns out that he and Galt have a history.

This was one of the B-westerns that John Wayne made before Stagecoach made him a major star.  Wayne gives a confident performance as John Martin.  It’s about as close to a traditional John Wayne performance as you are likely to find in his early films.  It’s a good and short western, with enough gunfire and tough talk to appeal to fans of the genre.

The most interesting thing about this film is that it takes place at the turn of the century, when the old west was being replaced by the modern world.  Everyone in town is amazed that George Hale drives a car.  John says that it’s the first car that he’s ever actually seen.  Of course, this is a western and all the important work is done on horseback.  The best part of the movie is when George realizes that he and Miss Eleanor (Lucille Brown) can’t drive to warn John about an ambush because the car is out of gas and there’s not a filling station to be found.  Eleanor can’t ride a horse so he does the next best thing.  He has the horses pull his Model T like a wagon!

Four years after this movie came out, John Wayne starred as The Ringo Kid in Stagecoach.  In Rainbow Valley, he showed that he was already a star.