Did you people see the same film I saw?

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

Blistering performances.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

. . . 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.

The enthusiasm for this film and motivation to continue watching is slightly destroyed by the lack of flow. There are some excellent moments but they are scattered throughout the film. Main character (John Martin) is on a ride to the small town of Rainbow Valley, he meets George who is looking for water. George is provided water and subsequently given a ride to a car! Later on there is an incident which involves highwaymen who have set up an ambush. Martin is was on the on the same road as George and follows to assist... From this point the film slightly drops in quality. The movie holds so much promise at the beginning but then tends to ride a little slow throughout. It is as if the films starting sequence and ending sequences were all meticulously constructed, only for the film to be let down by the middle portion.

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.

That's the whole point, there ain't no road to Rainbow Valley and the outlaws want to make sure that it stays that way. By controlling the narrow pass into the valley they can starve the miners out collect on the potential riches they've found. Of course all this is reckoned without the presence of John Wayne.As was pointed out by another reviewer this takes place during the first decade of the last century as typified by both the picture of the current president on the post office wall, Theodore Roosevelt. And by the fact that mailman Gabby Hayes delivers the mail in one of those new fangled contraptions and automobile with a crank starter.The car proves to be a double whammy for both the outlaws and the good guys. Since it's the only car in the valley when Gabby Hayes is captured by the outlaws it makes it real easy for the Duke to follow as he laughingly points out. Of course when Gabby tries to rescue Wayne during the climax, he doesn't reckon on another problem for early automobiles, they run out of gas and there ain't no filling stations built yet. I have to confess a chuckle or two as Gabby and Lucille Browne hitch up some harness horses to his Model T and have to go out that way to the final gun battle.Rainbow Valley is not a bad western for a Lone Star Monogram production. At a bigger studio with a better script and better production values this could have been a classic.