Best movie of this year hands down!

I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

One of a series of repetitious and unpretentious Westerns that Monogram put out in the 30s. They fed the public's desire for movie fare, kept actors and crew employed during the Great Depression, and were inexpensive enough to keep the studio itself sufficiently solvent to keep grinding them out. As a kind of ancillary benefit they gave John Wayne a chance to be seasoned and develop his later screen persona.He's not really the iconic John Wayne here. He's broad shouldered, trapping, tall, and athletic but his acting is rudimentary. He hadn't yet learned to express something by repressing it. His walk is still the walk of an ordinary man, although an unusually tall one.He couldn't have gotten much help from the director, Robert Bradbury, but little could have been expected, given the constraints on time and budget. It's hard to imagine that any of the scenes required more than one or two takes. There is an elemental quality to the action. Horses never walk, they always gallop, leaving clouds of dust behind them. Almost all the punches are roundhouse rights, although one does notice a few jabs, probably the contribution of Yakima Canutt. Canutt may have been the best physical actor in the Western business but isn't prominently featured in this effort.The director, Bradbury, had made a number of earlier Westerns near Lancaster, where Wayne lived, and Wayne had a chance to see the filming taking place, alongside his childhood friend, Bradbury's son, who later became known as Bob Steele. (He was Curly in "Of Mice And Men.") The movie is mostly of historical interest, though not badly done for its purposes.

As in John Wayne's earlier film "Blue Steel", a polka dot neckerchief figures in the plot of this Lone Star production. It belongs to Rudd Gordon (Dennis Moore), the man who killed John Mason's (Wayne) father in a botched hold up attempt. Racing after the bandit gang, Mason is injured, and is nursed back to health by Rudd's sister Alice (Marion Burns). Alice is the object of Ben McClure's (Reed Howes) affection, but it seems she has eyes for Mason. It doesn't take long for Mason to sort things out, and in a final gun battle, McClure takes out Rudd who lies in ambush for Mason, while the saloon owner portrayed by Yakima Canutt guns down McClure.As in most of the Lone Star films, Wayne's character gets the girl in the end, even when he's not trying. In fact, Mason encourages McClure to propose to Alice, even after the engagement ring Ben bought for her winds up stolen. Nevertheless, the film closes on a wagon leaving town, Mason and Alice aboard with a sign on the back reading "Just Hitched Up".If you're a John Wayne fan, you'll give this film a try, but don't expect much. It suffers from clumsy editing, and as typical with Wayne's other Lone Star films, the title has nothing to do with the story.

The Dawn Rider is an early formulaic western and one of the earliest film appearances by John Wayne. I could finish this comment there and you would know everything there is to know about this film. The Duke plays John Mason, returning home only to see his father shot and killed by bandits. He frantically gives chase, shooting down three of the gang but ending up wounded himself. He is then taken care of by Alice Gordon who is later revealed to be the sister of old Dad Mason's killer. Huge suspense, you can mark my sarcastic words.It's a very mediocre watch, no doubting that. The acting is second rate, even from the great man himself who was obviously still finding his feet. There are a number of corny fight scenes that look like John Ford collaborated with Mack Sennett, and absolutely no music to help create the mood which the performers fail to make.The only plus side is that it isn't long enough to be boring. It's just a badly-made 53-minute slice of film history showcasing a young star in the making. And even though I could only recommend this to big John Wayne fans, recently I'd consider myself one and it didn't make me leap for joy.

John Wayne turns in a better than journeyman's performance in this Thirties'-style formula western. John Mason, returning home from a long absence, arrives at the time his father is killed in a bank robbery. His best friend's girl takes care of him after being shot, leading to tension between these cowboy movie iconical characters.