I Cover the War!

Most of John Wayne's roles before he became a big star were mostly as B-movie cowboys. However, he made a few Bs for Universal in the late 30s and early 40s and these roles were far less cowboy and far more adventure films. While none of these were great films, they were enjoyable. However, "I Cover the War!" is one I could never find until now...and it's available through YouTube.

In many ways this is similar to Clark Gable's "Somewhere I'll Find You" as the leading man plays a reporter who is in competition with his brother. In this case, John Wayne plays Bob Adams, a newsreel cinematographer and his brother, Don, is SUPPOSED to be off in college but he quit school to become a newsreel guy like his brother! Both end up in a fictional British colony in North Africa* and Bob does NOT welcome Don...he wants him to have a better and more responsible job. Ultimately, an evil man posing as a newsreel man uses Don for his own ends...and nearly is responsible for wiping out the local British outpost! Can Bob somehow figure all this out, save the day AND get the girl? It's Wayne...so what do you think?!

This is an enjoyable formulaic movie with modest B-movie pretenses. In other words, it's a short film with no stars (apart from Wayne) and represents the sort of productions Wayne was doing in his pre- megastar period. Worth seeing if you love Wayne, otherwise an easy one to skip.