Another entry in Paramount's long-running "Zane Grey" series, Born to the West represented the first directorial effort of
John Waters. The story concerns the lifelong rivalry between two men over the love of one woman. Most of the action takes place in Nevada during the Gold Rush, where trail boss "Colorado" Dale Rudd (
Jack Holt) again confronts his longtime rival Bate Fillmore (
Bruce Gordon), who has drifted to the opposite side of the law. Fillmore's father Jesse (
George Siegmann) runs all illegal activities in the territory, meaning that Rudd is going to have a hard time rescuing his sweetheart Nell Worstall (
Margaret Morris) from this dangerous environment. Born to the West was remade in 1937, with
John Wayne and
Johnny Mack Brown as Rudd and Fillmore -- whose good guy/bad guy roles were reversed for the occasion. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide