Raoul Walsh's "The Big Trail" (1930) gave an early indication of the coming super-stardom of John Wayne. He's "tall in the saddle" in more ways than one. Unfortunately, time has eroded much of the sound quality of this quasi-epic, not that the original technology was that much better. "Talkies" had only recently hit the theaters in 1930, and "The Big Trail" at least had "talking" actors even if their acting was staged and their speaking voices all but monotone. The plot is simple: Wayne is leading a wagon train through hostile Indian territory and the weather isn't so nice either. Along the way, several really bad characters foul up the whole trip even worse, and Wayne has to chase them halfway to California before he's able to get back to his primary duties. Waiting for his return with bated-breath is Maguerite Churchill. She'll just die if anything happens to her man. She needn't worry because the bad guys (besides being bad, they're also ugly) don't stand a chance against our hero. Wayne tracks down these fellows in a blinding blizzard, and what the cold wind and snow doesn't do to them, Wayne is able to supply with the finishing touch. The final showdown falls flat but the hunt supplies the film with at least a modicum of tension. True to form, Wayne receives a nice big kiss from Ms. Churchill as the curtain closes.
It would be almost a full decade before Wayne would hit the big time with "Stagecoach" (1939) and become a certified "A" list star. But the "The Big Trail" still stands out as one of his early successes and helped him on his way. He was Marion Morrison before this movie and became John Wayne forevermore after this one.
It would be almost a full decade before Wayne would hit the big time with "Stagecoach" (1939) and become a certified "A" list star. But the "The Big Trail" still stands out as one of his early successes and helped him on his way. He was Marion Morrison before this movie and became John Wayne forevermore after this one.