I find this to be an interesting movie in John Wayne's filmography. Prior to this, his nearly two dozen appearances in pictures were virtually all uncredited, and here he gets the lead in a Raoul Walsh Western. It's basically a B Western, but elevated to A status by virtue of it's length and technically, it's quite good. The story is decent, and considering the fact that Wayne did nearly sixty more films before his big breakout in "Stagecoach", you might get to wondering why it took so long. It's a lot better than a good portion of his output from Mascot, Lone Star and New Republic, and positions Wayne as a worthy leading man right from the get go.
The story of "The Big Trail" has Wayne's character, Breck Coleman, serving in the capacity of a scout for a wagon train led by an ornery, grizzled white renegade named Red Flack. Flack is portrayed by Tyrone Power Sr., looking nothing like his dashing son, in fact, one would never make the connection that the two were even related. As wagon master, Flack is assisted by a pair of villains going by Lopez (Charles Stevens) and Bill Thorpe (Ian Keith). Thorpe has his eye on pretty gal pioneer Ruth Cameron (Marguerite Churchill), but so does Breck, which means that ultimately, Thorpe doesn't stand a chance, and if you see the picture, you'll know that it's in more ways than one.
The sight of an Indian character in the story named Eagle Face (Chief John Big Tree) had me doing a double take, as it looked like his visage could have been the model for the Indian head nickel. With a little research you'll find that the Chief did claim to be the model for the coin designed by sculptor James Earle Fraser, but upon his death, the U.S. Mint stated that he most likely was not one of the models for the nickel. The profile on the nickel was a composite of several Native Americans, according to Fraser. But his likeness sure comes close if you see him in this film.
More than anything, the story here reveals the innumerable hardships suffered by pioneers crossing the Great Plains in order to find a new life. There are scenes of getting stuck in a muddy river during a rain storm, a terrible snow fall that obliterates the landscape, and in a scene I've only seen once before (and I can't remember the picture), the settlers have to lower their prairie schooners and the animals driving them down the face of a sheer cliff using only ropes for harness. During an impressive Indian attack, scared, crying kids huddle together for dear life, something you just don't see in your average Western, making this a somewhat unique experience. You watch those scenes and you can only marvel at the endurance and spirit the early pioneers had to have to achieve an objective they held dear.
With the film's release in 1930, you can still note vestiges of the silent film format as scenes transition via the use of title cards, but quite honestly, they probably weren't necessary except for the director to make specific points about the spirit of these early travelers. As for John Wayne, he gets to make an impressive speech in the latter part of the story when it looks like the pioneers are about to give up during a particularly bad passage. It would presage a lot of his more famous roles in which he leads men to victory in subsequent Westerns and war films. One thing does stand out that would become a hallmark for his early and mid Thirties movies to follow. In them just as he does here, Wayne's character wins the picture's leading lady, and closes out the story with a kiss and a clinch.
The story of "The Big Trail" has Wayne's character, Breck Coleman, serving in the capacity of a scout for a wagon train led by an ornery, grizzled white renegade named Red Flack. Flack is portrayed by Tyrone Power Sr., looking nothing like his dashing son, in fact, one would never make the connection that the two were even related. As wagon master, Flack is assisted by a pair of villains going by Lopez (Charles Stevens) and Bill Thorpe (Ian Keith). Thorpe has his eye on pretty gal pioneer Ruth Cameron (Marguerite Churchill), but so does Breck, which means that ultimately, Thorpe doesn't stand a chance, and if you see the picture, you'll know that it's in more ways than one.
The sight of an Indian character in the story named Eagle Face (Chief John Big Tree) had me doing a double take, as it looked like his visage could have been the model for the Indian head nickel. With a little research you'll find that the Chief did claim to be the model for the coin designed by sculptor James Earle Fraser, but upon his death, the U.S. Mint stated that he most likely was not one of the models for the nickel. The profile on the nickel was a composite of several Native Americans, according to Fraser. But his likeness sure comes close if you see him in this film.
More than anything, the story here reveals the innumerable hardships suffered by pioneers crossing the Great Plains in order to find a new life. There are scenes of getting stuck in a muddy river during a rain storm, a terrible snow fall that obliterates the landscape, and in a scene I've only seen once before (and I can't remember the picture), the settlers have to lower their prairie schooners and the animals driving them down the face of a sheer cliff using only ropes for harness. During an impressive Indian attack, scared, crying kids huddle together for dear life, something you just don't see in your average Western, making this a somewhat unique experience. You watch those scenes and you can only marvel at the endurance and spirit the early pioneers had to have to achieve an objective they held dear.
With the film's release in 1930, you can still note vestiges of the silent film format as scenes transition via the use of title cards, but quite honestly, they probably weren't necessary except for the director to make specific points about the spirit of these early travelers. As for John Wayne, he gets to make an impressive speech in the latter part of the story when it looks like the pioneers are about to give up during a particularly bad passage. It would presage a lot of his more famous roles in which he leads men to victory in subsequent Westerns and war films. One thing does stand out that would become a hallmark for his early and mid Thirties movies to follow. In them just as he does here, Wayne's character wins the picture's leading lady, and closes out the story with a kiss and a clinch.