The Big Trail (1930)
Review by Dindrane
Film:
DVD:

Written by Hal G. Evarts
Directed by Raoul Walsh
Starring John Wayne, Tyrone Powers Sr., Charles Stevens, Marguerite Churchill, Ian Keith, Louise Carver, David Rollins, Iron Eyes Cody, El Brendell, and Tully Marshall

Released by: Fox
Region: 1
Rating: NR, safe for most ages
Anamorphic: N/A; appears in its original 1.33:1 format.

My Advice: Buy it at once.

The Big Trail was one of the first epic Westerns on film and was also one of John Wayne’s first films. In it, Wayne plays a trapper and scout named Breck Coleman. At first, he is too busy chasing the murderers of his friend to agree to lead a wagon trail from Missouri to north of Oregon, but when he realizes that those same murderers are part of the wagon train, he changes his mind. A certain Southern belle also has a bit to do with his choice. Between Missouri and the West, the hundreds of would-be settlers must face all manor of trouble, from snowstorms and raging rivers to heat, hunger, and angry Indians.

An interesting point in favor of this film is that for all the movies to come that would degrade and basically bestialize Native Americans, this film doesn’t simply doesn't. Sure, they attack at one point, but they are also dealt with, and historically speaking, Native Americans were one of the dangers of the trail. The Cheyenne are shown as having their own sophisticated language, including the sign language of scouts, for whom silence is a friend, and they are also shown as working with some settlers and having reason and honor.

The acting is quite excellent. For viewers used to Wayne’s later Western persona, this film might come as a surprise, and a nice surprise at that. Wayne looks so impossibly young in this movie, and his freshness and innocence show. He’s just fun to watch here, just as his “Duke” legend was being formed, and before Westerns were really a genre of their own, with their own codified rules and cliches.

Other actors do well to a greater or lesser degree. Tyrone Power Sr. as the evil wagon trail leader is just despicable, and while you’re not supposed to like him, it would have been nice if his character had been either a bit scarier or rounder. His lackey Lopez, played by Charles Stevens, is more successful in his role as villain, being both human and wicked. Churchill as the love interest is nicely coy and yet competent, even while her Southern accent is questionable, to say the least. When will they learn to hire Southern actresses or just not try? The best accent on the screen during this era, after all was played by an Englishwoman, Vivien Leigh.

The real Native Americans do a great job of playing themselves in the film; it’s always impressive when a production company tries to actually cast minorities and racially specific characters with actors from appropriate cultures or races.

There are, alas, no features on this release. You would think that one of the first of all big-screen Western epics would have rated some interviews, historical context, or even just a commentary with some film scholars, but there’s nothing here but a fine film and the birth of an era and a star.

In short, if you like Westerns even a little bit, then you will need to have and keep this film. If you’re at all a fan of John Wayne or American history, then you’ll also want to have this one. Even if you think you don’t like Westerns, this one won’t bore you or horrify you with gratuitous violence. Historians might take exception to some of the details, but it is, after all, meant to be entertainment and not a history lesson. Many of the details are very well done; besides, it’s better to concentrate on how it is as a film than how it is as a history lesson, and as a film, it’s very good indeed.