The Big Trail

 

             Finally getting right back on the trail for my John Wayne month. Speaking of trails, I've explored the depths of John Wayne's first starring role in Raoul Walsh's The Big Trail. This ladies and gentlemen, is the movie that I explained last month where, John Ford recommended Wayne to Walsh for his movie although it wasn't a big success at the box office in 1930, I was kind of curious as to why this film wasn't a big sensation and then I watched the movie and thought to myself "well I understand why the audience didn't go to this movie, now?

             Upstart Fur-Trapper Breck Coleman (John Wayne) agrees to lead and protect a group of pioneers trying to make their way on the treacherous Oregon Trail. Amid a harrowing series of trials, including an Indian raid, blizzards, scorching dessert sands and nearly unnavigable woods, Breck attempts to begin a romance with frontier woman Ruth Cameron (Marguerite Churchill). Meanwhile, he searches for the men who killed his mentor--and who may be members of another wagon trail, traveling westward. 

             Now personally I can bypass the duke being a little too young for the role because in all fairness all the leading men we're all too young for the starring role hell, Errol Flynn was 28 when he first played Robin Hood, although sure five-year difference but still in a sense too young. Although the thing that I can slowly realize when watching the movie was that it was a two hour long movie for which in retrospect is not bad in terms of a movie like this but it was really going off on a slow start like there were excitements when an Indian raid hit the pioneers but then we go back to drama around the group, then continuing on the Orgon Trail as well as men trying to kill Wayne's character but then we went right back into the harsh environments. And sure, my ADHD was kicking moreover there were times where I was thinking maybe they needed to cut this film down, because if this is going to be nothing but the Oregon Trail, with minor drama points as well as very little gun fights then we may have some problems as to why it should stay for two hours. Now begs the question since this film was made during the Great Depression, did any of the audience members complain about this film being bored at some of the long and unnecessary scenes.  Granted theirs a million questions as to what the audience members thought about the movie, unfortunately none of them are alive at this point. To the films credit it does show the ways of how and what it was like to be on the Oregon Trail, more importantly showing how the wagons were able to go to point A, to point B as well as finally arriving to point C, and especially watching scenes we're they're lowering the wagons down to a high cliff as well as the people and even the cargo such as large sums of cattle, for which in all honesty is pretty fascinating to me personally because I never knew much about the Oregon Trail other than school though school has been a long time and I don't remember much in terms of the history lessons. In grandness of it all the film to me has some mixed emotions, like I wished there was more action sequences and less of the drama as well as cutting down major scenes or maybe trim the film up to like an hour and thirty minute marker and the film wasn't all bad for a movie made in the 30's it was a decent made movie exploring how dangerous the Orgon Trail was and that's the best part but deep down I wished they blend both drama as well as action into one story. So, if you’re looking to watch the duke’s earlier films, I would recommend watching the film on Tubi and if you have a different opinion, I'd be happy to hear your opinion on whether the film was boring at times or was the best you've ever seen. And granted it's not the best Wayne movie I've seen but it's also a fascinating movie to watch and experience.