Sagebrush Trail

Many of these 30s low budget westerns start with the "hero wrongly accused of a crime" premise, finally discovering, catching up with and gunning down the real killer; but this one is clearly not only the best 'Lone Star' western, but is, in fact, an enjoyable, well made film, with themes, photography, locations, and stunt work you won't find in hundreds of other 'oaters.'

You'll find at least four different versions out, from the discount b/w (the VINA and who knows how many other $2.00 single film DVD copies; the Platinum "Great American Western" Volume 35 version -- which at least has three other westerns on one DVD) to the new colorized versions, including the excellent digitally restored 23-minute Sterling version with a new, modernized soundtrack -- which just zooms by). There's a reason for all this -- it's a landmark film!

Basically, the theme is not far from the mythic: the good guy (John Wayne) befriends the man who put him in prison (Lane Chandler with equal screen time), and helps him redeem himself. You get underwater photography of John Wayne escaping the sheriff; the zoom in shot of the Sheriff beside the wanted posters of Conlon and Brant, fading into a shot of them facing each other; the extensive location shots of Bronson Canyon and the Bronson 'Cave,' which has been seen in dozens of serial, western, horror and SF films (including the 1956 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers') that show all three entrances, as well as how to get up to the Canyon; the unbelievable stunt work by Yakima Canutt, including leaping up on a hitching post and over a horse to land on another horse, flying and running horse mounts; and the great acting of John Wayne -- I'm not kidding! Kudos to the director and screen writer!

A great introduction to, and high watermark of, 1930s westerns!

I enjoyed seeing a very young John Wayne, before he had developed his signature speech, moves, etc. Sure, it was pure B Western schlock, but I had to check here before knowing for sure he was in this movie, it does not look like him at all. A must-see for all fans of John Wayne and westerns. The one thing I liked most about this movie is that even amongst the so-called "bad guys" in black hats, it half-heartedly explored the reasons why some guys joined these gangs-bad raps, wrongful imprisonment, bad choices that left them nowhere else to go and so on, so that even some of the villains elicited sympathy. The only jarring note was the blatant 30s flapper hairstyle and exaggerated eye makeup of the main female character, they didn't even make an attempt to make her look like a storekeepers daughter in the late 1800s.

"Sagebrush Trail" was the second in Wayne's Lone Star westerns made between 1933-35. It's one of the better entries in the series and is highlighted by the superior stuntwork of Yakima Canutt. He performs many of his signature stunts including a spectacular horse fall into a river, the mounting of a stagecoach from a prone position, a chariot like driving of a team of horses and several flying horse mounts.

The story involves Wayne on the run for a murder he didn't commit and searching for the real killer. He is befriended by an outlaw "Jones" (Lane Chandler) who brings him into the gang headed by Ed Walsh (Canutt). Wayne and Chandler become friends and compete for the affections of heroine Nancy Schubert. Meanwhile, the sheriff (Bob Burns) and his deputy (Wally Wales - aka Hal Taliaferro) are on their trail. Eventually Wayne discovers the real killer and proves his innocence.

This was one of the only pictures in the series that was not directed by Robert N. Bradbury. This one was directed by Armand Schaefer who does a pretty good job. There is plenty of action, imaginative settings and lots of hard ridin'.

Not a bad little "B" western on a modest budget.

In the 1930s before he made it big with Stagecoach, John Wayne made a lot of low-budget B westerns. Most are entirely forgettable and some are even terrible. But the one constant in all of them was Duke's wonderful screen presence. This is one of those westerns. The plot's about an escaped convict (Wayne) who heads out west to prove his innocence by finding the man who really committed the crime he was convicted of. There's some surprisingly good stunt work in this, some of it by Duke himself. I also liked some of the twists the plot takes that keeps it from being a standard black hat vs white hat horse opera. Very good of its type.

An American Western; A young man was sentenced for a murder he did not commit, but he escapes from prison determined to find the real killer. Joining an outlaw gang hiding out in an abandoned mine, he attempts to disrupt the outlaw gang's robberies and comes closer to finding his man. This feature, with a shorter running time, establishes character and plot effectively. But, the actors gave uninterested performances, and it has a thin storyline. The action sequences are impressive and the stunts are first rate. The sound design is impactful with scenes of thundering hooves and realistic gunfire report.