Grade: D-
Synopsis: Imprisoned for a murder he didn’t commit, a man (John Wayne) escapes from prison and joins an outlaw gang in the hopes of finding the real killer.
Sagebrush Trail is a weak western, even by Lone Star Production standards.
While John Wayne is enjoyable enough, the rest of the cast is wholly forgettable, especially Lane Chandler who plays second lead to Wayne. Even the usually entertaining Yakima Canutt fails to register as either an actor or stunt coordinator.
With the exception of a nice stagecoach trick where Wayne climbs on board from the bottom, Sagebrush Trail is devoid of any of Canutt’s usually memorable stunts. Further, the fight scenes are especially weak, with the actors basically punching each other in the shoulders.
Compounding these problems is a script by Lindsley Parsons that’s surprisingly slow and short on action. By its halfway point the story’s out of twists as it drags its characters toward a predictable conclusion.
Bottom Line: An utterly forgettable Wayne entry, for completists only.
