Grade: D+
Synopsis: On the run from the law, a cowboy (John Wayne) searches for a girl and a gold mine.
The Trail Beyond is a visual standout among star John Wayne’s Lone Star westerns. Featuring some great Big Bear Lake vistas, the film’s cinematography belies its low budget.
Unfortunately, while cinematography is great, the script is anything but. Talky, clichéd, and convoluted, Lindsley Parsons’ script is a mess. Granted it does offer moments of originality, such as setting some of the action on a train where we see a 27-year-old John Wayne in his finest suit, but that’s about it. Right down to the bad guys who talk with ridiculous French accents and always wear black, this is pretty much by the numbers.
Fortunately, “by the numbers” also means plenty of Yakima Canutt’s great stunts including the oft used horse dive, and a well staged finale that features an extremely realistic (complete with a miss!) attempt to jump from a horse to a moving carriage.
Bottom Line: Fans of John Wayne’s Lone Star westerns will likely find The Trail Beyond passable, but others would do well to skip this stage of his career and move on to Stagecoach (1939).
