User reviews

"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.

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.

Great stunt when Wayne, concealed in a camouflaged niche in the road, grabs onto the axle as the buckboard passes over him. Looks like a Canutt engineered trick and looks also like it's Wayne and not a double that executes it. Then too, the wheel spacing has to be perfect otherwise it's road-kill for a young superstar—he really earned his money in those early days.

The movie belongs to Lane Chandler almost as much as Wayne. Together, they're a youthfully exciting team, but my guess is that they were too much alike to stay partnered. So eventually, along comes old coot Gabby Hayes and the screen gets one of its really great all- time pairings.

Pretty good story from writer Lindsley Parsons, his first screen credit, who later became a prolific producer of B-films. Over time he scripted a number of Wayne oaters with plots generally more involved than most. This one involves Wayne infiltrating gang of robbers to clear himself of a murder charge. There're several nifty episodes-- Wayne hiding out underwater as a menacing boot almost steps on him, the script making him a cook (of all things) for the gang. Note too, the opening scene of Wayne dodging railway dicks after hobo-ing it into town—I expect that resonated with 1933 audiences when half the country was riding the rails.

Some good hard riding and a spectacular crash. Too bad, however, that producer Malvern couldn't get the boys up to Lone Pine for that marvelous Sierra scenery. Instead they get to race around the scrublands of greater LA, not nearly as much fun. Note the frequent use of the Bronson Canyon cave for entrance to the gang's hideout. Despite appearances, it's only a few miles from downtown LA and the studios, and was thus a favorite for tight-budget productions, especially sci-fi from the 50's. Also in passing—this is Nancy Shubert's only screen credit, unusual for a leading lady. I wonder what her story was.

Anyhow, it's a fun trip down memory lane for us geezers and for those younger folks who appreciate action done by real people instead of blue screens and digital computers.

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!

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.

Imprisoned for a murder he did not commit, John Brant escapes and ends up out west.

After giving the local lawmen the slip, he joins up with an outlaw gang.

Brant finds out that 'Jones', one of the outlaws he has become friends with, committed the murder that Brant was sent up for, but has no knowledge that anyone was ever put in jail for his crime.

Willing to forgive and forget, Brant doesn't realize that 'Jones' has not only fallen for the same pretty shop girl Brant has, but begins to suspect that Brant is not truly an outlaw.

Some decent fight scenes.

But let's be honest, this is a B picture. Better than a lot of westerns made for no money and not just because Wayne is in it.

Released in 1933, this movie stars John Wayne as a very young and unpolished actor. His character is John Brant, a man wrongly convicted and imprisoned for murder. He decides that his only hope is to escape and find the real killer, which may have been an original plot device in 1933 but is now well worn. After he escapes, he eludes two law officers and meets outlaw Bob Jones, who introduces him to an outlaw gang living in an abandoned mine. Determined not to make his situation worse, Brant warns of upcoming robberies to be carried out by the gang and predictably starts a romance with a local store clerk. The plot unfolds in a manner that can be foreseen, the romance continues, Brant commits no other crimes and at the end, his newfound friend confesses to the murder that Brant is accused of. It of course ends with a kiss between Brant and his newfound love interest. There is one very amusing aspect of this movie and that is the number of rounds that the men sometimes fire without reloading. Their guns are closer to sixteen shooters rather than the standard six. This is a movie that you watch because it is a John Wayne western and no other reason.

Some reviewer earlier made disparaging comments about the fighting.

Obviously this 1933 movie came along before Yakima Canutt and John Wayne created the style of cinema fighting that is now standard.

Yak was the ultimate stunt man. His "gags" (as they called them) are still the measure. He is the stunt double in much of "Sagebrush Trail," a fact unfortunately obvious if you watch as I did, on a computer monitor.

He is also the head of the gang of bad guys.

John Wayne started as a prop man, according to legend, and did some stunt work to please John Ford. "Duke, show 'em up," is the line credited to Ford during a naval film in which cast members feared the choppy seas they were supposed to be immersed in.

John Wayne did "show 'em up" and jumped in.

He gets to swim in this one too, in a scene that was praised by Jon Tuska in his PBS series, "They Went Thataway." "Sagebrush Trail" has all the elements expected and more, such as the scene mentioned above.

Hank Bell has another uncredited role, and his presence always adds authenticity to any Western.

Lane Chandler has a good role, and he co-stars with John Wayne in another stagecoach-related film, "Winds of the Wasteland."

I have only two complaints: The sound is not very good; much of the gunfire sounds as if it came from a mine shaft. The final scene was completely inappropriate, considering what came before.

Otherwise, this is great. My copy is another in the Great American Western Series by Echo Bridge Entertainment. It comes in a two-disk set.

Added 11 September 2019: "Sagebrush Trail" has been colorized and a new set of opening music added with the result being a new title, "An Innocent Man." Be careful if you see that title as a John Wayne film. Some unethical DVD distributor might try to cheat. But it's still a pretty good movie, so maybe having a second copy is OK.

In this typical low-budget early 1930's western (predating the Duke's star-making role in 1939's 'Stagecoach'), a youthful John Wayne plays John Brant (aka 'Smith'), who is on the lam after being falsely arrested for murder. He ends up riding with a group of desperados led by Ed Walsh (the immortal Yakima Canutt) hoping to find the real killer while the local 'starpacker' closes in. Of course the Duke plays a straight-shooting white-hat, so Brant has to pretend to participate in the gang's nefarious deeds while actually foiling them (plus taking some time to spark Sally (Nancy Shubert), the pretty shopkeeper). Standard bargain-basement horse opera with lots of coincidences, unrealistic brawls, and unsubtle acting. On the plus side, there are plenty of great horse-riding stunts (Canutt was also the Duke's stunt double) and, as the film was shot in Bronson Canyon, you get to watch a stagecoach being driven into the Batcave (!). Oddly, the film opens with a city scene that includes cars, so despite looking like a standard oater, the story must have taken place only a few years before the film was made in 1933 (this may explain 'goofs' comments that you can see powerlines etc. in the background). The film is OK but is likely only really appealing to fans of Wayne or of Yakima Canutt.

It was in films like Sagebrush Trail that John Wayne learned his craft, but thank the Deity he got out of doing stuff like Sagebrush Trail.

The Duke has busted loose from jail, he was in the calaboose for a murder he didn't commit. He eludes a posse chasing him, but gets into the clutches of an outlaw gang headed by Yakima Canutt. It's as good a place as any to look for the man who can clear him. He doesn't realize though how lucky he got.

Now granted this was a Lone Star production, not even a B film. But I would have liked to have seen just how Wayne got into the jackpot that landed him jail for murdering the lover of a married woman if he wasn't involved with her. When we do find who the murderer is that's never explained to us.

Since this was for the afternoon kiddie matinée crowd maybe such things weren't delved into even before the Code came in place. Maybe it was a question of sloppy editing also.

I think John Wayne's most devoted fans might like this one, I really wouldn't recommend to others, even other western fans.

While it is rather slow at times, and not always plausible, in general this is not bad at all for a B-Western. It's interesting to see John Wayne in one of his earlier roles, and while he's hardly yet become "The Duke" in this one, he's likable and worth seeing. The setup is interesting, and while the movie does not get everything it could have out of the possibilities, it still has enough going on to hold your attention.

Wayne plays a character who was unjustly convicted of murder, and who has broken out of prison in order to look for the real killer. He runs across a gang of outlaws, and when he begins to realize that things are different than he thought they were, he is faced with some real dilemmas. Later on in his career, Wayne could have done much more with this kind of role, but here he is at least always sympathetic. Although it misses some opportunities to make things more interesting, there should be enough story and action to make this one worthwhile if you enjoy older Westerns.

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.

John Wayne plays a man on the run from the law for committing a murder which of course he didn't do. He meets up with the outlaw gang and him and the guy hit it off and become friends,, after that he is taken to meet the leader of the group played by Yakima Canutt . Eventually the Duke figures out that his "friend" might just possibly be the real killer because it is made known in the film that the killer was never caught,. but worse for Wayne is that his "friend" kind of figures that wayne isn't a real bad guy , and then the fireworks hit ,as the Duke and the Gang prepare to duel it out,, not a bad "b" western from Lone Star Productins,, Wayne and Cannutt do some great stunts in this movie.

Sagebrush Trail is an early John Wayne B Movie. Unlike many of the other early films this is actually not a bad film.

Wayne plays a man wrongly convicted of murder and who chances upon the actual killer. The Duke doesn't have much to do but it's obvious even in this early entry that he has star quality. Lane Chandler provides good support.

It's a fast moving tale and there are a number of exciting set pieces and as others have mentioned the stunt work is great.

This is strictly for fans of Wayne and is fascinating more for it's historic value than the actual film itself. Nonetheless I enjoyed it.

Tried and convicted for a murder he did not commit "John Brent" (John Wayne) escapes from prison and barely manages to elude law enforcement officers by hiding under water in a pond until they eventually give up and return to town. However, upon swimming to the nearest shore he is met by an outlaw known simply as "Bob Jones" (Lane Chandler) who has seen everything and offers to take him to his gang which has been hiding out nearby. Since he doesn't have many other options available to him during this particular time he accepts the offer and is cautiously accepted by the other members as a they are in dire need of a cook for the group. Yet despite everything that has happened to him, he remains determined to prove his innocence and rather than jeapordizing any chance for an acquittal decides to try to prevent certain crimes from being committed by discreetly tipping off the law prior to the event being performed. Needless to say, this is a risky strategy as fully realizes that these outlaws will surely kill him if he is caught. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this was a rather short grade-B Western (only 54 minutes) which was clearly dated and suffered as a result. That said, while it wasn't too bad as far as it goes, it still left something to be desired and for that reason I have rated it accordingly. Slightly below average.

I must admit that this was the first John Wayne movie I ever saw. I was a bit disappointed. The acting is good, John Wayne especially. But the plot is not inspiring at all. It's not a «true» story. And further more, it's not a «true» western.

Out of 100, I gave it 71. That's ** out of ****.

They certainly didn't waste any time with character development! "Sagebrush Trail" opens with John Brant (John Wayne) already in the process of escaping from prison on a train. He's been convicted of a murder and once discovered on the train he manages to pull off another escape - by jumping on a horse and riding west. That all happens in the first five minutes or so. It might have been helpful to get a feel for who Brant was - but nope. We'll just get right into things. And there's not much plot development either. It speeds along with a running time of 54 minutes - a lot of which seems taken up with scenes of people riding horses. Very fast. And the basic story is established by about the 20 minute mark. Heading west, Brant evades the law, hooks up with an outlaw gang (but, of course, doesn't actually become an outlaw) and by a happy coincidence unknowingly becomes buddies with the guy who actually committed the murder that Brant was framed for who's riding with the same gang. He's played by Lane Chandler, who had been a successful silent movie actor and went on to a modestly successful career in talkies (mostly in supporting roles) and then in guest roles on TV westerns like Gunsmoke. Once these two connect, you just have to wait for it to play out.

Now, to be fair, lack of plot and character development aside - this really wasn't a bad movie. It manages to incorporate a little bit of humour every now and then to provide a break from fist fights, gun fights and horse chases, and it certainly wasn't the worst of John Wayne's early career in these short, low budget westerns put out by Lone Star Productions/Monogram Pictures. But it also wasn't a particularly good movie. Wayne was all right in it, and the supporting cast weren't awful - although there's a reason that Nancy Shubert (who played Sally) was never given a serious acting role again - not even by Lone Star. I watched a colorized version, which was done pretty well. And whoever John Wayne's stunt double was did a few neat tricks. (5/10)

Convicted of a murder he did not commit, John Wayne escapes from prison, hops a freight train, and heads west to find the real killer, finding himself part of a gang of armed robbers. He then tries to thwart the gang from within and convince his new best friend to give up his outlaw ways.

A fun entry in Wayne's cannon of Lone Star vehicles, this has great location photography, stunts courtesy of co-star Yakima Canutt, and a rousing finish. They even managed to squeeze in a neat underwater sequence!

The abandoned mine that the gang uses as their secret hideout is the much filmed cave at Bronson Canyon. Right after I watched this, I switched the channel and immediately saw it in a brand new Subaru commercial!

"Sagebrush Trail" is one of the very early poverty row Westerns in which John Wayne had the lead. He is John Brant, who goes by an alias Smith after escaping from prison. It's a convoluted plot with the innocent guy being framed for a murder and then going after the real culprit. But the script never tells how Bant was framed. And, there are complications as Smith gets involved with a gang of robbers. So, he's always dodging their suspicions while trying to tip off targets and even robbing a stagecoach ahead of the gang to save a big payroll.

Yakima Canutt is in this one and the guy who many think was the greatest stunt man in Hollywood history, gets to do some more of his almost magical stuff in this film. This is another of the many B studio productions that had leading ladies who had very short acting careers. Nancy Shubert made only three films in her life, which could hardly be called a movie career.