The Lonely Trail

An American Western; A story set in 1865 about a Civil War veteran who is asked by the governor to drive out corrupt officials in his home town in Texas. Even for a short feature it holds a modicum of interest as a tale of reconstruction and political tension that came after the war. John Wayne looks the part as the white hat, spritely and heroic as the Union officer to stop Cy Kendall, who plays the part of the sly carpetbagger well, killing, stealing, and taxing the local ranchers out of their property under the pretense of state authority. More could have been made of overcoming the hatred against him by the locals for being a Union man, instead there is a fairly mediocre story and plot.

Although I am a John Wayne fan, this film was painful to watch. Which begs the question, did John Ford bring something to John Wayne's career that he didn't possess before they worked together? I would say that they both needed each other. The John Ford films without John Wayne weren't that good, and the westerns that John Wayne appeared in like this one (which were not directed by John Ford) were just as bad. So what exactly did John Wayne lack in this film? I think the non-John Ford directed John Wayne westerns lacked a story, emotional depth, colour, scenery and a bit of spectacle. Before the John Ford/Wayne collaboration, westerns were just some B picture, but what John Ford did was to give it spectacle like the Cecil B. DeMille films.

John Wayne leads a great cast of western actors including Ann Rutherford with 2 stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Stuntman extraordinaire Yakima Canutt as Bull does some great work in front of the camera as well. Lafe McKee even does a cameo. It all starts when Duke is called upon to clean up some carpetbaggers led by Cy Kendall. Bob Burns starts shooting due to Jim Toney's Union hat and him and Duke are off to the races. Great to see Fred 'Snowflake' Toones with over 200 films and the most "colorful" face for Republic. Bob Kortman played a powerful role as the General's henchman and Dennis Moore is very convincing as the man on the run from the General and even his old friend Captain Ashley. "The Lonely Trail" has some wonderful moments and a must see for John Wayne fans.