Watch The Trail Beyond For Free

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

John Wayne makes a promise to an old family friend to find his long absent brother and niece in the wilds of Canada and ends up on the run there when his traveling companion (Noah Beery Jr.) shoots a man in self defense. To make matters even worse, Wayne finds the man he's looking for's skeleton along with a treasure map that he has to protect from some ruthless French-Canadians!A nice entry in Lone Star/ Monogram Pictures' John Wayne series, The Trail Beyond looks like one of those twelve-chapter serials whittled down to just under an hour. It's absolutely loaded down with adventurous action and great stunt work, including a breathtaking jump from a moving train and a slow-motion horse-leap from a cliff into the water below. However, some of the falling horse stunts were easily recognizable from earlier films and kick up a lot of sand, or is it supposed to be snow?Excellent, well photographed northern California locations double for the Canadian wilderness. I don't know how faithful they are to the real Canada, but they look good.

This is a terrific Monogram-Lone Star western from 1934 which for some reason has me quite enchanted. I find the whole look and tone of the film like a comic book from my childhood; and it is the imagination struck from this that has me remembering scenes for days later. I know it is not a lot different from a zillion other 55 minute westerns of the 30s from poverty row, but this one has several compelling factors: A tall, young and handsome John Wayne in really groovy jeans and shirts, Noah beery Jr whose modern hair style sees him look like a young Warren Beatty, astoundingly glorious photography of mountains streams mighty waterfalls and incredible jaw-dropping horse-over-the-cliff stunts, hilarious PepeLePew French Canadian baddies, a great scene with 2 skeletons at a table; and very inventive camera angles and clear- lake water photography. THE TRAIL BEYOND is a real time travel western and the viewer can really feel the time and place. I show this surprise gem to many modern friends who are equally astonished. If there are many more of this caliber I want to see them. THE TRAIL BEYOND is worth the journey.

This one stays afloat for a while due to nice cinematography, a nice preppy performance by Noah Berry Jr. and wonderful scenery passing for Canada. Some fine stunts at the end are ruined by poor soundtrack work.The modern clothes on the female lead, typical of this series, this time was matched by modern clothes on the men in the train. The viewer isn't sure if its a Western or 1930's gangster film for a few minutes.The funniest thing in the film is a mistake. When Wayne and Berry find a gold mind, it is quite dark inside. Wayne lights a small candle and about 10,000 watts of light floods the set.There is one nicely directed scene. Wayne and Berry come upon two skeletons. They looked genuinely surprised. Its an unexpected and suspenseful moment.

"The Trail Beyond" is another in the series of Lone Star westerns John Wayne starred in between 1933 and 1935. Most were directed by Robert Bradbury (father of Bob Steele). This one is significant in a number of ways: 1) George (Gabby) Hayes is NOT in the cast; 2) It is beautifully photographed (Archie Stout is credited); 3) It features Noah Beery Sr. and Jr. 4) It has "French Canadian" Trappers in the "wilds" of Canada. The best thing about this film is the spectacular outdoor scenery which is supposed to be Northern Canada but actually is probably some place in California since the poverty row studios of the day simply would not have the resources to film in a distant location. The plot involves Wayne headin' north to find the long lost niece of a friend and bring her back. Along the way he meets up with an old college chum (Beery Jr.) who just happens to be going the same way. They soon get accused of murder, discover a lost gold mine and are pursued by the Mounties. Being a Canadian, I've always had a problem with Hollywood's depiction of the "wilds" of Canada. This film is no exception. The chief villains of the piece (Robert Frazer, Earl Dwire) are garbed in the stereotypical plaid shirts, checkered pants, sashes and brimmed caps (What no toques?). Their French accents are hilarious. We see log cabin "settlements" instead of towns and canoes and snowshoes abound everywhere. On the positive side, Yakima Canutt's stuntwork is outstanding as usual. He performs a leap from a moving train off a bridge into a river, rides two horses in succession off of a cliff (I'm sure I've seen this stunt in other pictures in the series) and performs several horse falls during the film's climax. He can be clearly seen doubling Wayne when he vaults onto a horse and gallops away. The acting in this film is just plain awful. Wayne was still learning his craft at this time and it shows. Berry Jr. was just starting out too. The less said about heroine Verna Hillie the better. I had higher hopes when I saw Berry Senior's name in the cast. But unfortunately, he is wasted in a bit part as a the owner of a trading post. (They didn't have stores in Canada you see). Berry Sr. might have lifted this picture a notch had he played the villain instead of the inept Frazer and Dwire.