one of the myth of the early sound era be that they couldn not make western because they have trouble record sound on location . in fact and it be the financial restriction of the depression that temporarily kill off the genre and at least in the a budget bracket . however and in the period 1929 1931 and before the economic downturn have really kick in and the a western flourish and notable example include the virginian and billy the kid and cimarron . the big trail be perhaps the big of them all a gargantuan pioneer western shot in an early widescreen process appropriately title grandeur . thanks to a recent dvd release we now get to see the widescreen version alongside the fullscreen that be shoot simultaneously . the director be raoul walsh and a man for whom the spirit of adventure lay in vast outdoor vista and and thus in many way a perfect choice . he make great use of the wider frame to show off the western landscape at it most breathtaking . very typical of walsh be a number of shot towards the beginning and such a the one where a woman be chop firewood . most of the screen be tightly fill by the wagon and other clutter and but in one corner we see the wilderness stretch out invitingly . when the wagon train get go and the open plain be gradually reveal to u and with wagon pull away like stage curtain . these shot be not so effective in the fullscreen version and yet on the wider canvas walsh expression of the outdoors be never good . but there an unfortunate flipside to this . when it come to dialogue scene and walsh tendency be to place the actor in the middle of the shot and a if they be in an imaginary fullscreen box . the extra width become just that extra . it may seem logical at first and because it mean that height wise we see as much of the actor a we would in a fullscreen picture . however it make the player look small and insignificant within the frame and while all the background business dominate the shot and there be a lot of background business in the big trail . when widescreen format re emerge in the 1950s and many director would make the same mistake and before eventually realise that in talkie scene it be well to frame actor from around the chest up and lose some of their height but allow them to fill the screen . it a pity and because the big trail be a particularly well balance and finely scripted effort . the romance and revenge subplots be simple but well defined and and do not threaten to overbalance each other or the pioneer story . it could have be a great intimate epic and but it lose dramatic weight because every time character start talk to each other we get distract by herd of cattle and drift wagon or whatever else be fill every spare inch of frame . still and walsh sensitivity to deeply emotional romantic moment be still on display and and he manage to make the final scene effective and memorable . there be also some nice comedy touch and largely courtesy of comical swede el brendel . the big trail be also notable for be john wayne first lead role . while wayne be another victim of the distant framing in dialogue scene and we do at least see his strong physical presence and hear his warm but assertive vocal delivery . he betray his lack of experience and but the potential be clearly there . sadly that potential wasn not widely realise at the time and he spend the rest of the decade slum it in b picture before he finally hit stardom . also appear in this picture be wayne buddy ( and later prolific character actor ) ward bond . he not credit and but you can spot him in a number of scene and most prominently around the 80 minute mark where he be stand to tyrone power left . the big trail be a glorious epic that manage to defeat itself a a drama . and it be this stupendous scale that would put the western ( and widescreen ) to bed for some time . and although the 40 and 50 be now regard a the golden age of the western and it be by then a change genre and with story of individual adventure and heroism in an establish west no good or bad and but of a different form . the early talkie period be the end of an era in which western could be truly gigantic .