john wayne be one of the few player in film history to have fail at his first big break and then succeed on the second time around . of course everyone know the second time be the classic stagecoach with john ford direct . but be here to talk about the big trail . john ford fellow director raoul walsh spot this tall kid on the set of one of ford film and think he have potential . he want to make him the lead in a big budget western that fox be plan to do . the film a plan would be an homage to the famous classic silent western the covered wagon . in watch the big trail i be strike by how similar wayne character of breck coleman here be to the ringo kid in stagecoach . both character be likable young cowpoke and but both be also on a mission of vengeance . and of course both film be do on location and show the expense in make them . no studio product here with a backlot western set . i also do not think that it be an accident that wayne get this break at the beginning of the sound era . raoul walsh and i be guess look around hollywood and probably do not think a whole lot of movie cowboy would have stay power in sound . that something else walsh spot in wayne . accord to what i have read the big trail flopped because after spend all that money to make the film in an early wide screen process and some genius at fox realize that their theater weren not equip with the wide screen to show it . and when the great depression hit there would be no money to widen those screen at fox movie house . so the big trail get a limited release and even in what we would call a formatted version and and lose money big for fox film . marguerite churchill be fine a the crinoline heroine who duke win and loses and win again from ian keith . keith and charles stevens and f. tyrone power be the trio of villain wayne have to deal with . f. tyrone power be the father of the famous movie legend tyrone power . he be a big burly man with a grand background in classic role on screen and on stage . i wouldn not be surprise if his son who would have be 15 at the time might not have be hang around the set . also look for ward bond though you might have trouble spot him under a big bushy beard . watch the big trail now it be interest to speculate where john wayne career might have go if the big trail have be a big hit .