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Breakthrough role

For John Wayne, the breakthrough role of his career was The Big Trail in 1930.

Dark Command

Directed by Raoul Walsh from the novel by W.R. Burnett, Dark Command is the only film in which western icons John Wayne and Roy Rogers appear together, and was the only film Wayne and Raoul Walsh made together since Walsh discovered Wayne working as a prop mover, renamed him, and gave him his first leading role in the widescreen western The Big Trail a decade before.

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Walsh was reading a biography of General "Mad Anthony" Wayne at the time and gave the prop boy the last name "Wayne" after casting him as the lead in The Big Trail (1930), a 70 mm Grandeur widescreen epic shot on location all across the West.

Remington Model 1858

Remington percussion revolvers and conversions have appeared in notable movie scenes in films such as The Big Trail, Pale Rider, Gone with the Wind, and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, as well as early episodes of Bonanza.

The Big Trail

The settlers trail ends in the Willamette Valley of Oregon, where Coleman and Ruth finally settle down together amidst giant redwoods.

The Trail Beyond

Stunning location backgrounds filmed around Mammoth Lakes, California set this film firmly apart from most of the other Poverty Row westerns shot during the decade in which Wayne found himself trapped between his screen masterpieces The Big Trail (1930) and Stagecoach (1939).

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