Release CalendarDVD & Blu-ray ReleasesTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsIn TheatersComing SoonMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV NewsIndia TV Spotlight
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsBest Picture WinnersBest Picture WinnersEmmysAPA Heritage MonthSTARmeter AwardsSan Diego Comic-ConNew York Comic-ConSundance Film FestivalToronto Int'l Film FestivalAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)

The Big Trail

  • 19301930
  • PassedPassed
  • 2h 5m
IMDb RATING
7.1/10
3.8K
YOUR RATING
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
John Wayne and Marguerite Churchill in The Big Trail (1930)
  • Adventure
  • Romance
  • Western
Breck Coleman leads hundreds of settlers in covered wagons from the Mississippi River to their destiny out West.Breck Coleman leads hundreds of settlers in covered wagons from the Mississippi River to their destiny out West.Breck Coleman leads hundreds of settlers in covered wagons from the Mississippi River to their destiny out West.
IMDb RATING
7.1/10
3.8K
YOUR RATING
  • Directors
    • Raoul Walsh
    • Louis R. Loeffler(uncredited)
  • Writers
    • Hal G. Evarts(story)
    • Marie Boyle(dialogue)
    • Jack Peabody(dialogue)
  • Stars
    • John Wayne
    • Marguerite Churchill
    • El Brendel
Top credits
  • Directors
    • Raoul Walsh
    • Louis R. Loeffler(uncredited)
  • Writers
    • Hal G. Evarts(story)
    • Marie Boyle(dialogue)
    • Jack Peabody(dialogue)
  • Stars
    • John Wayne
    • Marguerite Churchill
    • El Brendel
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 69User reviews
    • 44Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 win

    Photos110

    John Wayne in The Big Trail (1930)
    John Wayne, Marguerite Churchill, and Ian Keith in The Big Trail (1930)
    John Wayne, Ian Keith, Tyrone Power Sr., and Charles Stevens in The Big Trail (1930)
    John Wayne, BIG TRAIL, THE, Fox, 1930, **I.V.
    John Wayne, BIG TRAIL, THE, Fox, 1930, **I.V.
    John Wayne and Marguerite Churchill in "The Big Trail," 20th Century Fox 1930.
    John Wayne, BIG TRAIL, THE, Fox, 1930, **I.V.
    John Wayne in The Big Trail (1930)
    John Wayne in The Big Trail (1930)
    John Wayne in The Big Trail (1930)
    John Wayne in The Big Trail (1930)
    John Wayne in The Big Trail (1930)

    Top cast

    Edit
    John Wayne
    John Wayne
    • Breck Colemanas Breck Coleman
    Marguerite Churchill
    Marguerite Churchill
    • Ruth Cameronas Ruth Cameron
    El Brendel
    El Brendel
    • Gusas Gus
    Tully Marshall
    Tully Marshall
    • Zekeas Zeke
    Tyrone Power Sr.
    Tyrone Power Sr.
    • Red Flackas Red Flack
    • (as Tyrone Power)
    David Rollins
    David Rollins
    • Dave Cameronas Dave Cameron
    Frederick Burton
    Frederick Burton
    • Pa Bascomas Pa Bascom
    Ian Keith
    Ian Keith
    • Bill Thorpeas Bill Thorpe
    Charles Stevens
    Charles Stevens
    • Lopezas Lopez
    Louise Carver
    Louise Carver
    • Gus's mother-in-lawas Gus's mother-in-law
    Victor Adamson
    Victor Adamson
    • Wagon Train Manas Wagon Train Man
    • (uncredited)
    Phyllis Bainbridge
    • Pioneeras Pioneer
    • (uncredited)
    Chief John Big Tree
    Chief John Big Tree
    • Indianas Indian
    • (uncredited)
    Ward Bond
    Ward Bond
    • Sid Bascomas Sid Bascom
    • (uncredited)
    Nora Bush
    • Pioneeras Pioneer
    • (uncredited)
    Martin Cichy
    Martin Cichy
    • Pioneeras Pioneer
    • (uncredited)
    Don Coleman
    Don Coleman
    • Wrangleras Wrangler
    • (uncredited)
    Nancy Crowley
    • Pioneer Childas Pioneer Child
    • (uncredited)
    • Directors
      • Raoul Walsh
      • Louis R. Loeffler(uncredited)
    • Writers
      • Hal G. Evarts(story)
      • Marie Boyle(dialogue) (screenplay) (uncredited)
      • Jack Peabody(dialogue) (screenplay) (uncredited)
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
    • All cast & crew

    More like this

    North to Alaska
    6.9
    North to Alaska
    3 Godfathers
    7.1
    3 Godfathers
    The Comancheros
    6.8
    The Comancheros
    Tall in the Saddle
    6.9
    Tall in the Saddle
    Dark Command
    6.8
    Dark Command
    In Old Oklahoma
    6.4
    In Old Oklahoma
    The Undefeated
    6.6
    The Undefeated
    My Darling Clementine
    7.7
    My Darling Clementine
    Chisum
    6.8
    Chisum
    Dakota
    5.9
    Dakota
    Arizona
    5.7
    Arizona
    Allegheny Uprising
    6.3
    Allegheny Uprising

    Storyline

    Edit
    Breck leads a wagon train of pioneers through Indian attack, storms, deserts, swollen rivers, down cliffs and so on while looking for the murder of a trapper and falling in love with Ruth. —Ed Stephan <stephan@cc.wwu.edu>
    • zion national park
    • sequoia national park
    • yellowstone national park
    • western frontier
    • wagon train scout
    • 17 more
    • Plot summary
    • Add synopsis
    • Taglines
      • Youth, Love and Courage Blaze Through to Glory! (Print Ad- Amsterdam Evening Recorder, ((Amsterdam, NY)) 5 December 1930)
    • Genres
      • Adventure
      • Romance
      • Western
    • Certificate
      • Passed
    • Parents guide

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Incredibly, six different versions of this film were shot simultaneously: (1) a 70mm version in the Grandeur process for exhibition in the biggest movie palaces, (2) a standard 35mm version for general release, (3) a 35mm alternate French-language version La piste des géants (1931)', (4) a 35mm alternate Spanish-language version La gran jornada (1931), (5) a 35mm alternate German-language version Die große Fahrt (1931), and (6) a 35mm alternate Italian-language version Il grande sentiero (1931). The four alternate-language versions were shot with (mostly) different casts.
    • Goofs
      At 1 hour 23 minutes 10 seconds: motor vehicles moving in the far distance (top left of frame).
    • Quotes

      Breck Coleman, Wagon Train Scout: We can't turn back! We're blazing a trail that started in England. Not even the storms of the sea could turn back the first settlers. And they carrie dit on further. They blazed it on through the wilderness of Kentucky. Famine, hunger, not even massacres could stop them. And now we picked up the trail again. And nothing can stop us! Not even the snows of winter, nor the peaks of the highest mountain. We're building a nation and we got to suffer! No great trail was ever built without hardship. And you got to fight! That's right. And when you stop fighting, that's death. What are you going to do, lay down and die? Not in a thousand years! You're going on with me!

    • Crazy credits
      Opening credits prologue: DEDICATED- To the men and women who planted civilization in the wilderness and courage in the blood of their children.

      Gathered from the north, the south, and the east, they assemble on the bank of the Mississippi for the conquest of the west.
    • Alternate versions
      Filmed in two versions simultaneously: widescreen process Grandeur in 70mm, and in standard 35mm. Some scenes were shot simultaneously in both formats; other scenes were shot twice, once for each format. The two versions are not identical in content - the 70mm version runs 125 minutes, while the 35mm version runs a shorter 108 minutes (but does contain some scenes not found in the longer widescreen version).
    • Connections
      Alternate-language version of La gran jornada (1931)
    • Soundtracks
      Song of the Big Trail
      (1930) (uncredited)
      Music by James F. Hanley
      Lyrics by Joseph McCarthy

    User reviews69

    Review
    Top review
    Good wagons, wagon circling, and gun smoke. Corny but good historical props.
    This movie is impressive for the type of physical props used. The wagons were real Conestoga, not the cut-down replicas seen in later movies. The circling of the wagons to fend off an attack by the locals was done with realism -- wagons overlapped with draft animals placed inside the ring -- resulting in what seems like hundreds milling about in the center. And when the shooting starts the wagons virtually disappear in the smoke. Very good representation of 'real life' (I shoot muzzle loading rifles so I know about the smoke part of it). Too bad I can't find this one on laserdisc for my library...
    helpful•23
    2
    • Kelly-17
    • Sep 4, 1998

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • November 1, 1930 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Raoul Walsh's The Big Trail
    • Filming locations
      • Jackson Hole, Wyoming, USA
    • Production company
      • Fox Film Corporation
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $2,000,000 (estimated)
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 5 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White

    Related news

    Hollywood’s Iconic Tcl Chinese Theatre Celebrates 95 Years of Premieres and Stars
    Hollywood’s Iconic Tcl Chinese Theatre Celebrates 95 Years of Premieres and Stars
    May 18Variety Film + TV
    20 Best Years in Video Game History, Ranked
    20 Best Years in Video Game History, Ranked
    May 14Den of Geek

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    John Wayne and Marguerite Churchill in The Big Trail (1930)
    Top Gap
    By what name was The Big Trail (1930) officially released in Canada in English?
    Answer
    • See more gaps
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    View list
    List
    The Best Movies and Shows to Watch in May
    See the full list
    View list
    List
    2022 TV Guide: The Best Shows Coming This Year
    See the full list

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    • Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • IMDb Developer
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Interest-Based Ads

    © 1990-2022 by IMDb.com, Inc.