Wading through the chum bucket that is John Wayne's Lone Star legacy is no easy task. That makes "Sagebrush Trail" all the more pleasant to discover, a roughhewn gem with plenty of flaws but a good deal of sparkle, too.John Brant (Wayne) is a man on the run for a murder he did not commit. Wandering out west one step ahead of the law, he narrowly escapes a couple of trigger-happy lawmen and winds up rescued by a fellow who calls himself "Jones," and dubs Brant "Smith," making the pair quick pals on the lam."Strikes me the boss can use somebody like you," says Jones (Lane Chandler), who as it turns out knows something that might interest Brant, provided that nasty Boss (Yakima Canutt) doesn't figure him out first."Sagebrush Trail" does have flaws. Canutt was not a very good actor, nor was Nancy Shubert, who plays a storekeeper Brant and Jones both fall for. Both are asked to handle too much dialogue. The storyline does creak a good deal, as Brant has a habit of slipping off to undo the gang's machinations while somehow not being caught. Too much business revolves around the store where the girl works. But this is one time what's good outweighs what's bad, not by a lot, but by enough.Director Armand Schaefer worked cheap but with considerable smarts, here as in the earlier serial featuring Wayne, "The Hurricane Express." The twist involving Brant and Jones's secret identities isn't hard to spot, but it's still effectively delivered. I like a scene where the sheriff ponders what might happen if the two happened to meet. "I'll bet he would have made it plenty hot for him," the sheriff says, staring at wanted posters of the two outlaws.Cut to a two-shot of the outlaws, facing just like in the posters, with Brant pouring Jones a cup of joe. ""Sure made that plenty hot for me," Jones says cheerfully.It's a cheap laugh, but a very good one. There are more here, and some other nice surprises. The lawmen are treated in an interesting way, not exactly seedy (some lawmen come off worse in other Lone Star pics) but lazy and prone to shooting first, which makes it easier rooting for the nominal bad guys this time out. There's also some nice camera-work. Wayne hides from pursuers in a pond by using a hollow reed to breathe from, and we see him underwater while a lawman's boots appear in the foreground for added suspense.The resolution of the Brant-Jones situation is a trifle too neat, but give Wayne and Chandler both credit for playing the emotions so well. Wayne wasn't as subtle as he'd become, but he's good at developing our empathy. Chandler, even less subtle, does fine work as the foil of the piece.Even the bad guys' lair, which would become a stock set in later Lone Star works, has the right air of menace and mystery here, with a tunnel that becomes a centerpiece for some 180-degree camera shots.The biggest problem with "Sagebrush Trail" is its one time where there's more story than the producers could handle. Yet the film manages to score points most of the way through, making this one time Wayne got to star in a movie worth remembering during his Poverty Row days. "Sagebrush Trail" is one Lone Star I don't mind watching again.

I reckon audiences in the early 1930s were expected to suspend belief completely when they watched these pictures.Wayne pulls a reed out of the mud as if were a prop. The Law shoots into the water, and because the reed floats away, they assume they gottem, but don't care that no body floats to the surface, and skeedaddle as fast as they can. From the animal's rump, Wayne jumps on horses that should have been tied to the hitchin' post and gallops away without untying it. The Law waits in ambush for Jones and Wayne to enter the store, but fires before Wayne fully opens the door, wounding him in the shoulder, which miraculously heals in a coupla' days. They dutifully wait in the store until the two can escape before they give chase, and, of course, Jones and the wounded Wayne are much faster than the lawmen. Wayne camouflages himself and waits for a stagecoach to run over him, not caring at all if the horses step on him or a wheel squashes him. When Jones and Wayne are behind the wagon being hosed by the continuous fire of the robbers, no bullets at all hit the wagon, allowing the two to have a quiet chat.I could go on, but that should prove my point.

It was in films like Sagebrush Trail that John Wayne learned his craft, but thank the Deity he got out of doing stuff like Sagebrush Trail. The Duke has busted loose from jail, he was in the calaboose for a murder he didn't commit. He eludes a posse chasing him, but gets into the clutches of an outlaw gang headed by Yakima Canutt. It's as good a place as any to look for the man who can clear him. He doesn't realize though how lucky he got.Now granted this was a Lone Star production, not even a B film. But I would have liked to have seen just how Wayne got into the jackpot that landed him jail for murdering the lover of a married woman if he wasn't involved with her. When we do find who the murderer is that's never explained to us. Since this was for the afternoon kiddie matinée crowd maybe such things weren't delved into even before the Code came in place. Maybe it was a question of sloppy editing also. I think John Wayne's most devoted fans might like this one, I really wouldn't recommend to others, even other western fans.

I must admit that this was the first John Wayne movie I ever saw. I was a bit disappointed. The acting is good, John Wayne especially. But the plot is not inspiring at all. It's not a «true» story. And further more, it's not a «true» western.Out of 100, I gave it 71. That's ** out of ****.