John Wayne plays a man on the run from the law for committing a murder which of course he didn't do. He meets up with the outlaw gang and him and the guy hit it off and become friends,, after that he is taken to meet the leader of the group played by Yakima Canutt . Eventually the Duke figures out that his "friend" might just possibly be the real killer because it is made known in the film that the killer was never caught,. but worse for Wayne is that his "friend" kind of figures that wayne isn't a real bad guy , and then the fireworks hit ,as the Duke and the Gang prepare to duel it out,, not a bad "b" western from Lone Star Productins,, Wayne and Cannutt do some great stunts in this movie.

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.

In the 1930s, before he was a Hollywood star, John Wayne made a long string of rather ordinary B-westerns. Now these were not necessarily bad movies (well, aside from his stint as "Singing Sandy"), but they certainly were not great works of art. Like other B-westerns, they filled a niche--a cheap second film for a double feature--the sort of film that kids loved. In many ways, these films are a lot like Gene Autry films with a little bit more realism.This film finds Wayne playing John Brant--a guy who has escaped from prison and is trying to prove his innocence. With practically no evidence to support this, his instincts tell him to make for a group of crooks out West--even though the murder occurred in Baltimore. And, in a case of coincidence only possible in movies, he just happens to find the guy who really committed the crime!! While silly, I did like that at least there was the twist that Brant found he liked the guy!Overall, about what you'd expect from such a film. The acting, at times, was suspect but the film went by at such a fast clip that it was basically harmless entertainment.By the way, I saw this film again on the Encore Channel and noticed right away that someone 'clever' at Fox Lorber Pictures added an annoying modern electronic musical track to this film. Avoid this version at all costs and just download the public domain version from IMDb--you'll be doing yourself a favor.

Some reviewer earlier made disparaging comments about the fighting.Obviously this 1933 movie came along before Yakima Canutt and John Wayne created the style of cinema fighting that is now standard.Yak was the ultimate stunt man. His "gags" (as they called them) are still the measure. He is the stunt double in much of "Sagebrush Trail," a fact unfortunately obvious if you watch as I did, on a computer monitor.He is also the head of the gang of bad guys.John Wayne started as a prop man, according to legend, and did some stunt work to please John Ford. "Duke, show 'em up," is the line credited to Ford during a naval film in which cast members feared the choppy seas they were supposed to be immersed in.John Wayne did "show 'em up" and jumped in.He gets to swim in this one too, in a scene that was praised by Jon Tuska in his PBS series, "They Went Thataway." "Sagebrush Trail" has all the elements expected and more, such as the scene mentioned above.Hank Bell has another uncredited role, and his presence always adds authenticity to any Western.Lane Chandler has a good role, and he co-stars with John Wayne in another stagecoach-related film, "Winds of the Wasteland." I have only two complaints: The sound is not very good; much of the gunfire sounds as if it came from a mine shaft. The final scene was completely inappropriate, considering what came before.Otherwise, this is great. My copy is another in the Great American Western Series by Echo Bridge Entertainment. It comes in a two-disk set.