John Wayne stars in The Big Trail.
John Wayne . His first leading role came in Raoul Walsh 's The Big Trail ( 1930 ) , which led to leading roles in numerous B movies throughout the 1930s , many of them in the Western genre . The Big Trail is a 1930 American pre-Code early widescreen movie shot on location across the American West starring John Wayne in his first leading role and directed by Raoul Walsh .