Raoul Walsh directed The Big Trail.
Raoul Walsh . He was known for portraying John Wilkes Booth in the silent classic The Birth of a Nation ( 1915 ) and for directing such films as The Big Trail ( 1930 ) , starring John Wayne , High Sierra ( 1941 ) , starring Ida Lupino and Humphrey Bogart ; and White Heat ( 1949 ) , starring James Cagney and Edmond O'Brien . 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 .