Trail Beyond/Riders Of Destiny (2004)

Two of John Wayne's earliest roles were in the Monogram Westerns THE TRAIL BEYOND and RIDERS OF DESTINY. In THE TRAIL BEYOND, Wayne travels to the wilds of Canada in search of a missing girl. Along the way, he encounters one of his old buddies, and the two stumble across a hidden treasure, which just leads to more trouble for them. The film is known for some beautiful photography of the Northern California wilderness, substituting for Canada. RIDERS OF DESTINY is a curio in Western history, as Wayne stars as a Singin' Sandy Saunders, with his voice in the musical numbers overdubbed. It was the only time producers tried Wayne as a singing cowboy in Gene Autry-Roy Rogers vein. The plot concerns Saunders helping out townspeople who are being exploited by the local water supplier. THE TRAIL BEYOND and RIDERS OF DESTINY offer an early view of the man who would later become the Western's biggest star.