At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

. . . watching Fox "News," with BEYOND's trios of guys shooting at each other during Great Canoe Chases and packs of gunmen firing a whole War's worth of bullets as their horses bite the dust left and right. Frequent references to "half-breeds" are thrown around, and the Dead keep popping back into the Land of the Living during BEYOND. But viewing Fox "News" before and after BEYOND, things are equally mashed up in its version of Real Life, 2016. First, one cop is dead, and some guy wearing a young D. "Rock" Johnson mask is identified as the shooter at large. Then, two officers have expired, done in by a couple of guys who fled in a Mercedes. Next, three Men in Blue have passed, and there's a lady in the ring of DPD attackers. Fox then says four policemen are fatalities, and a cornered rifleman has shot himself dead. Finally, Fox reports that ONE Veteran Gone Bad exterminated FIVE police, who blew him up with a robotic bomb! During BEYOND, the "half-breed" is a killer, but at least he has a girl. Then Mr. Multi-Racial's "victim" miraculously revives, but John Wayne steals his chick because she's inheriting a gold mine AND a cattle ranch! After the Mountie they're holding at gunpoint is fatally shot, Wayne prevents his corpse from going over a huge waterfall, so it revives (unlike BEYOND's main villain, who rolls off a cliff after a cop shoots him for picking up a rock!). Ask yourself, WWRD? (That is, What Would Rambo Do?)

With a bigger budget than other movies of John Wayne's of this period, this 55 minute programmer has a more interesting story and higher production values than those others.The version I saw, on TCM had a very clean and crisp transfer and even looked like it had been restored.The story goes something like this: John Wayne travels to Canada in search of a missing miner and his daughter, but ends up a fugitive when he helps a friend who has been framed for murder to escape the law. In a deserted mountain cabin, complete with skeletons, they stumble on a treasure map. Deciding to go after the loot, they're on the run again, until a devious trapper plans to get his hands on it by posing as a mountie.There's some wonderful scenery (pity it's not later and in Technicolor) that rather takes over from the story but that's no bad thing and is a nice change from the dust and Indians of your usual western.The Duke's delivery of his lines are stilted and rather wooden but he's unsurpassed at mounting a horse whilst running - and from the back of the animal, which arguably is far more important than eloquent dialogue!Though hardly a classic and probably a bit pretty for young boys wanting 'cowboys'n'indians' action, The Trail Beyond remains quite watchable.

Great alpine scenery. Yes, I know, there's a story too, but who needs it with all the terrific vistas to marvel at. Lone Star didn't just ride around California's Owens Valley on this one. No sir, they got right into some of the best mountain panoramas of the Southern Sierras. Nearly every frame has something picturesque to look at.Maybe you can follow the plot. I couldn't. Something about a gold mine and some baddies who speak Frenchified English about as well as I can. Poor Verna Hillie, she has about ten lines in the whole movie. Still, it does get tiresome looking at all those ugly guys. Then too, watch Noah Beery Sr., who has the look and voice of a first rate villain. Definitely, he should have played the lead bad guy. Still there are some good touches-- the broken bottle (how clever), the race down the river (scope out that waterfall), and the great Earl Dwire (no actor, but with a face that would scare Frankenstein).The only advantage most A Westerns have over this lowly programmer is script quality. Sure, that's a biggie, but otherwise this little V W can hold its own against the sleeker Cadillacs of the day.

"The Trail Beyond" is another in the series of Lone Star westerns John Wayne starred in between 1933 and 1935. Most were directed by Robert Bradbury (father of Bob Steele). This one is significant in a number of ways: 1) George (Gabby) Hayes is NOT in the cast; 2) It is beautifully photographed (Archie Stout is credited); 3) It features Noah Beery Sr. and Jr. 4) It has "French Canadian" Trappers in the "wilds" of Canada. The best thing about this film is the spectacular outdoor scenery which is supposed to be Northern Canada but actually is probably some place in California since the poverty row studios of the day simply would not have the resources to film in a distant location. The plot involves Wayne headin' north to find the long lost niece of a friend and bring her back. Along the way he meets up with an old college chum (Beery Jr.) who just happens to be going the same way. They soon get accused of murder, discover a lost gold mine and are pursued by the Mounties. Being a Canadian, I've always had a problem with Hollywood's depiction of the "wilds" of Canada. This film is no exception. The chief villains of the piece (Robert Frazer, Earl Dwire) are garbed in the stereotypical plaid shirts, checkered pants, sashes and brimmed caps (What no toques?). Their French accents are hilarious. We see log cabin "settlements" instead of towns and canoes and snowshoes abound everywhere. On the positive side, Yakima Canutt's stuntwork is outstanding as usual. He performs a leap from a moving train off a bridge into a river, rides two horses in succession off of a cliff (I'm sure I've seen this stunt in other pictures in the series) and performs several horse falls during the film's climax. He can be clearly seen doubling Wayne when he vaults onto a horse and gallops away. The acting in this film is just plain awful. Wayne was still learning his craft at this time and it shows. Berry Jr. was just starting out too. The less said about heroine Verna Hillie the better. I had higher hopes when I saw Berry Senior's name in the cast. But unfortunately, he is wasted in a bit part as a the owner of a trading post. (They didn't have stores in Canada you see). Berry Sr. might have lifted this picture a notch had he played the villain instead of the inept Frazer and Dwire.