TRAIL STREET is an average western that distinguishes itself by possibly being the inspiration for the highly praised Howard Hawks-John Wayne extravaganza RIO BRAVO (1959). There are many close plot similarities between the two films, and several characters are nearly identical as well. A greedy land grabbing villain is running all the farmers off their homesteads so that he can build a cattle empire in Kansas. Randolph Scott plays the heavily outnumbered marshal Bat Masterson, trying to hold the leader of a “regulator” gang in jail for trial. Helping him is shotgun-wielding deputy Gabby Hayes. Substitute John Wayne for Scott, Walter Brennan for Hayes, add a teenage idol (Ricky Nelson), some color film, and you’ve got RIO BRAVO.
TRAIL STREET is also notable for the casting of Robert Ryan in an against type good guy role. Overall, TRAIL STREET is worth a look for fans of the western genre, but others will probably lose interest.
