Trivia / The Big Trail

• Box Office Bomb: Budget - unknown. Box office - $1,250,000.
• Genre-Killer: This marked the end of the road for widescreen films until Cinerama and CinemaScope made widescreen viable again two decades later.
• Star-Derailing Role: This was supposed to be John Wayne's big break. Unfortunately, the film proved an expensive flop, and his performance was roundly criticized. The Duke spent another decade slumming in low-quality B movies before John Ford gave him another chance in Stagecoach.
• What Could Have Been: Gary Cooper was originally offered the role of Breck Coleman and wanted it, but he was under contract to Paramount, which refused to loan him out.
• Working Title: The Oregon Trail. The change was made in response to the requests from nearby residents of Jackson, WY, where the bulk of the movie was filmed.