SoTrumpBelieve Must See Movie...

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Intcatinfo A Masterpiece!

Portia Hilton Blistering performances.

JohnHowardReid John Wayne (John Trent), Marceline Day (Alice Ellis), Frank McHugh (Sergeant Tippy), Otis Harlan (Zeke Keller), Albert J. Smith (Gus Lynch), Yakima Canutt (High Wolf), Lafe McKee (Lafe, old-timer), Clarence Geldert (Cavalry commander), Slim Whitaker, Frank Ellis, and "Duke".Director: TENNY WRIGHT. Screenplay: Kurt Kempler. Suggested by the 1927 scenario The Red Raiders by Marion Jackson. Photography: Ted McCord. Film editor: William Clemens. Music director: Leo F. Forbstein. Western Electric Sound System. Associate producer: Sid Rogell. Producer: Leon Schlesinger.Copyright 25 March 1933 by The Vitagraph Pictures, Inc. A Warner Bros-First National Picture. No New York showcasing. U.S. release: 18 March 1933. U.K. release: 17 April 1933. 59 minutes.SYNOPSIS: For reasons that are never made clear, a white trader stirs up the Indians to attack the telegraph linesmen and construction workers. NOTES: As far as I know, this is the only film directed by Tenny Wright, one-time silent film actor and assistant director who rose to become production manager at Warner Bros where he made important contributions to just about all the famous Warner features of the 30s and 40s. COMMENT: Instead of re-making the 1927 Ken Maynard western, "The Red Raiders", this time producer Schlesinger (of later Merrie Melodies and Looney Tunes fame) decided to have a new story fashioned around the original film's truly spectacular action footage. This was a bad mistake. Not only is the new plot weak, but it's full of holes, inconsistencies and downright stupidities. The whole business with the box — what did they need a big empty box for, in the first place? — is a good example of the writer's haphazard approach. At first it seems the box is fairly solid, but later on it's revealed there's a hole in the side big enough for the girl to put her hand through. The heroine's actions throughout are almost totally unbelievable, but the hero's are only marginally more convincing, mostly because he is called upon to react to, rather than initiate events. His reaction times are stupendously slow. From the very first scene with the telegraph message from Jonesy, it takes a considerable time for the import of the message to sink into his thick skull. It seems to go against the whole canon of "B"-western lore to infer the hero is slow-witted, but this suggestion of brawn with no brains is confirmed in his very first encounter with the heroine in which he displays a similar, singular lack of even basic mental acuity. His immaturity is then further demonstrated by his complete change of attitude towards the girl. No wonder John Wayne constantly looks uncomfortable, hesitant, even confused! The support players are of even less help. McHugh and Harlan are both over-zealous bores whose comic cut-ups provide little genuine amusement. Albert J. Smith does what he can with the heavy but is stymied by a script that provides him with virtually no motivation. Canutt plays the Indian in a totally clichéd manner.Wright's slack, slow direction is compounded by the cutting in of obviously silent-speed material. Along with McCord's deliberately flat photography (to tone in with the copious Red Raiders action directed by Albert Rogell), these technical credits lend the movie the air of a musty if awesomely spectacular museum piece. Wayne's efforts to regain his "A" standing certainly took a backward jolt with this entry.

Edgar Allan Pooh . . . so Warner Bros. was in an even better position to Warn America about Looming Threats as it released THE TELEGRAPH TRAIL during the Depths of the Great Depression. As "John Trent, Army Scout" John Wayne yet again portrays a Robin Hood-like Socialist, fighting Corrupt Capitalism, as he did in countless flicks up until World War Two, when he used some Big Business Connections to Dodge the Draft, and afterwards Cozied up to the few Actual Capitalist War Heroes, such as Brig. Gen. Jimmy Stewart. (Trying to over-compensate for Turning Yellow, Wayne would go on to send hundreds of Valiant Veterans to the Poorhouse, Prison, or Early Graves while heading several Vigilante Groups during the 1950s.) But as an "innocent" 20-something, Wayne fights against Corrupt Businessman "Gus Lynch" and Lynch's band of Tea Party-style Terrorists. Like Today's Leading Capitalist, Trumplestiltskin, Lynch attacks the Media--in this case, the brand new "Singing Wire" or Intercontinental Telegraph. Instead of saying that his female critics are "bleeding from their Wherevers," as does Trumpenstein, Lynch simply crates them up in his version of Pandora's Box. But Lynch brazenly rides side-by-side with Terrorist Leader "High Wolf," just as the Teflon Don has been seen shamelessly climbing into bed with Vladimir "Mad Dog" Putin of Russia.

utgard14 Another B western from the early '30s with a young John Wayne and his horse Duke. A greedy white man is stirring up Indians to attack men installing telegraph lines. Army scout Wayne is sent to investigate. Frank McHugh plays Wayne's sidekick. He seems really out of place in a western. Get back to the city with Cagney, Frank. Marceline Day plays the inevitable love interest. Her character is responsible for some of the goofier parts of the plot. But she's likable and pleasant enough. It's a routine but enjoyable western with some comedy and romance. Nothing to write home about but Wayne fans will probably enjoy it for curiosity's sake.

Eventuallyequalsalways This kid-friendly Oater was obviously intended for the Saturday morning double-features which droves of kids attended in the 30's and 40's. Mom & Dad dropped you off while they did the weekly shopping and you had a double-feature, a couple of cartoons, a 3-Stooges short and a Movietone news to entertain you, all for a dime. I know because I saw hundreds of them. Anyway, about this picture, it pays very little homage to the so-called plot which involves something to do with the new invention of the telegraph bringing communication across the continent. It has hundreds of extras (they must have been cheap to hire in those days) dressed as settlers, cavalry or Indians backing up the star (John Wayne) and the requisite pretty lady played by Marceline Day. In those days, the studio executives must have been convinced that the Cowboy and his faithful horse sidekick (ala Roy Rogers and Trigger) was a winning formula, so they paired John Wayne with a beautiful white stallion named Duke. The major attraction of this movie is the continual series of sight gags and gaffes which we never noticed as kids. In one scene, John Wayne is on top of a telegraph pole sending a message back to the Fort and a crowd of 10-12 Indians rides up and begins shooting at him. Wayne pulls his trusty six-shooter, fires once, and kills the Indian with the headdress. THEN WAYNE PUTS HIS GUN BACK IN HIS HOLSTER! What kind of direction was that? Can you believe John Wayne ever quit fighting a hoard of enemies in his life? Well, he does in this movie. I guess it was because he wanted to wait until the Indians fired off a volley at him; this would allow him to pretend to be hit so that he could fall off the pole (ouch!) and fake his death. Naturally, the gullible Indians were fooled, so they rode off at an accelerated gallop (all the galloping scenes are speeded up about 20% to make things more exciting), and before they have gone 50 yards, we see John Wayne getting to his feet. Then we find out that he wanted the feathered headdress so he could strip off his shirt (showing the manly Wayne chest), don the headdress and, pretending to be an Indian, join the Indians attacking the settlers, and then slip through the line of wagons (in a circle, naturally) and reenter the camp where he can join up with the beautiful girl. Of course, he can't begin fighting the circling Indians until he ducks into a tent and grabs a beautiful fringed-leather shirt and puts it on. One must be properly dressed when fighting Indians! All in all, this movie is fun to watch and if you are an old codger like me, it will bring back lots of wonderful memories of all those Saturday mornings long ago.