Stormy Trails (1936)

A rancher caught in the middle of a bank robbery shoots one of the robbers. However, the dead bandit turns out to be a former ranch hand who was suing him. The rancher is arrested for murder.

Director:

Sam Newfield

Writers:

E.B. Mann (story), Phil Dunham (screenplay)

Stars:

Rex Bell, Bob Terry, Lois Wilde

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Rex Bell	...	Tom Storm
Bob Terry	...	Billy Storm (as Bob Hodges)
Lois Wilde	...	Connie Curlew
Lane Chandler	...	Foreman Dunn
Earl Dwire	...	Steve Barick (Varick in credits)
Lloyd Ingraham	...	Dad Curlew
Karl Hackett	...	Henchman Max Durante
Earle Ross	...	T.J. Thurman (banker)
Murdock MacQuarrie	...	Sheriff (as Murdock McQuarrie)
Jimmy Aubrey	...	Henchman Shives
Roger Williams	...	Mike Daniels (outlaw)

Storyline

Stanton, with the aid of others, has a land-grab scheme going to take over the ranch owned by Tom Storm and his kid-brother Billy, since Stanton knows there is gold on the property. To complicate matters, Stanton has a henchman file a lawsuit against Storm, and has Billy Storm cheated in a poker game and is holding the I.O.Us over Billy in order to get him to aid Stanton's rustlers. Plus, the bank holds a mortgage on the ranch which is due in a few days. In order to get the money needed to buy the ranch when the bank forecloses, Stanton sends three men to rob the bank, one of them being Spain who is the man who filed the lawsuit. Tom is at the bank when it is held-up and kills the third bandit, Spain, but the other two get away with the money and take it to Spain. Stanton then accuses Tom of intentionally murdering Spain. The gang continues to make raids on Tom's cattle-herd so he won't have the money to pay off the mortgage-note. Stanton deposits the stolen money in the bank, and his...

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Plot Keywords:

ranch | money | rancher | gang | murder | 

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Taglines:

A Sizzling Six-Gun Action Drama!

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Genres:

Romance | Western

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 December 1936 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Brandeis Ranch, Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Colony Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

58 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

User Reviews

Highly entertaining 'indie' - Bell in one of his best ' B' roles

This was an extremely well written screenplay for an 'indie' . It moved flawlessly with several potential subplots. It is highly unusual to have a story like this that easily could have been an "A" western with the right studio . Bell was used to his maximum even though they kept trying to capitalize on his good looks. Like so many 'indies in the 30's , a lot of actors who were stars in the silent era are in this one. There is a lot of action even though it is not of the fisticuffs and riding variety . One of the only implausibilities occur when it is demanded of the Sheriff to have an inquest when he witnessed the shooting personally . That was the only real lame section in the script.Also the question of the gold being discovered on the Storm property never was explained how it all tied into the water rights. Yes, I know they tried, but they failed. If you're looking for a real 'sleeper' that is highly entertaining , this one is for you .