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IMDbPro

The Trail of '98

  • 19281928
  • PassedPassed
  • 1h 27m
IMDb RATING
7.0/10
418
YOUR RATING
Harry Carey, Dolores del Rio, and Ralph Forbes in The Trail of '98 (1928)
ActionAdventureDrama
Fortune hunters from all over the country rush to the Klondike in 1897 to seek their fortunes in the gold are tested by hardships of the journey.Fortune hunters from all over the country rush to the Klondike in 1897 to seek their fortunes in the gold are tested by hardships of the journey.Fortune hunters from all over the country rush to the Klondike in 1897 to seek their fortunes in the gold are tested by hardships of the journey.
IMDb RATING
7.0/10
418
YOUR RATING
    • Clarence Brown
    • Robert W. Service(novel "The Trail of '98)
    • Benjamin Glazer(adaptation)
    • Joseph Farnham(titles)
  • Stars
    • Dolores del Rio
    • Ralph Forbes
    • Karl Dane
    • Clarence Brown
    • Robert W. Service(novel "The Trail of '98)
    • Benjamin Glazer(adaptation)
    • Joseph Farnham(titles)
  • Stars
    • Dolores del Rio
    • Ralph Forbes
    • Karl Dane
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 15User reviews
    • 4Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Photos33

    Dolores del Rio and Ralph Forbes in The Trail of '98 (1928)
    Dolores del Rio and Ralph Forbes in The Trail of '98 (1928)
    George Cooper, Karl Dane, Tully Marshall, and Russell Simpson in The Trail of '98 (1928)
    Harry Carey, George Cooper, Mark Hamilton, Doris Lloyd, Tully Marshall, Polly Moran, Scott Seaton, Russell Simpson, Benay Venuta, and Rita Claire in The Trail of '98 (1928)
    Dolores del Rio and Ralph Forbes in The Trail of '98 (1928)
    Ralph Forbes in The Trail of '98 (1928)
    Dolores del Rio and Ralph Forbes in The Trail of '98 (1928)
    Dolores del Rio and Ralph Forbes in The Trail of '98 (1928)
    Harry Carey, George Cooper, Ralph Forbes, Francis Ford, Mark Hamilton, Doris Lloyd, Russell Simpson, and Rita Claire in The Trail of '98 (1928)
    Dolores del Rio and Ralph Forbes in The Trail of '98 (1928)
    Dolores del Rio, Karl Dane, Ralph Forbes, and Tully Marshall in The Trail of '98 (1928)
    Mark Hamilton in The Trail of '98 (1928)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Dolores del Rio
    Dolores del Rio
    • Berna
    • (as Dolores Del Rio)
    Ralph Forbes
    Ralph Forbes
    • Larry
    Karl Dane
    Karl Dane
    • Lars Petersen
    Harry Carey
    Harry Carey
    • Jack Locasto
    Tully Marshall
    Tully Marshall
    • Salvation Jim
    George Cooper
    George Cooper
    • Samuel Foote - The Worm
    Russell Simpson
    Russell Simpson
    • Old Swede
    Emily Fitzroy
    Emily Fitzroy
    • Mrs. Bulkey
    Tenen Holtz
    Tenen Holtz
    • Mr. Bulkey
    Cesare Gravina
    • Henry Kelland - Berna's Grandfather
    Doris Lloyd
    Doris Lloyd
    • Locasto's Procurer
    E. Alyn Warren
    E. Alyn Warren
    • Train Engineer
    Johnny Downs
    Johnny Downs
    • Mother's Boy
    • (as John Down)
    Ray Hallor
    Ray Hallor
    • Brother Jim
    Ray Gallagher
    Ray Gallagher
    • Brother Joe
    Josephine Adair
    Josephine Adair
    • Young Girl
    • (uncredited)
    Rita Claire
    • Saloon Girl
    • (uncredited)
    Francis Ford
    Francis Ford
    • Gold Commissioner's Assistant
    • (uncredited)
      • Clarence Brown
      • Robert W. Service(novel "The Trail of '98)
      • Benjamin Glazer(adaptation)
      • Joseph Farnham(titles)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Director Clarence Brown called the film " . . . the hardest film I ever made." He was in charge of 2000 people in weather that was -60 F in 50-mph winds at 11,600-foot altitudes.
    • Quotes

      Larry: You're right, Berna! We'll get out of this damned country! I'll get the money for the tickets somehow!

    • Connections
      Edited into Hollywood: The Dream Factory (1972)
    • Soundtracks
      Red River Valley
      (pub. 1896) (uncredited)

      Traditional

      Music by James Kerrigen

      Played as background music

    User reviews15

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    6/10
    What Would You Do for a Klondike Bar?
    Would you quit your job working on trains and commit, by what today might be considered, kidnapping and endangerment of a minor? Abandon your wife in Michigan? Abandon your entire family in Kansas? Stow away by train or ship? Abandon the dry gold fields of the Nevada desert--well, sure, who wouldn't do that.... To sail from San Francisco, to slog through the snowdrifts and mountain trails of the North, risk the rapids of the Yukon River, avalanches, freezing and starving to death, only to, then, fear fever, being assaulted, robbed and swindled, raped and forced into prostitution, eaten by dogs, or lit like a human torch... plus mosquitoes? I mean, yeah, gold is cool, but....

    Set during the Klondike Gold Rush, "The Trail of '98" is more of an ensemble, rather than star-driven, late silent adventure epic that features a synchronized soundtrack of so-so sound effects and musical scoring (the sentimental lyrics for one smooching scene in particular was too much, and, at other moments, the constant blasts of wind can be grating). Indeed, it's a bit difficult and partly a wasted effort to try to keep track of all the characters--only some of whom ultimately drive the plot forward. The most important is the romance between Berna (early Mexican star Dolores Del Rio) and Larry, as threatened by the baddie Jack Locasto (Harry Carey, a star of Westerns with the moniker "Cheyenne Harry" early on, but who was transitioning to character roles by now). Larry teams up with some other prospectors in his pursuit for gold, but they're hardly worth mentioning and are only occasionally amusing.

    It's no challenge to Charlie Chaplin's "The Gold Rush" (1925) as the best film made regarding Klondike yellow metal, but this one does feature some spectacular set pieces, visual effects and stuntwork, which, reportedly, included real-life casualties. The avalanche and fire scenes are especially grizzly, as is the wintry location shooting, and even the rear-projection photography for the rapids is relatively not too bad. On the other hand, there's far too much set-up, including excessive title cards, to get to the good stuff and even much of that is rudimentary, Victorian-style melodrama, while also resembling a wild-Northern Western. Most of the side characters and subplots aren't compelling enough to justify their inclusion.

    The director here, Clarence Brown, could be a visually masterful filmmaker. He learned from one of the pioneers of cinematic visual innovation in Maurice Tourneur during the 1910s and into the early 1920s. He's, perhaps, best remembered for directing a few Greta Garbo vehicles, as well as pictures for other famous actresses, but some of them are remarkably lovely pictorially, and the romances are more effective than here, too. "Flesh and the Devil" (1926), in particular, is a masterpiece in these regards. I wonder what a filmmaker better adept at exploiting nature as a character could've done with this film, though--namely, Swedish émigrés Victor Sjöström or Mauritz Stiller, for instance. Or, perhaps, the blind character here could've been exploited to comment on the loss of visual virtuosity in the transition from silents to talkies, as was the flower girl in Chaplin's "City Lights" (1931), or even how blindness was associated with art by Yevgeni Bauer in "Za schastem" (1917). Instead, there is spectacle in "The Trail of '98" to see, but one need overlook the narrative dullness.
    helpful•1
    0
    • Cineanalyst
    • Oct 31, 2019

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • May 8, 1929 (Canada)
      • United States
      • English
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • Denver, Colorado, USA
    • Production company
      • Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • 1 hour 27 minutes
      • Silent

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    Harry Carey, Dolores del Rio, and Ralph Forbes in The Trail of '98 (1928)
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