Hittin' the Trail (1937)

This was one of the earlier uses of Robert Tansey's favorite plot (only the 3rd time he had trotted it out of the stable, but he got six more films out of it in later years) in which a ... See full summary »

Director:

Robert N. Bradbury (as R.N. Bradbury)

Writer:

Robert Emmett Tansey (screenplay) (as Robert Emmett)

Stars:

Tex Ritter, Earl Dwire, White Flash

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tex Ritter	...	Tex Randall
White Flash	...	White Flash
Jerry Bergh	...	Jean Reed
Tommy Bupp	...	Billy Reed
Earl Dwire	...	James Clark
Charles King	...	Henchman Slug
'Snub' Pollard	...	Bartender (as Snub Pollard)
Ed Cassidy	...	Sheriff Grey (as Edward Cassidy)
Jack C. Smith	...	Dad Reed (as Jack Smith)
Archie Ricks	...	Tombstone Kid
Hank Worden	...	Sidekick Hank (as Heber Snow)
Ray Whitley	...	Guitar Player
The Range Ramblers	...	Ray Whitley's Band
The Phelps Brothers	...	Musicians (as The Phelps Bros.)
Ken Card	...	Banjo Player - Ray Whitley's Range Ramblers

Storyline

This was one of the earlier uses of Robert Tansey's favorite plot (only the 3rd time he had trotted it out of the stable, but he got six more films out of it in later years) in which a group of outlaws (wrongly jailed this time) are let out to join up with the good guys against a worse bunch of outlaws. And, not unusual in the B-western genre, most of the production crew wore several hats; director Robert N. Bradbury and supervisor Lindsley Parsons wrote a song for Tommy Bupp, one of the actually good kid actors of the time who proved real quick-like that singing wasn't his strong suit, while Robert Emmett Tansey worked three jobs under three names... Robert Emmett on story and screenplay, Robert Tansey as the production manager and Al Lane as the assistant director. And, for a change, music director Frank Sanucci actually earned a composers' credit as he did write a song, as opposed to the multi-times some source keeps insisting on crediting him as a composer when he was really the ...

---

Plot Keywords:

b movie | poverty row film | singing cowboy | singing sidekick | song | 

---

Taglines:

THE HARD FIGHTIN', SMOOTH SINGIN' COWBOY STAR RIDES THE PRAIRIE PLAINS FOR THE BIG WILD HORSE ROUNDUP!...With His Pals---Little Tommy Bupp And The Marvelous Police Dog "Smokey."

---

Genres:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Music | Romance | Western

---

Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 April 1937 (USA)

Also Known As:

Hittin' the Trail for Home

Filming Locations:

Kernville, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Boots and Saddles Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

58 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The earliest documented telecasts of this film took place in Los Angeles Thursday 9 February 1950 on KNBH (Channel 4) and in New York City Saturday 22 July 1950 on WABD (Channel 5).

---

Connections

Edited into Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch (1976)

---

Soundtracks

The Vagabond Song
(aka "The Renegade Song") (uncredited)
Written by Glenn Strange
Sung by Tex Ritter and the posse riders (including Glenn Strange and Jack Kirk)

User Reviews

Great Songs Make Up For Thin Story

Big time horse thieves manipulate Tex and his partner Hank into transporting stolen horses across the border where they plan to kill them.

Tex Ritter was a great singer and one of the most likable of all the B-western stars. Here his charismatic charm and singing ability makes up for the lack of action or suspense in the first two-thirds of the film.

An abundance of lively music, including Tex's memorable rendition of "Blood On The Saddle" and an appearance by western singer (and writer of "Back In The Saddle Again") Ray Whitley and The Range Busters, make the slow parts worth watching despite the thin plot. It all really helps elevate this to the level of an above average singing cowboy picture.

The neat climax is worth waiting around for.