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 ...
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Title: Hittin' the Trail (1937)
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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 | |
|
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The Range Ramblers | ... | Ray Whitley's Band |
|
|
The Phelps Brothers | ... | Musicians (as The Phelps Bros.) |
|
|
Ken Card | ... | Banjo Player - Ray Whitley's Range Ramblers |
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Plot Summary
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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 ... Written by Les Adams <longhorn1939@suddenlink.net>
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." See more »Genres:
WesternParents Guide:
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(aka "The Renegade Song") (uncredited)
Written by Glenn Strange
Sung by Tex Ritter and the posse riders (including Glenn Strange and Jack Kirk)
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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). See more »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)
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Details
Country:
USALanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
3 April 1937 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
Hittin' the Trail for Home See more »Filming Locations:
Kernville, California, USACompany Credits
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The guys Hittin' The Trail are Tex Ritter and his sidekick Hank Worden who have a string of horses when they are mistaken for the notorious Tombstone Kid and his outlaw henchman. Of course Tex and Hank are cleared later and the sheriff releases them, but that only gets them in deeper involved in the local outlaw situation.
Either a bad script or bad editing made the plot a bit vague and hard to follow. The film seems to have eschewed Ritter the cowboy hero for Ritter the country and western singing star and musical numbers abound in Hittin' The Trail. It's the saving grace of the film.
It also shows what a bad reputation will get you as the real Tombstone Kid is a convenient place to put blame for all the lawbreaking committed by the film's real villain Earl Dwire who was in many a John Wayne B western for the various companies he worked for in the Thirties. Of course it all gets straightened out in the end, much to the satisfaction of the rancher's daughter Jerry Bergh.
Ritter's film career might have been better served had he been one of Republic's stable of cowboy heroes. As it is this film was done by the shortlived B studio Grand National and the seams do show.