On the Great White Trail

On the Great White Trail
On the Great White Trail
	Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Albert Herman
Written by	Laurie York Erskine (story); Charles Logue (screenplay); Joseph F. Poland (screenplay);
Produced by	Albert Herman (producer)
Starring	See below
Cinematography	Ira H. Morgan
Edited by	Duke Goldstone
Production; company	Criterion Pictures
Distributed by	Grand National Pictures
Release date	July 22, 1938;
Running time	58 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

On the Great White Trail also known as Renfrew on the Great White Trail is a 1938 American Northern starring James Newill as Sgt. Renfrew of the Royal Mounted in the second of the film series. It was produced and directed by Albert Herman.

Plot

Even in the remote fur trading section of Canada, Sergeant Douglas Renfrew finds a lady in distress. Kay Larkin, whose father is a suspect to a crime. Larkin's partner, along with another Mountie, are found murdered: word came down from the remote region of the Pacific Northwest from Dr. Howe, who resides there. But after finding old man Larkin, and arresting him in the name of the Crown, Renfrew hears his story and suspect's Kay's father is innocent of the charges. Pierre, an employee of a trading post up north, is suspect until Dr. Howe's guilt is revealed. Howe committed the murders and attempted to frame Larkin. The motive was theft and greed that resulted in a murder neither party wanted to be involved, then attempted to cover their tracks.

Cast

James Newill as Sgt. Renfrew
Terry Walker as Kay Larkin
Robert Frazer as Andrew Larkin
Richard Alexander as Doc Howe
Richard Tucker as Inspector Newcom
Bob Terry as Sergeant Kelly
Eddie Gribbon as RCMP Constable Patsy
Walter McGrail as Garou
Philo McCullough as Henchman Williams
Charles King as Henchman LaGrange
Juan Duval as Henchman Pierre
Victor Potel as Lyons
Silver King the Dog as King, Renfrew's Dog

Production

Replacing Lighting, the police dog from the first Renfrew movie, was another German Shepherd, Silver King, whose screen presence lasted a mere half a dozen movies. Director Al Herman was contracted to direct two Renfrew movies. Because the studio, Grand National Pictures, filed bankruptcy, Criterion acquired the former contract and Herman fulfilled his obligation before departing the poverty row studio for another low-budget entity, Monogram. Herman would go on to direct a number of Tex Ritter westerns.^[1]

Soundtrack

James Newill - "Mounted Men" (Written by Betty Laidlaw and Robert Lively)
James Newill - "You're Beautiful" (Written by Lew Porter)
James Newill - "Je T'aime" (Written by Lew Porter and Bob Taylor)

References

^ Grams, Martin. Renfrew of the Mounted: A History of Laurie York Erskine's Canadian Mountie Franchise, OTR Publishing, 2020. ISBN 979-8699041442.

External links

On the Great White Trail at IMDb
On the Great White Trail is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive

This 1930s Western film–related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[1] Grams, Martin. Renfrew of the Mounted: A History of Laurie York Erskine's Canadian Mountie Franchise, OTR Publishing, 2020. ISBN 979-8699041442.

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