Directed by Lesley Selander
Screenplay by Arthur E. Orloff
From a story by William Lively
Cinematography: Nicholas Musuraca
Music by Paul Sawtell
Film Editor: Samuel E. Beetley
Cast: Tim Holt (Tim Holt), Richard Martin (Chito Rafferty), Linda Douglas (Peg Masters), Frank Wilcox (Regan), Robert Sherwood (Kenny Masters), John Pickard (Dawson), Kenneth MacDonald (Wheeler), Wendy Waldron (Maria), Patricia Wright (Saloon Girl), Tom London (Old Timer), John Merton (Dale)
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I’m way overdue for a Tim Holt Tuesday. Sorry, Mr. Holt.
By 1952, series Westerns were winding down, and Trail Guide (1952) would be one of the last of Tim Holt’s pictures for RKO. As the series began its ride into the sunset, the budgets got smaller — leaving Holt and Richard Martin, along with director Lesley Selander, to keep things going by simply being so damn good at what they do. And that’s what you have here, some real pros bringing effortless skill and charm to each and every one of the picture’s 60 minutes.
Tim and Chito lead a wagon train to Silver Springs (thanks to stock footage from Wagonmaster), a town where ranchers detest homesteaders. Tim encounters brother-and-sister ranchers (Linda Douglas and Robert Sherwood) and a crooked saloon owner (Frank Wilcox) as he tries to help the settlers stake their claims.
There’s a great fistfight, plenty of riding and the usual back-and-forth with Tim and Chito. It looks like they stayed closer to LA, probably for budget reasons, so we don’t have those stunning Lone Pine vistas. But DP Nicholas Musuraca makes the most of any location. His work is stunning in some of these things. When God’s your set decorator, budget doesn’t matter.
Linda Douglas consults the script.
Linda Douglas had a very short film career. She’d later marry Hank Greenberg of the Detroit Tigers. (There’s a great documentary on him, 1998’s The Life And Times Of Hank Greenberg. Look for it.) She’s fine here, and very pretty.
Frank Wilcox makes a great bad guy. (Why are saloon owners always crooks?) It was funny to have Wilcox talking about the oil found on the range, when a decade later, he’d play Mr. Brewster, the oil company executive who makes Jed Clampett a millionaire on The Beverly Hillbillies. Lighting isn’t around this time. Tom London is funny as an old codger with a supposedly trained dog.
It’s a shame that the series Western left us as things were getting so good — look at these Holts, the Monogram Wild Bill Elliott pictures or the Witney-directed Roy Rogers movies. Luckily, they made a lot of ’em, and they’re turning up on DVD and sometimes Blu-Ray looking terrific. Trail Guide can be found on Tim Holt Western Classics Collection, Volume 4 from Warner Archive. While there’s a fleck of dust or damaged frame here and there, it’s served up well. The four volumes leave a few pictures orphaned, probably due to problems with the available material. Hopefully they’ll turn up someday, and a fifth set will wrap ’em up. These sets are essential.
50 Westerns From The 50s. 
Re Linda Douglas. My understanding is that she married Hank Greenberg in 1966 and stayed married to him until his death, but in 1952 she married a guy named pat DiCicco, a Hollywood fixture, whatever that means, who also married Gloria Vanderbilt, Anderson’s momma. Oh, and she is still with us.
Just found out, that Linda Douglas as Mary Jo Greenberg died in 2017. Always sad news.
Always good to have a Tim Holt Tuesday, Toby. “TRAIL GUIDE” is not perhaps as good as some earlier post-was Holts for the reasons you identify but happily the Holts did maintain considerable quality right to the end.
Wild Bill Wednesday any time soon??!!
The least of these Holts is a pleasure — they’re just that good. Of course, I don’t need to tell you that, do I?
Yes, Wild Bill will be back on a Wednesday in the near future. Have one in the works now.
I recently bought WAGON TRAIN ,a 6 DVD set from Timeless .My main reason for buying it was because it has Ward Bond and John McIntire in it .I believe that no reason was given when Ward Bond died.This is not a bad set,but the cases are packed into the cardboard slipcase a little too tight.
Always enjoyed the Tim Holt series (both pre-war and post), and I’m constantly impressed by their high standards in plots, acting, and especially, photography. I guess the one entry that always stood out the most for me is “Brothers of the Saddle” (1949), which is an exceptionally solid b-western. I have all the dvd-sets that Warner Archives put out, and hope the remaining titles eventually make it as well.
Would have been neat if Sony could have put together some similar sets devoted to Tim’s pop, Jack. He made slews of nifty little action/adventure films for Columbia throughout the entirety of the 1930s. The Sony archive line released a handful, like “Black Moon” (1934), a real corker, “Unwelcome Stranger” (1935), a mild domestic drama with a horse-racing backdrop, and “Flight into Nowhere” (1938), a fun aviation/jungle mix. But that’s just a tiny drop in the bucket, when it comes to Jack Holt’s output for Columbia. Always wanted to see titles like “The Awakening of Jim Burke” (1935), “Trapped by G-Men” (1937), “North of Nome” (1937) and such.
In a way, it’s surprising that with such a variety of action fare that Columbia didn’t serve up more western vehicles for Jack Holt, considering his prominence in the genre dating back to his Paramount silents. The only one I’m aware of is “End of the Trail” (1936), which I’ve never seen. But back in the 1920s, Jack Holt starred in a number of high-grade westerns, including some Zane Grey titles. At least one of them, “Wild Horse Mesa” (1925), is available through Grapevine. It’s a real gem. I always particularly wanted to see Holt in “The Water Hole” (1928), but I think it only exists partially (missing reels…?), if at that. It also has Nancy Carroll as leading lady, shortly before she shot to stardom.
But outside of their series B-westerns (Jones, McCoy, Maynard, Starrett, Luden), I can’t think of much of any ‘western’ that Columbia made in the 1930s. Oh, I think they released a few isolated Larry Darmour productions, or other independent miscellanea like that “Heroes of the Alamo” (1938) thing. But offhand, I can’t think of much else. Maybe “Mine With the Iron Door” (1936), with Richard Arlen qualifies. It’s a nice little film, too. Although technically, it might be regarded an indie also, as a Sol Lesser effort. By the time 1940 rolled around, at least Columbia got into the game big-time with “Arizona.”
Great to hear it for Jack Holt, Bert. He added huge ‘presence’ in smaller roles late in his career (like “TRAIL OF ROBIN HOOD”) but I have seen virtually nothing from his long starring career. Would love to.
Quite a coincidence. I’ve just been watching THE GALLANT LEGION a Wild Bill Elliott film in which Jack Holt played the leader of the Texas Rangers. Quite a substansive roll for one of his later movies and he gave great substance to his role.
Yep, hoped my segue to Jack Holt fit the proceedings here. Always thought that for a film actor who had an impressive 25-year run as leading man, Jack seems unduly neglected when it comes to film history discussions. He was starring in a western short as far back as 1916, and by the following year was already thrust into some very prominent films. Then he starred in some of the most key westerns of the 1920s over at Paramount, and eventually headlined such a long series of B’s over at Columbia throughout the 1930s, going right up to 1941. Pretty long career as lead actor, with a ton of titles to his name. Just seems like he never really gets his due.
What ‘due’ would you have him get?
Put it this way. Is there another leading man who headlined as many films as Jack Holt, over the equivalent span of years, who is ‘less’ acknowledged in this internet-era of film fandom? It’s entirely possible, and I’m open to suggestions, but I can’t think of any offhand. Most times I’ve encountered folks discussing Holt, it’s in reference to his final starring role in the public-domain (and hence, very common) serial “Holt of the Secret Service” (1941). The opinions on the serial seem divided, as some roll their eyes at Holt fistfighting with up to six villainous henchmen at a time. But I’ve tended to generally like the serial, especially for the fun interplay between Holt and Evelyn Brent.
I have been enjoying Bert’s highly informative overview of Jack Holt’s
career and as Jerry mentions,would love to see more of his earlier work.
I have seen BLACK MOON which as Bert rightly says is a real corker-and
is out as a very nice looking Sony MOD disc.
Round about the same vintage I have also seen the disturbing legal drama
THE DEFENCE RESTS directed by underrated Lambert Hillyer.
Some of those Holt-Fay Wray films sound most interesting.
I don’t want to raise hopes but Germany’s Film Jewels have announced
THE DEERSLAYER (1957) on Blu Ray in widescreen and in English.
This title has been discussed on these pages before and I might add that
Film Jewels quality has had many negative comments regarding quality
especially regarding their Republic Western DVD’s.
As they are releasing THE DEERSLAYER on Blu Ray hopefully it will be
an improvement from their norm.
THE DEERSLAYER is an oddity,to be sure but many would love to see it
in high definition in it’s correct ratio at last…stay tuned!
Oh yes, “Black Moon” (1934) is a real goodie. Dorothy Burgess gives a particularly great performance. I attended a screening of the film at a Cinecon convention back in the early-1990s, which was supposedly the first time it was seen since its original release. The leading lady, Fay Wray, was present earlier that day at the convention, introducing special-effects wizard Linwood Dunn, who served up an interesting historical overview of his work. I sort of expected Miss Wray to show up for the “Black Moon” screening, but I don’t think she did. Anyway, it’s great that the film is so easily accessible nowadays. The ‘mod’ disc is available, and I think TCM has even aired it once or twice. The movie has long made me want to see some more of director Roy William Neill’s early efforts there at Columbia.
Just last night I watched Trail Guide, but did not realize that it was the great Tom London who was working with the dog, Genevieve.