Men of the Timberland
Cast & Crew
John Rawlins
Richard Arlen
Andy Devine
Linda Hayes
Francis Mcdonald
Willard Robertson
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
In the St. James forest district, Tim MacGregor, a crooked lumber contractor, plans to overharvest the timber on land owned by Eastern socialite Kay Hadley. When forest ranger Jim Dudley tells him that his main office will not agree to such a large harvest, MacGregor bribes the ranger to alter his survey reports. MacGregor's lead lumberjack, French-Canadian Jean Collet, becomes concerned when a new ranger, Dick O'Hara, arrives in town, just as MacGregor is about to sign the logging deal with Kay. Dick points out to Dudley that his timber permits do not coincide with old survey reports of the area. Dudley then goes to MacGregor for help, but the timber magnate refuses to cooperate. Collet kills Dudley that evening before he can tell Dick what he knows. Upon Dudley's disappearence, Dick asks MacGregor to halt the harvest for two weeks, and when he refuses, the ranger threatens to stop the entire harvest. MacGregor then hires noted lumberjack Andy Jensen to harvest the Hadley land as fast as possible. The harvest begins, but Collet worries that Dick, with help from fellow rangers Withers and Tex, will finish his survey before they can complete the harvest. Later, Andy and Kay discover Withers murdered, and Dick tells Andy that while he does not suspect him of the crime, he still intends to stop the harvest. After Collet shoots Tex in the arm, the wounded ranger tells Dick that the harvest is nearly over. Dick then attempts to finish the survey by himself, only to be jumped by Collet and two henchmen. As Collet is about to stab Dick in the back, Andy arrives and saves the ranger's life. The grateful Dick tells Andy that he has now finished the survey. Changing tactics, Collet breaks into the ranger station and burns what he thinks are the survey charts. When Tex returns unexpectedly, Collet stabs him in the back. After Dick finds his murdered comrade, he goes to the Blue Ox Saloon to arrest Collet. A brawl breaks out, with all the loggers attacking Dick, so Andy once again comes to the ranger's defense. In the midst of the fight, Collet throws his knife at Andy, but kills the lumberjack's best friend Lucky instead. Back at the ranger station, Andy arrives with the slain Lucky and vows to seek revenge. Dick stops the lumberjack and gets him to agree to assist him in his investigation. Kay then goes to MacGregor and Collet to offer them Dick's notebook, which seems to be the only remaining evidence against them. Dick, armed with a pistol, arrives just in time to recover the book from MacGregor, who then sends Collet to retrieve it. At the ranger station, Andy once again stops Collet from murdering Dick, and almost kills the French-Canadian with his bare hands. With Kay's assistance, Collet then confesses all. After Collet and MacGregor are convicted of first-degree murder, Andy and Kay open their own business, The Paul Bunyan Lumber Company. While Dick and Kay wander off to "someplace quiet," Andy finally learns that his old friend Lucky had been cheating him in their "friendly" poker game for over fifteen years.
Director
John Rawlins
Cast
Richard Arlen
Andy Devine
Linda Hayes
Francis Mcdonald
Willard Robertson
Paul E. Burns
Gaylord Pendleton
Hardie Albright
Roy Harris
John Ellis
Jack Rice
Sue Moore
Ralph Sanford
Ken Christy
Art Miles
Jack Voglin
Tom London
Chuck Morrison
Ethan Laidlaw
Crew
John W. Boyle
Bernard B. Brown
Milton Carruth
Ralph M. Delacy
R. A. Gausman
Charles Gould
Paul Jarrico
Griffin Jay
Jess Moulin
Jack Otterson
Ben Pivar
H. J. Salter
Maurice Tombragel
Maurice Wright
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The Hollywood Reporter review points out that this film makes extensive use of stock footage of the lumber industry, and also notes that the film's production values were higher than in previous Richard Arlen and Andy Devine pictures.
