By Frank Miller
Sundown Trail
Brief Synopsis
A ranch foreman and an Eastern lady inherit a ranch.
Cast & Crew
Read More
Robert F. Hill
Director
Tom Keene
Robert "Buck" Sawyer
Marion Shilling
Dorothy "Dottie" Beals
Nick Stuart
Flash Prescott
Hooper Atchley
George Marsden
Stanley Blystone
Joe Currier
Film Details
Genre
Western
Release Date
Sep
11,
1931
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
RKO Pathé Pictures, Inc.
Distribution Company
RKO Pathé Distributing Corp.
Country
United States
Technical Specs
Duration
56m
Sound
Mono (RCA Photophone System)
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Film Length
6 reels
Synopsis
While heading for her deceased father's New Mexican ranch to hear the reading of his will, Eastern-bred Dorothy "Dottie" Beals and her attorney, George Marsden, are held up and stranded by Joe Currier and his gang of outlaws. Despite Dottie's previous snubbing of him, Robert "Buck" Sawyer, the manager of the ranch, pursues the outlaws and is wounded during a shootout with them. To Dottie's dismay, a clause in her father's will states that to inherit the lucrative ranch she will have to live on it for five years with Buck as manager. Wary of Buck, the greedy Marsden tries to convince Dottie, his reluctant fiancée, that Buck staged the robbery in order to scare her away and claim the ranch for himself. Dottie is attracted to Buck, in spite of her proclaimed loathing of cowboys, and resists Marsden's accusations, until Flash Prescott, a childhood friend of Buck's, arrives at the ranch. Flash has come to buy $10,000 worth of cattle for Currier, and during the transaction, Dottie recognizes his voice from the hold-up and confronts Buck with her finding. Although Buck denies knowledge of Flash's crime, he rushes to warn his friend, who has been reported to the sheriff. At Currier's corral, Buck overwhelms several outlaws and rescues Flash, who was knocked out and tied up by Currier when he refused to participate in his scheme to take Dottie's cattle and steal back the purchase money. After giving Flash instructions to flee to Montana, Buck rides to Dottie's ranch, where Currier and his men are holding her and Marsden at gunpoint. While Buck fights for Dottie's freedom, Flash rides for help on the range. Before Flash and the other cowboys arrive, Buck singlehandedly defeats Currier and his men. For his bravery, Buck receives a kiss from Dottie, who reminds him that, according to her father's will, he is obligated to take care of her for the rest of his life. Buck then sends Flash on his way to Montana.
Director
Robert F. Hill
Director
Cast
Tom Keene
Robert "Buck" Sawyer
Marion Shilling
Dorothy "Dottie" Beals
Nick Stuart
Flash Prescott
Hooper Atchley
George Marsden
Stanley Blystone
Joe Currier
Alma Chester
Ma Stoddard
William Welsh
Pa Stoddard
Murdock Macquarrie
Judge Lawlor
Louise Beavers
Jenny
Crew
Film Details
Genre
Western
Release Date
Sep
11,
1931
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
RKO Pathé Pictures, Inc.
Distribution Company
RKO Pathé Distributing Corp.
Country
United States
Technical Specs
Duration
56m
Sound
Mono (RCA Photophone System)
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Film Length
6 reels
Articles
Sundown Trail -
For his first Western at RKO, Tom Keene took on outlaws and a headstrong heiress. He stars s the foreman of a prosperous ranch whose owner has just died. When the owner's daughter shows up, hoping to sell the spread quickly, she learns that she must live at the ranch with Keene as her foreman for five years or the whole estate goes to Keene. Her resentment and dislike of cowboys sets the stage of a series of romantic confrontations complicated boyfriend Hooper Atchley's attempts to scare her off so he can buy the place at a steal and outlaw chief Stanley Blystone, out to plunder the land for himself. Keene would make 12 Westerns for RKO over three years before leaving to pursue more varied roles. Leading lady Marion Schilling had started out at MGM but soon found herself consigned to low-budget Westerns, starting with Sundown Trail. Although her horsemanship in this film is decidedly lacking, when she realized Westerns were going to comprise the main part of her career, she learned how to ride and became a Saturday matinee favorite opposite stars like Buck Jones, Tim McCoy, Rex Bell and Hoot Gibson.
By Frank Miller
By Frank Miller
Sundown Trail -
For his first Western at RKO, Tom Keene took on outlaws and a headstrong heiress. He stars s the foreman of a prosperous ranch whose owner has just died. When the owner's daughter shows up, hoping to sell the spread quickly, she learns that she must live at the ranch with Keene as her foreman for five years or the whole estate goes to Keene. Her resentment and dislike of cowboys sets the stage of a series of romantic confrontations complicated boyfriend Hooper Atchley's attempts to scare her off so he can buy the place at a steal and outlaw chief Stanley Blystone, out to plunder the land for himself. Keene would make 12 Westerns for RKO over three years before leaving to pursue more varied roles. Leading lady Marion Schilling had started out at MGM but soon found herself consigned to low-budget Westerns, starting with Sundown Trail. Although her horsemanship in this film is decidedly lacking, when she realized Westerns were going to comprise the main part of her career, she learned how to ride and became a Saturday matinee favorite opposite stars like Buck Jones, Tim McCoy, Rex Bell and Hoot Gibson.
By Frank Miller
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
Sundown Trail was Tom Keene's first western for RKO Pathé Pictures. According to a July 1931 Hollywood Reporter news item, scenes for the film were shot in Victorville, CA.
