Trailing the Killer
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Herman C. Raymaker
Caesar, The Wolf Dog
Francis Macdonald
Heinie Conklin
Jose De La Cruz
Peter Rigas
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Trapper Pierre LaPlant lives alone with his dog, Lobo, who is part wolf, and with the various wildcats and wild animals that he traps and befriends. When Lobo is found near the mutilated bodies of some sheep, sheepherders Manuel and Pedro believe he is the killer. They threaten to kill Lobo, but Pierre defends him. Lobo then attacks one of the sheepherders after he raises a gun to him, but the sheepherder escapes unharmed and vows revenge. In truth, Lobo merely followed the trail of a puma to the bodies of the dead sheep. When the sheepherder's dog is killed by the puma, Lobo, awakened by the cry, runs after the cat. Pierre follows, and finding his trusted dog over the body of another dead sheep, believes that Lobo made the kill. Despite his great love for the dog, Pierre prepares to kill Lobo, when the puma, who has been hiding on a tree branch above, attacks and kills Pierre, and then runs off. The sheepherders find their dead dog, and then find Lobo by Pierre's body, and believing he is bloodthirsty, try to kill him. Lobo eludes them and returns to his she-wolf and their litter of puppies. Lobo mourns Pierre's death. Finally, the sheriff forms a posse and sets traps to capture Lobo, but they capture the she-wolf instead. Lobo cleverly releases her and they escape. One of the sheepherders sees the puma killing his sheep and realizes his mistake. The puma stalks one of Lobo's puppies, who eventually reaches land and hides safely, but when Lobo is caught in a snare, the puma becomes more interested in him as game. One of the shepherds finds Lobo and tries to shoot the puma, but he becomes caught in a trap. He is then horrified as he sees the cat stalk him. Lobo frees himself from the snare and rushes to rescue the sheepherder by fighting the puma until the posse arrives and shoots the puma. Grateful to Lobo for saving his life, the sheepherder adopts him, and his she-wolf and puppies, and once again the animals have a safe home.
Director
Herman C. Raymaker
Cast
Caesar, The Wolf Dog
Francis Macdonald
Heinie Conklin
Jose De La Cruz
Peter Rigas
Tom London
Crew
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
A news item in Film Daily notes the working title was The Claws of the Killer, and that Bennie F. Zeidman took a leave of absence from RKO for this production. According to copyright records, Caesar's owner was Bert Tonks. The viewed print had the title Call of the Wilderness. A news item in The Exhibitor noted that Franklin D. Roosevelt, then President-elect, viewed the film and "said he enjoyed it immensely."
