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"Tex Ritter Series ... Hittin' the Trail (1937) ... Grand Na

J. Lovins | Missouri-USA | 01/19/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Grand National presents "HITTIN' THE TRAIL" (3 April 1937) (57 mins/B&W) -- Tex Ritter was an American country singer and actor --- From his very first film in 1936 through some of his best loved singing Westerns of the mid '40s, he gave the American public some of the best B-Westerns of that era --- Ritter also worked on various radio programs --- In 1932, he starred on the WOR Radio show The Lone Star Rangers, which was New York's first broadcast western --- He sang songs and told tales of the Old West --- Ritter wrote and starred in Cowboy Tom's Roundup on WINS Radio in New York in 1933 --- This daily children's cowboy radio program aired over three stations on the East Coast for three years --- These shows marked the beginning of Ritter's popularity in radio, which paved the way for his upcoming singing career --- He also performed on the radio show WHN "Barndance" and sang on NBC Radio --- He appeared in several radio dramas, including CBS's "Bobby Benson's Adventures" and "Death Valley Days".

Ritter began recording for American Record Company (Columbia Records) in 1933 --- His first released recording was "Goodbye Ole Paint.", also recorded "Rye Whiskey" at that label. In 1935, he signed with Decca Records, where he recorded his first original recordings, "Sam Hall" and "Get Along Little Dogie."

In 1936, he moved to Los Angeles, California --- His motion picture debut was in "Song Of The Gringo" (1936) for Grand National Pictures --- He starred in twelve movies for Grand National, "B" grade Westerns, love that art deco "Grand National Pictures" animated clock logo at the start and finish of the movie --- Which included "Tex Rides with the Boy Scouts" (1937), and "Trouble In Texas" (1937) co-starring Rita Hayworth (then known as Rita Cansino). (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Under the production staff of:
Robert North Bradbury - Director
Edward F. Finney - Producer
Robert Emmett Tansey - Screenwriter
Gus Peterson - Cinematographer
Frank Sanucci - Composer (Music Score)
Fred Bain - Editor
Corson Jowett - Sound/Sound Designer
Al Lane - Production Manager

Our story line and plot, James Clark (Earl Dwire) is unable to move his stolen horses --- When Tex Randall (Tex Ritter) arrives in town, Clark tricks him into moving them for him --- He stakes him at roulette, has his crony let him win, and then sells him the horses --- When Tex gets the horses across the state line, he plans to have his henchmen take care of Tex and take repossession of the horses --- The Tex Ritter series of Westerns produced independently by Edward F. Finney for release by Grand National --- Check out some of my favorite B-Western character actors Charles King, Earl Dwire, Ed Cassidy and Hank Worden -- As a studio Grand National Pictures only lasted for a couple of years -- Seeing what success Republic had with Gene Autry and Roy Rogers, they signed Tex Ritter from The Grand Old Opry as their singing cowboy --- The production values aren't as good as Republic oaters, but very original within the framework of B-Westerns

the cast includes
Tex Ritter ... Tex Randall
White Flash ... Tex's Horse
Jerry Bergh ... Jean Reed
Tommy Bupp ... Billy Reed
Earl Dwire ... James Clark
Charles King ... Henchman
'Snub' Pollard ... Bartender
Ed Cassidy ... Sheriff Grey
Jack C. Smith ... Dad Reed
Archie Ricks ... Tombstone Kid
Hank Worden ... Sidekick Hank
Ray Whitley ... Musician
The Range Ramblers ... Ray Whitley's Band
Earl Phelps ... Musician, Ray Whitley's Range Ramblers (as The Phelps Brothers)
Norman Phelps ... Musician, Ray Whitley's Range Ramblers (as The Phelps Brothers)
Willie Phelps ... Musician, Ray Whitley's Range Ramblers (as The Phelps Brothers)
Ken Card ... Banjo player, Ray Whitley's Range Ramblers
The Texas Tornadoes ... 2nd Band Group (as Tex Ritter's Tornadoes)
Steve Clark ... Townsman
Smokey the Dog ... Billy's Dog
Chick Hannon ... Member of Tombstone's Riders
Robert Hoag ... Member Texas Tornadoes Band
Jack Kirk ... Posse Rider
Harley Luse ... Member Texas Tornadoes Band
Buck Morgan ... Member of Tombstone's Riders
Fred Parker ... Townsman
Rudy Sooter ... Musician, Texas Tornadoes Band
Glenn Strange ... Posse Rider

BIOS:
Tex Ritter (aka: Woodward Maurice Ritter)
Date of Birth: 12 January 1905 - Murvaul, Texas
Date of Death: 2 January 1974 - Nashville, Tennessee

TEX RITTER WESTERN DOUBLE FEATURE FROM VCI ENTERTAINMENT:
Vol 1: Marshal of Gunsmoke & Oklahoma Raiders (VCI #7204)
Vol.2: Arizona Days & Arizona Trail (VCI #7294)
Vol 3: Rollin' Plains & Song of the Gringo (VCI #7302)

CLASSIC WESTERNS - TEX RITTER FOUR FEATURE FROM VCI ENTERTAINMENT:
Marshal of Gunsmoke; Oklahoma Raiders; Arizona Days & Trouble In Texas

Hats off and thanks to Les Adams (collector/guidelines for character identification), Chuck Anderson (Webmaster: The Old Corral/B-Westerns.Com), Boyd Magers (Western Clippings), Bobby J. Copeland (author of "Trail Talk"), Rhonda Lemons (Empire Publishing Inc), Bob Nareau (author of "The Real Bob Steele") and Trevor Scott (Down Under DVD Com) as they have rekindled my interest once again for Film Noir, B-Westerns and Serials --- looking forward to more high quality releases from the vintage serial era of the '30s & '40s and B-Westerns --- order your copy now from Amazon or VCI Entertainment where there are plenty of copies available on DVD --- stay tuned once again for top notch action mixed with musical adventure --- if you enjoyed this title, why not check out Amazon or VCI where they are experts in releasing B-Westerns --- all my heroes have been cowboys!

Total Time: 57 mins on DVD ~ Grand National ~ (5/20/2003)"

Did somebody say horse trading?

Daniel Jolley | Shelby, North Carolina USA | 02/08/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Tex Ritter was Hittin' the Trail once again in this 1937 Grand National motion picture. Before Tex Randall (Ritter) and his pal Hank (Hank Worden) even ride in to town, Tex is accused by the local sheriff of being the outlaw he just traded horses with. Fortunately for Tex, the man the Tombstone Kid tried to kill, James Clark (Earl Dwire), clears him of the crime. Clark even goes one better, and tries to talk Tex into a little horse trading - despite the fact Tex is quite broke. That's not a problem, though, as Clark gives him some money to gamble with and fixes it so he wins big. Ladies and gentlemen, let the horse trading begin. Clark sells Tex a herd of stolen horses he can't spirit over the border himself, then Tex trades those horses for those of upstanding citizen (and Clark nemesis) Dad Reed (Jack C. Smith), and then Clark's gang steals THAT set of horses from under Tex's nose while Clark has Reed arrested for stealing the horses that he originally stole himself. Tex, now branded an outlaw by the sheriff, has to find a way to get the horses stolen from him back and prove that he didn't steal them in the first place.

This is pretty standard fare, but a number of things make Hittin' the Trail an interesting film. Tex sings a number of songs, of course, including the can't-miss classic Blood on the Saddle. Then you have child actor Tommy Bupp playing young Billy Reed and singing a fine song about being a rootin' tootin' sheriff. Tex Ritter's Tornadoes also get a couple of numbers of their own, including a fun little ditty called Texas Washboard Rag. Of course, there always has to be a little filly thrown in the mix somewhere, and this time it's Jerry Bergh as Jean Reed. Bergh is far from the most glamorous of Tex's leading ladies; in fact, I think she has schoolmarm written all over her, but since she's apparently the only female in the entire town, I reckon Tex had to settle with what he could get."