Hittin' the Trail

Rating:
Summary: Did somebody say horse trading?
Review: 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.