Get the original film, Trail of the Vigilantes (1940), and the remake, The Daltons Ride Again (1945), for 20% off their individual prices!

TRAIL OF THE VIGILANTES (1940)

Starring Franchot Tone, Warren William, Broderick Crawford, Andy Devine, Mischa Auer,
Porter Hall
Directed by Allan Dwan

Print: black/white
Runtime: 75 min.
Genre: western
Print quality: B

Trail of the Vigilantes was conceived as a straight action picture, but was reshaped during
filming into a comedy western in the Destry Rides Again mode. Franchot Tone is the unlikely
hero, an undercover agent sent west to halt the activities of rustler Warren William. The
object of ridicule thanks to his dudelike ways, Tone makes a couple of powerful friends in
the form of saloon brawlers Broderick Crawford and Andy Devine. The film proceeds in a
comic vein for several reels (including setpieces featuring Mischa Auer, who'd also been in
Destry) before getting down to business with a lengthy, straight-faced action finale. Trail of
the Vigilantes didn't do as well as Destry Rides Again, perhaps because there was no
counterpart to Destry's Marlene Dietrich (leading lady Peggy Moran is appealing, but hardly
in Dietrich's league).

THE DALTONS RIDE AGAIN (1945)

Starring Alan Curtis, Kent Taylor, Lon Chaney Jr., Noah Beery Jr., Martha
O'Driscoll
Directed by Ray Taylor

Print: black/white
Runtime: 70 min.
Genre: western
Print quality: B

In this action western, the notorious Dalton Boys have decided to go
straight and move to Argentina. Just before they leave, they learn of a
friend whose land is about to be seized by a greedy land company. Before
they can help, the man is killed by a company assassin. The brothers do
manage to rescue his widow and head for the hills. There, they decide to
revert back to outlaw life. Meanwhile, a newspaper publisher's daughter
falls for one of the brothers. The boys decide to rob a bank. The robbery
goes horribly wrong and three of the four are killed. The remaining
brother stands trial and is given a life sentence. The publisher's daughter
vows to wait for him.