The Tiger's Trail

Last updated

The Tiger's Trail
Ruth Roland 1919.jpg
Advert for film
Directed by Robert Ellis
Louis J. Gasnier
Paul Hurst
Screenplay byGilson Willets
Story by Charles A. Logue
Based onThe Long Arm
by Arthur B. Reeve
Starring Ruth Roland
George Larkin
Distributed by Pathé Exchange
Astra Films
Release date
  • April 20, 1919 (1919-04-20)
Running time
15 episodes
CountryUnited States
LanguageSilent (English intertitles)

The Tiger's Trail is a 1919 American adventure film serial starring Ruth Roland, directed by Robert Ellis, Louis J. Gasnier and Paul Hurst. A "fragmentary print" from the serial survives. [1]

Contents

Plot

As described in a film magazine, [2] Grim Gordon (Strong) is in possession of the Tiger Idol, stolen from a religious sect of Hindu tiger worshipers on an East Indian island that he and Peter Strong and Col. Boyd visited years earlier. The two latter men were killed, but Belle Boyd (Roland), daughter of the colonel, is alive and has part of the "Pact of Three," a document torn into three parts that shows the location of a treasure discovered during the expedition.

Gordon has a pitchblende mine in the western United States, and among the workers are Hindus and Tiger Worshipers. Upon her arrival from an eastern school, Belle Boyd, ward of Gordon, is attacked by a gang of outlaws headed by Bull Shotwell (Kohler), but her life is saved by Jack Randall (Larkin), a mining engineer. Jack is employed by Gordon but helps the heroine Belle in outwitting the evil forces surrounding her that are attempting to obtain her portion of the torn Pact of Three. In one episode Belle is put into a cage with a live Bengal tiger, and in others she is the subject of several kidnapping attempts.

Cast

Production

This serial, about a Hindu tiger worshiping sect and western outlaws, was based on The Long Arm by C. A. Logue. [3] (SilentEra.com states that the serial was adapted by Gilson Willets from The Long Arm by Arthur B. Reeve). [1]

Real tigers were used in filming. The serial includes the "famous scene" of a human chain formed from the roof of a train, which enables the criminals to steal a valuable parcel from Ruth's compartment. [3]

Episodes

  1. The Tiger Worshippers
  2. The Glowing Eyes
  3. The Human Chain
  4. Danger Signals
  5. The Tiger Trap
  6. The Secret Assassin
  7. The Flaming Waters
  8. Danger Ahead
  9. The Raging Torrent
  10. Bringing In The Law
  11. In The Breakers
  12. The Two Amazons
  13. The False Idol
  14. The Mountain Hermit
  15. The Tiger Face

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Holt (actor)</span> American actor (1888–1951)

Charles John Holt, Jr. was an American motion picture actor who was prominent in both silent and sound movies, particularly Westerns.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ruth Roland</span> American actress

Ruth Roland was an American stage and film actress and film producer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kenne Duncan</span> Canadian-American actor (1903–1972)

Kenne Duncan was a Canadian-born American B-movie character actor. Hyped professionally as "The Meanest Man in the Movies," the vast majority of his over 250 appearances on camera were Westerns, but he also did occasional forays into horror, crime drama, and science fiction. He also appeared in over a dozen serials.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anne Gwynne</span> American actress (1918–2003)

Anne Gwynne was an American actress who was known as one of the first scream queens because of her numerous appearances in horror films. Gwynne was also one of the most popular pin-ups of World War II. She is the maternal grandmother of actor Chris Pine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marin Sais</span> American actress (1890–1971)

Marin Sais was an American actress whose career was most prolific during the silent film era of the 1910s and 1920s. Sais' acting career spanned over four decades and she is possibly best recalled for appearing in Western themed films.

<i>Pirates of Malaysia</i> 1964 film

The Pirates of Malaysia is a 1964 swashbuckler directed by Umberto Lenzi and starring Steve Reeves as Sandokan the pirate. This film was a sequel to Reeve's 1963 film Sandokan the Great, also directed by Lenzi. Malaysian rebel, Sandokan, with his group of renegades, tries to thwart a British general from forcing the good Sultan Hassim to resign in favour of the Imperial crown.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Mulhall</span> American actor (1887–1979)

John Joseph Francis Mulhall was an American film actor beginning in the silent film era who successfully transitioned to sound films, appearing in over 430 films in a career spanning 50 years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fred Kohler</span> American actor (1888–1938)

Fredrick Louis Kohler was an American actor.

<i>Cody of the Pony Express</i> 1950 film by Spencer Gordon Bennet

Cody of the Pony Express is a 1950 American Western serial film directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet. It starred Jock Mahoney, Dickie Moore, Peggy Stewart and William Fawcett.

<i>Roar of the Iron Horse</i> 1951 film by Spencer Gordon Bennet, Thomas Carr

Roar of the Iron Horse is a 1951 American Western Serial film directed by Spencer Gordon Bennet and Thomas Carr and starring Jock Mahoney and Virginia Herrick.

<i>Hands Up</i> (serial) 1918 film

Hands Up is a lost 1918 American adventure film serial directed by Louis J. Gasnier and James W. Horne. The serial was Ruth Roland's breakthrough role.

<i>Ruth of the Rockies</i> 1920 film

Ruth of the Rockies is a 1920 American silent Western film serial directed by George Marshall. Two of the 15 episodes survive in the UCLA Film and Television Archive.

<i>The Red Circle</i> (serial) 1915 film

The Red Circle is a 1915 American drama film serial directed by Sherwood MacDonald. The film is considered to be lost although a short trailer for the film survives, as well as short paper print segments. The Red Circle was Ruth Roland's first serial role.

<i>The Timber Queen</i> 1922 film

The Timber Queen is a 1922 American action silent film serial directed by Fred Jackman. The film serial stars Ruth Roland and Bruce Gordon. Produced by Pathé Exchange, the serial was advertised as "The beautiful scenery! The forest, the train, everything just looks so 'outdoors'! Great cinematography." Next to Pearl White, another of Pathe studio's prominent serial queens, Ruth Roland appears in Western serials like Ruth of the Rockies (1920) and White Eagle (1922).

<i>Ruth of the Range</i> 1923 film

Ruth of the Range is a fifteen episode American adventure film serial starring Ruth Roland, in which a young woman attempts to rescue her father from a gang that has kidnapped him in order to find out his secret for making "Fuelite," a substitute for coal. The film was the final feature created by scenarist Gilson Willets for Pathe Productions, and is now thought to be a lost film.

Budd Leland Buster, was an American actor known for B western films. He was sometimes credited as Bud Buster, and as George Selk in his later work.

Murder in the Big House is a black-and-white American crime drama, released by Warner Bros in April 1942. Structured as an hour-long second feature, it is directed by the prolific specialist in low-budget action productions, B. Reeves Eason, and stars Van Johnson, who is top-billed above the title, in his first credited film role which represents the entire output of his six-month contract with the studio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fred Kohler Jr.</span> American actor (1911–1993)

Fred Kohler Jr. was an American actor who performed in a number of Westerns such as The Pecos Kid and Toll of the Desert. He played nearly 130 film and television roles between 1929 and 1978.

<i>Godless</i> (miniseries) American Western drama

Godless is an American Western drama television miniseries created, written and directed by Scott Frank. In the series, set in 1884, a young outlaw on the run from his vengeful mentor winds up in a small New Mexico town populated almost entirely by women. The seven-episode series began production in Santa Fe, New Mexico, in September 2016, and was released on Netflix globally on November 22, 2017. The series received positive reviews, and was named one of the year's 10 best by The Washington Post and Vanity Fair.

Bob Rose was an American actor and stuntman.

References

  1. 1 2 "Progressive Silent Film List: The Tiger's Trail". silentera.com. Retrieved March 11, 2013.
  2. Harrison, Louis Reeves (April 12, 1919). "Reviews and Advertising Aids: The Tiger's Trail". Moving Picture World. 40 (2). New York City: Chalmers Publishing Company: 278–79. Retrieved August 24, 2014.
  3. 1 2 Stedman, Raymond William (1971). "2. The Perils of Success" . Serials: Suspense and Drama By Installment. University of Oklahoma Press. p.  44. ISBN   978-0-8061-0927-5.