The Devil's Trail (1942)
1h 1m | PG-13
Our heroes head to a wide-open town in search of a gang of desperadoes, headed by swarthy Noah Beery Jr. Along the way, Elliot and Ritter find time to pitch woo to leading lady Eileen O'Hearn. The Devil's Trail was based on a story with the more intriguing title "The Town in Hell's Backyard."
Director: Lambert Hillyer
Studio: Columbia Pictures
Genre: Western
Video: 720p
Cast
Bill Elliott
as 'Wild' Bill Hickok
Tex Ritter
as Marshal Tex Martin
Eileen O'Hearn
as Myra Willoughby
Frank Mitchell
as Cannonball
Noah Beery
as Bull McQuade
Ruth Ford
as Ella
Reviews
This is one of those stories set around the formation of the United States - where vested interests, in this case "McQuade" (Noah Beery), try to thwart the wishes of the ordinary folks to join the union. He is a bit of a bully, in a town where the law is whatever he decides it is. The arrival of marshal "Tex" (Tex Ritter) who is chasing "Bill Kickok" (Bill Elliott) throws a spanner in his works, though, as the two decide to join forces and bring "McQuade" to justice. This is quite a quickly paced western, but the production standards are very basic, with the acting not a great deal better. An effort has been made to create a sense movement with the production, there is some action now and again but for the most part it's all really quite drab and predictable.