The Painted Trail (1938)
Tom Keene, formerly George Duryea and latterly Richard Powers, made his final starring appearance in the Monogram western The Painted Trail. Keene is cast as a former federal agent who is drawn out of retirement to stem the activities of smugglers Boss (Leroy Mason) and Driscoll (Walter Long). Disguising himself as an outlaw, our hero gains the confidence of the two desperadoes, only to be found out at the least appropriate time. Rest assured that Keene saves the day and manages to march ingenue Ann (Eleanore Stewart) to the altar.
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Fresh and Exciting
The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.
There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes
One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.
Tom Keene, who is rapidly becoming one of my favorite western actors, stars as Tom Gray a government agent who is called back into action to help stop cattle smuggling (and worse) along the Texas Mexico border. Posing as the Pecos Kid he runs into trouble when he meets a young woman who knows him from a previous assignment.Its a rip roaring action film thats a great deal of fun. It doesn't completely follow the typical formula to the letter and its better for it. Its a wonderful western, even for those who don't like westerns.Sure its mindless but its was a great way to spend 50 minutes7 out of 10
An average B-Western, "The Painted Trail" has a stock plot and routine characters, but contains a reasonable amount of action, and the acting is not too bad. It stars Tom Keene as a US Marshall who tries to infiltrate a gang of smugglers and cattle rustlers, in an attempt to gather evidence about their activities. This idea wasn't even new in the 30's, and the story that follows is almost completely predictable after the first couple of scenes. Keene is likable enough (even if his acting is nothing special) to help make you want to see whether or not he can pull it off. There's not all that much here, but it's watchable for those who like Westerns of the era.