The Trail of the Lonesome Pine

Introduction

This isn't a Laurel and Hardy film but is the third film adaptation of John Fox Jr.'s novel The Trail of the Lonesome Pine, set in the Kentucky Mountains at the turn of the century. A blood feud has been raging between the Tollivers and the Falins for so long that they can barely remember when it started or what it's about. Developer Jack Hale arrives and buys some Tolliver land to continue his railroad and falls in love with Jane Tolliver, sparking a love triangle with her jealous cousin, Dave.

Envious of their enemies' new wealth, the Falins escalate the violence, dragging Hale into the conflict with tragic consequences.

Video

This was the first feature film shot outside a studio in 3-strip Technicolor and, for 1936, looks remarkably good and presented in the OAR of 1.37:1. Understandably, there is some colour bleeding and grain and, despite the picture being remastered, the reel-change circles and line scratches (both in bright green!) still remain.

The film is very well shot and the location shooting in the California Mountains pays dividends.

Audio

A decent Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono soundtrack, with clear dialogue and a typically rousing score for a 1930s melodrama, which earned the composer an Oscar nomination. Given the film's title, someone had to sing "In the blue-ridged mountains of Virginia" and they do, at a particularly emotional moment.

Conclusion

Director Henry Hathaway gathered a rather impressive cast for this, including Sylvia Sidney, Fred MacMurray and Henry Fonda, who are all excellent and show why they later became Hollywood stars.

At first I was in MST3K mode, making sarky comments about the dialogue and slightly corny composition, but it didn't last very long. I actually liked this more than I anticipated, not being a big fan of romantic drama, though admittedly I appreciate it from a technical, rather than emotional standpoint. It's a very well crafted film, with fine performance, but an RRP of £16 is ambitious for a bare-bones DVD.