Stormy Trails

Love this Rex Bell action packed western. It starts out with a little brotherly brawl but quick turns to brother versus brother. An unusual twist in the plot when the sheriff (Murdock MacQuarrie) in a shooting he witnessed allows an inquest. Unfortunately the leading lady, the beauty queen Lois Wilde had short lived career. Earle Dwire never disappoints, this time as Rex's lawyer.

This was an extremely well written screenplay for an 'indie' . It moved flawlessly with several potential subplots. It is highly unusual to have a story like this that easily could have been an "A" western with the right studio . Bell was used to his maximum even though they kept trying to capitalize on his good looks. Like so many 'indies in the 30's , a lot of actors who were stars in the silent era are in this one. There is a lot of action even though it is not of the fisticuffs and riding variety . One of the only implausibilities occur when it is demanded of the Sheriff to have an inquest when he witnessed the shooting personally . That was the only real lame section in the script.Also the question of the gold being discovered on the Storm property never was explained how it all tied into the water rights. Yes, I know they tried, but they failed. If you're looking for a real 'sleeper' that is highly entertaining , this one is for you .

Rex Bell was a third-tier B-western star whose biggest claim to fame was marrying Clara Bow. And, after seeing "Stormy Trails" I can see why he wasn't nearly as famous as many of his contemporaries. It's not that Bell was bad in the movie, he wasn't, but he also lacked the charisma needed to be a big star...at least in this film.

As for the plot, it's not really like the summary on IMDB. It seems that someone is trying to destroy Tom (Bell) and take away his land. And, surprisingly, they're using Tom's brother in their schemes. They are working hard to make sure the note on Tom's land isn't paid...as they want that land...but for what reason?!

There's nothing wrong with this film nor is there anything that really stands out positively as well. A decent but routine B-western....one that might have been improved with a sidekick or a few laughs.