The Test

Really enjoyed this 1935 movie about RIN Tin Tin. James Welch Henderson Arkansas 10/07/21.

Fur trapper Brule Conway gets his German Shepherd dog Rin Tin Tin Jr. to guard his furs. A rival trapper and his sidekicks use a female dog to lure Rinnie away in order to steal the furs. Rinnie needs to track the thieves in order to recover the furs.

One of the series of films about the famous dog. Acting and script are not of the highest standard but it's a way of passing time. Stars Grant Withers, Grace Ford, Monte Blue and, of course, Rin Tin Tin.

In an impartial assessment of this picture I would consider it as a below average low-budget actioner, and probably give it about four stars out of ten. It features flaccid direction and poor acting - Grant Withers demonstrates his usual lack of charisma as the hero, and Monte Blue overacts as the villain. Although the locations are scenic and photographed adequately, any virtue in this was probably lost on me due to the poor quality of the print I viewed.

However, knowing that this film was made before regulations regarding the treatment of animals were incorporated into the production code, it is impossible for me to be impartial about it. Now I don't know how this picture was made, and it is possible that the depictions of animal cruelty it contains were a carefully orchestrated illusion, but in the knowledge of what went on at the time in the absence of production code regulations, and the fact that we are looking at a low-budget feature from a company I never heard of, I cannot view this film without great unease. In any event, these scenes are very unpleasant and I rate this film accordingly.