''Hittin' the Trail'' is a 1937 American

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

film directed by Robert N. Bradbury. It stars

singing cowboy A singing cowboy was a subtype of the archetypal cowboy hero of early Western films. It references real-world campfire side ballads in the American frontier, the original cowboys sang of life on the trail with all the challenges, hardships, and d ...

Tex Ritter Woodward Maurice Ritter (January 12, 1905 – January 2, 1974) was a pioneer of American country music, a popular singer and actor from the mid-1930s into the 1960s, and the patriarch of the Ritter acting family (son John, grandsons Jason and ...

and

Hank Worden Hank Worden (born Norton Earl Worden; July 23, 1901 – December 6, 1992) was an American cowboy-turned-character actor who appeared in many Westerns, including many John Ford films such as ''The Searchers'' and the TV series ''The Lone Ra ...

Plot

Penniless horse traders Tex and Hank meet a stranger in need of a horse. Though he has no money and the pair don't know who he is, when the stranger quotes "Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days" from Ecclesiastes 11, they loan him one of their horses. Sheriff Grey accuses Tex of being the Tombstone Kid, the stranger who they loaned a horse to. The Sheriff doesn't believe they aren't criminals until they take them to town where saloon owner James Clark affirms that Tex is not the Tombstone Kid, whose gang is being held in jail as horse thieves. Clark seeks to use Tex and Hank as a cover for his own gang stealing horses. Clark rigs the roulette wheel in his saloon where Tex wins on the money Clark loaned him; he agrees to buy a herd of horses from Clark to ride them to market, but Clark's gang sets the pair up as horse thieves.

Cast

as Tex Randall *

(billed as Heber Snow) as Sidekick Hank *Jerry Bergh as Jean Reed *Tommy Bupp as Billy Reed *

Earl Dwire Earl Dwire (October 3, 1883 – January 16, 1940), born Earl Dean Dwire, was an American character actor who appeared in more than 150 movies between 1921 and his death in 1940. Dwire acted for three years in stock theater with companies i ...

as James Clark * Charles King as Henchman *

'Snub' Pollard Harold Fraser (9 November 1889 – 19 January 1962), known professionally as Snub Pollard, was an Australian-born vaudevillian, who became a silent film comedian in Hollywood, popular in the 1920s. Career Born in Melbourne, Australia, on 9 No ...

as Bartender *Ed Cassidy as Sheriff Grey * Jack C. Smith as Dad Reed *Archie Ricks as Tombstone Kid * Ray Whitley as Musician *The Range Ramblers as Ray Whitley's Band *Earl Phelps as Musician, Ray Whitley's Range Ramblers *Norman Phelps as Musician, Ray Whitley's Range Ramblers *

Willie Phelps Willie Thomas Phelps (September 5, 1914 in Chesapeake City – March 1, 2004) was an American songwriter and country and western guitarist. He performed with his brothers Norman and Earl as the Phelps Brothers. His songs were recorded by country ...

as Musician, Ray Whitley's Range Ramblers *Ken Card as Banjo player, Ray Whitley's Range Ramblers *The Texas Tornadoes as 2nd Band Group *White Flash as Tex's Horse

Soundtrack

* Tex Ritter and Hank Worden - "Hittin' the Trail" (Written by Harry Miller) * Tommy Bupp - "I'm a Rippin' Snortin' Sheriff" (Written by Robert N. Bradbury and

Lindsley Parsons Lindsley Parsons (1905–1992) was an American film producer and screenwriter. He worked throughout his career at the low-budget Monogram Pictures and its successor, Allied Artists. He generally produced cheap gangster, action and Western films.A ...

) * Tex Ritter - "Blood on the Saddle" (Written by

Everett Cheatham Everett may refer to: Places Canada * Everett, Ontario, a community in Adjala–Tosorontio, Simcoe County * Everett Mountains, a range on southern Baffin Island in Nunavut United States * Everett, Massachusetts, in Middlesex County, Massachu ...

) * Ray Whitley and His Range Ramblers - "Ridin' the Old Prairie Trail" (Written by Ray Whitley) * Ray Whitley and His Range Ramblers - "Texas Washboard Rag" (Written by Ray Whitley) * Tex Ritter - "Headin' For Town" (Written by

Frank Sanucci Frank Sanucci (1901–1991) was an Argentine-born American composer who scored numerous films.Pitts p.255 Born in Buenos Aires he emigrated to the United States as a child. He worked in Hollywood on generally low-budget productions, many of the ...

) * Tex Ritter and the posse riders - "The Vagabond Song" aka "The Renegade Song" (Written by

Glenn Strange George Glenn Strange (August 16, 1899 – September 20, 1973) was an American actor who mostly appeared in Western films and was billed as Glenn Strange. He is best remembered for playing Frankenstein's monster in three Universal films d ...

) * Tex Ritter - "I'm A Natural Born Cowboy" (Written by

Rudy Sooter Rudy or Rudi is a masculine given name, sometimes short for Rudolf, Rudolph, Rawad, Rudra, Ruairidh, or variations thereof, a nickname and a surname which may refer to: People Given name or nickname *Rudolf Rudy Andeweg (born 1952), Dutch poli ...

)

External links

* * 1937 films 1930s English-language films American black-and-white films 1937 Western (genre) films Grand National Films films American Western (genre) films Films directed by Robert N. Bradbury 1930s American films {{1930s-Western-film-stub