Rin Tin Tin - Law of the Wild

"The Law of the Wild" is a 1934 Mascot serial directed by Armand Schaefer and B. Reeves Eason, starring Rex, King of Wild Horses, Rin-Tin-Tin Junior and some humans. It could use more plot, but the same can be said of many Western serials, some with much higher budget.John Sheldon (Bob Custer) is ambushed and left for dead by his ranch hand Lou Salters (Richard Alexander) who steals Rex, planning to make a lot of money racing him. But racetrack sharks Nolan and Raymond (Richard Cramer and Ernie Adams) have been watching the secret tryouts, and scheme to obtain Rex from Salters by legal or other means. Salters gets a telegram that Sheldon is alive and on his trail, so he sends his partner Luger (Edmund Cobb) to deal with the problem. Sheldon's horse is shot out from under him, but he is rescued by Alice Ingram (Lucile Browne), the daughter of a rancher (Lafe McKee), and eventually gets to the racetrack where Rex wins the race, at odds of 100 to one. Both sets of crooks do well on the betting but Luger argues with Salters, and when Sheldon finds Rex, he also finds Salters, dead with a knife in his back. Nolan and Raymond, with their new associate Luger and a fake bill of sale for Rex, convince the sheriff (Jack Rockwell) that Sheldon killed Salters, and the chase begins, with Alice, her hired hand Henry (Ben Turpin), Rex and Rinty helping Sheldon find the real murderer and disprove Nolan's claim that he owns Rex.It cannot be said that originality is a strong point of the plot. It uses many elements from the B Westerns of the time, and probably some stock footage, including a "stallion fight" (seen twice) that later might have aroused the ire of the ASPCA. The plot is thin for twelve chapters, lacking in mystery and the situations are redundant -- how many times can Rinty get clubbed or shot or trampled or crushed by an overturned automobile and survive? -- and there are a couple continuity bloopers, so it helps a lot to watch it one chapter at a time, with at least a day between them. This is not a serial for those who want "the whole story" in a single sitting. While for that purpose chapters three through ten could be bypassed without a lot of harm, much of the main redeeming element would then be missing: Ben Turpin, the top-billed human. While there is some excess of his cross-eyed routine, and in the first chapter he looks like the dreaded "comic relief" character, he is later shown to be intelligent, and provides the hero with considerable help. This is doubtless his longest role in sound films, and he does talk. The others handle their parts capably, and if Rin-Tin-Tin Junior isn't up to his father's abilities, he knows the basics: how to play dead and lame, chase automobiles, attack Edmund Cobb and growl. Richard Cramer is splendidly nasty as the chief bad guy Nolan, and his nervous assistant Ernie Adams provides some welcome low-key humor. As with other Mascot serials from 1934, background music is only occasionally used, and not too effectively. Bob Custer makes a convincing hero, getting some of the action footage, though he should have had a greater variety of complications to overcome. The outdoor photography helps give the serial a better-finished look than many from Mascot, and some good stunt work by Yakima Canutt partially makes up for the woeful studio perils by rear projection screen.Alpha's DVD, ALP 5201D, looks like a copy of a videotape, though a decent transfer. In a couple places, including the opening of Chapter Seven some "flagging" can be seen at the very top of screen, where the error exceeded the limits of the time-base stabilizer, but this is a barely-noticable defect. Alpha doesn't show a copyright, instead putting their logo in the upper-left corner of the screen during the opening and "next week" titles. They keep it turned off most of the time but it is still a little annoying in the last few seconds of many of the cliffhangers. The print used for the first chapter was good, and most of the others aren't bad but the contrast is a little high, sometimes requiring adjustment to read the plot summaries. There are some minor defects in the film print in the last few chapters, but otherwise the image is reasonably sharp and clear and the sound is fairly good for one of these old Mascot serials.A well-crafted serial, if far from Mascot's best, with a surprising role for Ben Turpin, in a fairly clean transfer. It's good to see it on DVD, fine for the price and while more than a little dull, a reasonable alternative to a repeat viewing of some better-known Western serials.

It is another old type of story of Rin Tin Tin it is good to see them it is real good to see them still around

Awesome ... for my Uncle

good shape

VCI Entertainment and Mascot Pictures present..."THE LAW OF THE WILD" (1934) (Dolby digitally remastered), a 12 Chapter cliffhanger from an action packed Mascot serial era under director Armand Schaefer and B. Reeves "Breezy" Eason , producer Nat Levine, story by Ford Beebe, Al Martin and John Rathmell, screenplay by B. Reeves Eason and Sherman L. Lowe, music score by Lee Zahler....cast includes Rex (as Rex King of the Wild Horses),Rin Tin Tin Jr. (Rinty), Ben Turpin (Henry), Bob Custer (John Sheldon), Lucile Browne (Alice Ingram), Richard Cramer (Frank Nolan), Ernie Adams (Henchman Raymond), Edmund Cobb (Henchman Jim Luger), Slim Whitaker (Henchman Mack), Richard Alexander (Lewis R. 'Lou' Salters), Jack Rockwell (Sheriff), George Chesebro (Henchman Parks), Lafe McKee (Mr. Ingram) . . . . . . . .our story has another match up with Rex the Wild Stallion and Rinty the dog wonder, with Bob Custer keeping things interesting in a frame up on a murder charge...is there a race in the making with our favorite stallion taking on all comers, watch Lucile Browne and the famous Ben Turpin give us a run for our money with them trying to locate Rex routine...take note of some of the best veteran B-Western character actors in the background withHorace B. Carpenter, Glenn Strange, Art Mix, Wally Wales, Al Taylor, Bud Osborne, Jack Kirk, Edward Hern, Hank Bell, Art Dillard and Yakima Canutt....don't miss a single spine thrilling episode..return next week to this local theater for another episode of action and adventure that will keep you thrilled until the next chapter....there is a great deal of entertainment here for the cliffhanger fans out there...all courtesy of VCI Entertainment, who in my humble opinion is the best there is in restoring early serials and features.CHAPTER TITLES:1. The Man Killer2. The Battle of the Strong3. The Cross-Eyed Goony4. Avenging Fangs5. A Dean Man's Hand6. Horse Thief Justice7. The Death Stampede8. The Canyon of Calamity9. Robber's Roost10. King of the Range11. Winner Take All12. The Grand SweepstakesIf you're into vintage serials as I am, why not pick up a copy of the following titles from VCI Home Video:VCI CLIFFHANGER TRAILERS:1. Adventures of Red Ryder (Don "Red" Barry)2. Adventures of the Flying Cadets (Bobby Jordan)3. Buck Rogers (Buster Crabbe)4. Captain Midnight (Dave O'Brien)5. Captain Video: Master of the Stratosphere (Judd Holdren & I. Stanford Jolley)6. Dick Tracy's G-Men (Ralph Byrd)7. Don Winslow of the Navy (Don Terry)8. Don Winslow of the Coast Guard (Don Terry)9. Drums of Fu Manchu (Henry Brandon)10.Fighting Kit Carson (Johnny Mack Brown)11.Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe (Buster Crabbe)12.The Green Archer (Victory Jory)13.Jungle Girl (Frances Gifford)14.Jungle Jim (Grant Withers & Raymond Hatton)15.Lost City of the Jungle (Russell Hayden & Keye Luke)16.Mandrake the Magician (Warren Hull & Dick Curtis)17.Miracle Rider (Tom Mix & Tony Jr)18.The Painted Stallion (Ray "Crash" Corrigan)19.The Phantom (Tom Tyler)20.The Return of Chandu (Bela Lugosi)21.Riders of Death Valley (Dick Foran, Leo Carrillo & Buck Jones)22.Secret Agent X-9 (1937) (Scott Kolk & Henry Brandon)23.Secret Agent X-9 (1945) (Lloyd Bridges & Keye Luke)24.Sky Raiders (Donald Woods & Billy Halop)25.Undersea Kingdom (Ray "Crash" Corrigan)26.Winners of the West (Dick Foran, Harry Woods, Roy Barcroft & Charles Stevens)27.Zane Greys "King of the Royal Mounted" (Allan "Rocky" Lane)28.Zorro's Cliffhanger Collection (Reed Hadley, John Carroll & Linda Stirling)Great job by VCI Entertainment for releasing "The Law of the Wild" (1934), the digital transfere with a clean, clear and crisp print...looking forward to more high quality releases from the vintage serial era of the '30s, '40s & '50s...order your copy now from Amazon or VCI Entertainment where there are plenty of copies available on VHS, stay tuned once again for top notch action mixed with deadly adventure from the "King of Serials" VCI...just the way we like 'emTotal Time: 220 mins on 2 VHS ~ VCI Entertainment 1761 ~ (9/25/2001)

Although Rex and Rin Tin Tin, Jr., are giving the star billing in this 1934 Poverty Row serial, former silent star Bob Custer turns in a creditable performance as a ranch owner whose beautiful stallion Rex is stolen by former ranch hands who intend to race him. Rin Tin Tin, Jr. and Bob track down the culprits and recover Rex. This was Custer's return to movies after a hiatus of several years.

This is Rin-Tin-Tin, Jr. the son of the original Rin-Tin-Tin (the dog that saved Hollywood).Just like his pop, Rinty Jr. was sometimes the better actor than his human co-stars. In this one Jr. teams with Rex, the Wonder Horse and both have more on screen charisma than nominal hero Bob Custer. Richard Cramer does well play a nasty villain, and Lucile Brown does make a very easy on the eyes love interest.Alpha Video's copy is a bit dark in places and not as shape as it could be, but very watchable.