The Trail of the Lonesome Pine
US (1936): Drama/Romance
Three-strip Technicolor makes its first trip outdoors with this story of a long-running backwoods feud and its collision with the modern world. The Tollivers and the Falins are Kentucky families who have been at each other's throats forever. Enter Fred MacMurray, an engineer who wants to build a railroad through their land, who saves Henry Fonda from a rival clan. Fonda's not that grateful, though, as he fears that his sister Sylvia Sidney will run off with the city man. MacMurray does arrange for her to go to school, but when her brother, "Spanky" MacFarland, gets killed in an assault on the railroad's workers, Sidney reverts to her upbringing and calls for retaliation. John Fox Jr.'s 1908 novel was filmed five times before in silent days (1914-1925) and was old hat by the time of this first sound treatment, but director Henry Hathaway gives it some energy. Cast also features Nigel Bruce, Beulah Bondi and Fuzzy Knight. (amc.tv)
1 nomination
· Music Best Song 1936: "A Melody from the Sky" Louis Alter - Music, Sidney Mitchell - Lyric