`In the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, on THE TRAIL OF THE LONESOME PINE,' a young woman discovers love, but no respite from the violent feud which has torn apart two families.

Full of good performances & boasting excellent production values courtesy of Paramount Studios, this fine drama brings to its viewers a not-so-subtle message of peace & tolerance. The vividly depicted consequences of mindless, violent behavior give the film a real punch.

The film's romantic triangle consists of barefoot mountain lass Sylvia Sidney, her decent, uncomplicated cousin Henry Fonda, and mining executive Fred MacMurray, who, as a newcomer to the backwoods, rebels against the traditions of violence & revenge he finds there. All three deliver compelling performances, with a slight advantage going to the gentlemen, as their roles do not require as much shrill, fickle behavior as does Miss Sidney's.

The marvelous character actress Beulah Bondi appears as Miss Sidney's mother, one of the first in a decades-long line of stubborn, proud old women she would play; her eyes tell of the world of trouble her character has seen on the mountain. Cuddly Nigel Bruce is MacMurray's associate - gruff & grumbly, but with a heart of gold.

Special mention should be made of seven-year-old Spanky McFarland, who plays Miss Sidney's little brother. Already the star of numerous OUR GANG comedies, the tiny tyke here displays the talent that placed him in the front rank of child movie stars. Precocious & poignant, Spanky's character is quite unforgettable.

Fred Stone & Robert Barrat play the heads of the two feuding clans, one gentle - the other fierce. Movie mavens will recognize Clara Blandick as a frightened landlady and Samuel S. Hinds as the Gaptown sheriff.

The film is stitched together by the evocative, nostalgic singing of Fuzzy Knight, who introduces ‘Twilight On The Trail' & ‘A Melody From The Sky,' (both by Louis Alter and Sidney D. Mitchell). The tune for the chorus of ‘The Trail Of The Lonesome Pine,' by Ballard MacDonald & Harry Carroll, can be briefly heard during the opening credits; viewers will need to watch Laurel & Hardy's WAY OUT WEST (1937) to hear this fine old song actually sung.

Famous as the first outdoor film produced in full Technicolor, THE TRAIL OF THE LONESOME PINE benefits greatly from its location filming near Cedar Lake, in California's San Bernardino Mountains.

Just watched this Technicolor Paramount feature (The first of the kind that was shot outdoors) on YouTube. While it had stars like Fred MacMurray, Henry Fonda, and Sylvia Sidney, the main reason I was interested in this movie was because of one Spanky McFarland, who at the time was still a member of "Our Gang". This was a compelling story of a couple of feuding families and one outsider played by MacMurray who's trying to build a railroad around both respective groups' areas. There's also a romantic rivalry between Fonda and MacMurray for Sidney. Also appearing were Beulah Bondi, Nigel Bruce, and Samuel Hinds as the Sheriff. (If anyone is familiar with me, they know my favorite movie is It's a Wonderful Life and I like noting actors in that movie in other films like Bondi and Hinds who were married in the latter) Then there's Fuzzy Knight who's a charmer as something of a Greek chorus singing songs like "Twlight on the Trail" and the Oscar-nominated "A Melody from the Sky". Incidentally, while Knight sings the latter, Fonda whistles and Spanky hums and this was a couple of years before Spanky's "Our Gang" co-star Alfalfa sung part of this tune in the short The Little Ranger (which McFarland doesn't appear in). Anyway, this was a fine showcase for the Technicolor photography as kudos to director Henry Hathaway for making every scene count as this was a most entertaining drama with a couple of touching, though tragic, scenes at the end. So on that note, I highly recommend The Trail of the Lonesome Pine.

Although the story sounded very familiar (same title as the beautiful Laurel and Hardy song),the title sounded appetising. Even more appetising was the amount of talent there was in the cast, including Henry Fonda and Fred MacMurray in early roles, the always lovely Sylvia Sidney and Beulah Bondi could be counted upon to give a good performance in anything.

'The Trail of the Lonesome Pine' was also interesting to see an early film from then young director Henry Hathaway, a couple of his most famous films being 'True Grit' and 'How the West Was Won'. 'The Trail of the Lonesome Pine' showcases all of them really, really well. It is not one of my favourite films, but there is so little to fault and so much to recommend (the best assets, the production values and acting, being outstanding). It is most notable for being the first three strip Technicolor film to be shot on location and not studio sets, but there is so much more to 'The Trail of the Lonesome Pine' than just that with it being a fine and overlooked film in its own way.

First and foremost, the production values are wonderful. Really liked that it was evocative locations and not studio sets, and all enhanced by quite gorgeous Technicolor photography that is a long way from being primitive now. Another big plus is the cast. Fonda gives one of his more natural early performances. McMurray gives a promising account of himself in a slightly sketchy role (though he would go on to better things once he properly found his forte). Sidney shows again how she was better than most actresses at the time at understated poignancy, love her face and eyes.

Bondi does long suffering with authority and dignity. Spanky MacFarland steals all his scenes and neither too bratty or too cute, actually found him beyond his years affecting. The music is lovely and to me the songs were well placed.

Hathaway's direction is some of his most distinguished in his early career, while the script is thoughtful and the story is always engaging with tense conflict and emotional power.

Only the behaviour of the Sheriff at times didn't always seem buyable, a bit extreme at times.

Great film otherwise though. 9/10