Customer Reviews

The Telegraph Trail

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Some of the shots in this movie are "reused" footage from other
films ( 1926 Ken Maynard film) and the have him playing harmonica ( like the other
fake singing cowboy movie).
I love John Wayne westerns, but his studio kind of misused him
in several of his early films. Here his side kick Frank McHugh, Yakima Canutt
and the wonder horse Duke get almost as much billing as he does.
I liked the movie which I hadn't seen before
and the history of transcontinental telegraph
is probably important.

A team of men working on a cross-country telegraph line are attacked by Indians. Just before he is killed, one of the linemen manages to get a message through to the fort, indicating that a white man is behind the attacks. When Zeke Keller and his niece Alice pass the scene of the attack, Alice agrees to deliver a package of letters belonging to one of the dying men. Scout John Trent and Tippy, one of the soldiers, are sent to capture the white leader. Gus Lynch, the man behind the Indian attacks, is determined to maintain his shipping monopoly by preventing the completion of the telegraph. He also tries to force Alice to marry him, but she protests that she is already engaged. To prove it, she pulls out the picture of John that was included in the dead man's packet. Right after she makes that announcement, John and Tippy walk into Zeke's store. John is convinced she is crazy when she throws her arms around his neck. That night, John calls a meeting asking for volunteers to bring supplies to the telegraph workers. Despite Lynch's efforts to dissuade them, the men plan to leave in the morning. Alice overhears Lynch plan an Indian raid and tries to warn John, but remembering their last encounter, he runs in the other direction. Hiding from Lynch, Alice stows away. She pins a note to one of the boxes in the wagon warning of the raid. With this information, John is able to ward off the attack. When Alice is discovered, Tippy thinks she is a spy for Lynch, but John recognizes her handwriting and realizes they owe her some thanks. Lynch convinces a large band of Indians to attack the train, telling them that the telegraph lines will bring soldiers who will kill them. In the midst of the attack, John manages to get a message through to the fort. The Indians are about to claim victory when the soldiers arrive. High Wolf, Lynch's Indian henchman, is wounded. When Lynch refuses to stop and help him, High Wolf kills him. The telegraph line is completed, and John is given an award, but his real reward comes when Alice agrees to become his "commanding officer."

i really enjoy the telegraph Trail its hard to find a good john wayne fime here in Australia