Fred Stone & Robert Barrat play the heads of the two feuding clans, one gentle - the other fierce. Precocious & poignant, Spanky's character is quite unforgettable. 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. Special mention should be made of seven-year-old Spanky McFarland, who plays Miss Sidney's little brother. Cuddly Nigel Bruce is MacMurray's associate - gruff & grumbly, but with a heart of gold. 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. 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 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. The vividly depicted consequences of mindless, violent behavior give the film a real punch. 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. It would be lovely to have an up-to-date recording to breath life into this true classic.`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. The recording sounds as old, with the sound skipping or coming and going now and then. The narrator of the book sounds stilted, as if he read the book in the early days of it's publication, in the early 1900's. The tension of the changes in the mountain girl and the outsider strains their relationship in unexpected ways. There is excitement and danger as the outside world comes to try to "tame" the feuding clans of the mountains. As he helps her become educated and learn to live in the style of the outside world, he gradually looses his polish and falls into the life and habits of the mountain folk. It also traces the reversing roles of the out of town stranger and a mountain girl he falls in love with. It tells of the rise and fall of a potential coal mining town in the Blue Ridge and the rise and fall of a man who invested in the town. This Book is a Classic that was turned into the 6th longest running outdoor drama, still running in Big Stone Gap, Virginia.
This Classic Book Deserves a New Recording
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