{{short description|1933 film}} {{Use American English|date=October 2021}} {{Use mdy dates|date=October 2017}} {{Infobox film | name = The Telegraph Trail | image = The Telegraph Trail.jpg | caption = Theatrical poster | director = Tenny Wright | writer = Kurt Kempler | producer = Leon Schlesinger | starring = {{plain list| * John Wayne * Frank McHugh * Marceline Day * Otis Harlan * Albert J. Smith }} | cinematography = Ted McCord | editing = William Clemens | music = Leo F. Forbstein | studio = Leon Schlesinger Productions | distributor = Warner Bros. Pictures | released = {{Film date|1933|03|18}} | runtime = 54 minutes | country = United States | language = English }}
'''''The Telegraph Trail''''' is a 1933 American pre-Code Western film directed by Tenny Wright and starring John Wayne and Frank McHugh.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/2175/the-telegraph-trail#articles-reviews|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110918022847/http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/2175/The-Telegraph-Trail/#articles-reviews|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 18, 2011|title=The Telegraph Trail |work=TCM |access-date=August 2, 2024}}</ref> The film also starred stuntman Yakima Canutt as Indian Chief High Wolf, Marceline Day as the heroine, and Duke the Wonder Horse as John Wayne's trusty steed.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://randall120.wordpress.com/2010/05/29/john-wayne-and-duke-the-wonder-horse/.|title = John Wayne and "Duke", the Wonder Horse|date=May 29, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.b-westerns.com/hoss-jwayne.htm|title=John Wayne and his horses in the 1930s in westerns at Warners, Lone Star/Monogram and Republic |website=www.b-westerns.com}}</ref>
==Plot== A vile scoundrel named Gus Lynch stirs up trouble with the local Indians led by Chief High Wolf, convincing them that if the white man is successful in building a telegraph line through their territory, the Indians will all be eventually eliminated. High Wolf leads his braves to attack and kill a crew of white men they find stringing up telegraph wires in the wilderness. John Trent's best friend is killed in the attack and he leads the townspeople to go out into the Indian lands and finish setting up the telegraph system themselves. Meanwhile, Lynch proposes marriage to the beautiful Alice Keller, who just recently arrived in town with her comical Uncle Zeke. She tells Lynch that she is already engaged to the handsome John Trent, which sets up a fierce rivalry between Trent and Lynch.
The Indians attack the telegraph company's wagon train in a fierce battle out on the plains, and John Trent rides heroically for help and brings back the cavalry just in time to stop the townspeople from being massacred. Trent's sidekick Corporal Tippy gets drunk during the attack, and he and an inebriated Uncle Zeke share some tense but comical scenes during the battle as, drunkenly oblivious to the danger, they use the circling Indian braves for target practice. Chief High Wolf is mortally wounded astride his horse while watching the battle from a distance and when he sees Gus Lynch abandoning him, he uses the last of his energy to shoot Lynch in the back. Trent winds up in a romantic embrace with Alice.
==Cast== * John Wayne as John Trent * Frank McHugh as Corporal Tippy * Marceline Day as Alice Keller * Otis Harlan as Uncle Zeke Keller * Albert J. Smith as Gus Lynch * Yakima Canutt as High Wolf * Lafe McKee as Lafe * Duke as John Wayne's horse
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{IMDb title|0024647}} * {{TCMDb title|2175}} * {{AFI film|995}} * {{Internet Archive film|JohnWayneHighWolfSpielfilmWesternUSA1933Klassiker}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Telegraph Trail, The}} Category:1933 films Category:1933 Western (genre) films Category:American Western (genre) films Category:American black-and-white films Category:Films directed by Tenny Wright Category:Warner Bros. films Category:1933 English-language films Category:1933 American films Category:English-language Western (genre) films Category:Films produced by Leon Schlesinger