Where the North Begins

Although Rin Tin Tin had appeared before in several films, this Northwoods drama was his first starring vehicle. The story line is fairly typical for its genre, and the famed canine is pretty much the whole show. The Wolf Dog (Rin Tin Tin) is raised by a pack of wolves and becomes pals with Gabriel Dupre, a French trapper (Walter McGrail). He proves his loyalty to Dupre when he attacks "The Fox" (Charles Stevens), accomplice to Shad Galloway, the crooked trading post manager (Pat Hartigan). Galloway wants to get rid of Dupre for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that he wants the trapper's sweetheart, Felice McTavish (Claire Adams), for himself. When it is mistakenly believed that the dog has killed a baby, Dupre is ordered to shoot him. The broken-hearted dog runs away, but after he is cleared, Dupre finds him once again. Ultimately, the Wolf Dog attacks Galloway and kills him. Not only do hero and heroine get together at the fade-out, we also see the dog with a family of his own. Rin Tin Tin certainly wasn't the first dog to achieve stardom; his immediate predecessor was Strongheart who, like Rin Tin Tin, was a German Shepherd. This picture, incidentally, had some competition -- Hal Roach released CALL OF THE WILD starring Buck, a Saint Bernard, at the same time.