Clash of the Wolves
About Clash of the Wolves
Lobo, a wolf-dog played by Rin Tin Tin, leads a pack that has a price on its leader. A thorn in his paw puts him in the hands of borax prospector Dave Weston, who treats the paw, and the dog stays. Claim jumper William "Borax" Horton wants Dave's claim and leaves him for dead on the site. Lobo carries a message toward town. A posse is already hunting the wolf, and he leads the riders to Dave.
Cast & crew
More about Clash of the Wolves
Noel M. Smith directed for Warner Bros., which also released the picture.
Themes
Reviews
Michael L. Simmons, in Exhibitors Trade Review, wrote that Rin Tin Tin brought "an intelligence, a beauty of motion" to the pack leader. George T. Pardy, in Motion Picture News, called the dog's work extraordinary and "far above that of his average doggish contemporaries." The Film Daily blamed the script as dizzy melodrama and said Smith got the dog sequences over, while "the rest of the weak story seemed to have him licked."
Look
Joseph Walker shot the desert action in Chatsworth, California, and on the ground later included in Joshua Tree National Park.
Preservation
A 35mm print found in South Africa was restored in 2003. Abridged and full versions are at the Library of Congress Packard Campus for Audio-Visual Conservation.
Notes
- Nanette, another dog, plays Lobo's mate.
- Charles Farrell is Dave Weston. June Marlowe is May Barstowe. Pat Hartigan is Horton. Heinie Conklin is Alkali Bill. Will Walling is Sam Barstowe.
- Associated Artists Productions transferred a print to 16mm in the 1950s for television.
- The Library of Congress named it to the National Film Registry in 2004.
Scenes
- Dave pulls the thorn and the pack leader stays.
- Horton leaves Dave for dead on the claim.
- Lobo, with the posse behind him, brings the riders to Dave instead of into a trap.
Also available
- Wikimedia Commons (The Clash of the Wolves (1925) by Noel M. Smith.webm)