User reviews

While mostly fast-paced and watchable, "Law of the Wolf" (also called "Law of the Wild") is too far-fetched and melodramatic to be taken very seriously. The plot does work fairly well as light entertainment, despite a complete lack of believability.

When Carl Pearson (Dennis Moore) is unjustly convicted of killing his brother, he breaks out of prison with the help of another convict to try to clear his name and also to recover some valuable airplane plans that his brother left behind. He is pursued both by the police and by the real killer, while his fellow escapee tries to turn the situation to his own advantage. Quite a bit happens from there, most of it dependent on coincidence, on weird decisions by the characters, and on improbable events. Whenever these cannot take care of everything, Rin Tin Tin Jr. is on hand to fix things up with his amazing insight into human intentions.

It moves fast enough to keep your attention most of the time, but it is all too far-fetched to be anything more than very light entertainment.

LAW OF THE WOLF, which has absolutely nothing to do with wolves, is thoroughly enjoyable for those who fondly recall the unpretentious, economical filmed entertainment of a bygone era. Billed as the grandson of Rin Tin Tin, a noble dog has a key role in bringing to justice two villains, portrayed by illustrious veteran heavies George Chesebro and Jack Ingram. Dennis Moore, a versatile and accomplished actor not often given an opportunity to fully display his abilities, does a fine job as an escaped convict seeking to prove he was falsely accused of murder.

There seems to be no evidence of theatrical bookings for LAW OF THE WOLF in 1939, the year generally given as its release date. Film Daily reviewed it as a new film in May, 1941, at which time a two-page spread was also run to announce that two completed Rin Tin Tin features (this one and also FANGS OF THE WILD) would be joined shortly by two more, all distributed on a States Rights basis by Arthur Ziehm, Inc. Originally slated to be a 1939-40 release by Metropolitan Pictures, it is possible that LAW OF THE WOLF was produced in 1940 and held for eventual release in 1941. Newspaper ads indicate that the film played small theatres throughout the 1940s, almost up to the time it was in general release for television.

Lovely Luana Walters, always a pleasure to see in her many film appearances of the era, brightens the supporting cast in the role of Dennis Moore's loyal fiancé, and English-born Jimmy Aubrey, a fixture in low-budget westerns, has a significant role as a forest ranger. Fast-growing teenage actor Martin Spellman, who had received splendid notices for his co-starring roles in a trio of Monogram features, is cast as Aubrey's nephew and temporary guardian of Rin Tin Tin.

Vintage incidental music was wisely licensed and well employed in the action sequences, and North Dakota-born cinematographer/director Raymond K. Johnson's direction is entirely satisfactory for a production of this nature.