"Trail of the Vigilantes" is a very odd film simply because of the strange casting of Franchot Tone in the lead. This is strange because Tone is possibly one of the last actors of his day who I would have expected to see on horseback...aside, perhaps, Charles Boyer! Yet, oddly, he and Warren William are in what is essentially a nice B- movie! How peculiar.
As for the plot, it's similar to many Bs of the day. It begins with the President talking with Tim Mason (Tone) about the lawlessness and rise of vigilante justice in the west. Mason is sent to investigate one particular town and dubs himself 'Kansas' and tries to blend in by taking on a job as a ranch hand. There he makes a few friends and notices that since the formation of some cattlemen's association, cattle rustling has stopped. However, members of the association are paying dues in what essentially amounts to a shakedown and this shakedown is led by the baddie, Dawson (Warren William). So it's up to Kansas to get the goods on this guy and find out who he really is.
There is nothing particularly outstanding about this film other than the casting. In many ways, it plays like an old Roy Rogers movie but without the musical interludes. For the lack of singing, I give the film an extra point! My advice is to look for this film only if you love the idea of seeing Tone try (in vain) to pull of the cowboy act. But if you just watch it, it's not a bad film at all...a decent enough time-passer.
