Too much of everything

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

Francis McDonald (Pierre), Heinie Conklin (Windy), Jose de la Cruz (Pedro), Peter Rigas (Manuel), "Caesar", the wonder dog ("Lobo"), Tom London (sheriff). Director: HERMAN C. RAYMAKER. Story: Jackson Richards. Photography: Pliny Goodfriend. Music: Oscar Potoker. Music supervised by Abe Meyer, directed by Sam Wineland. Production manager: Louis Rantz. Sound recording: W.C. Smith. Associate producer: Charles Hunt. Producer: Bennie F. Zeidman. Copyright 27 November 1932 by Bennie F. Zeidman Productions, Ltd. New York opening at the Gaiety: 1 December 1932. U.S. release through World Wide Pictures. 7 reels. 64 minutes.TV title: CALL OF THE WILDERNESS.COMMENT: Despite his prominence in the credits, Conklin's part in the print under review has been reduced to a ten-second appearance in the film's very last shot! Still, to judge from Mordaunt Hall's notice in The New York Times, the human actors always did take a very back seat to the animals. Fortunately, these scenes are quite well photographed, briskly directed, and scored with music of a quaint, primitive appeal. And the dog is by far the best I've seen! However, there's not much left of Jackson Richard's original story.Mr Raymaker made a career out of directing "Rin-Tin-Tin" (see The Night Cry with Heinie Conklin cast again in a small part). The only other sound film I have for Raymaker is Adventure Girl (1934). Previous to this movie, he directed a silent version of Zane Grey's Under the Tonto Rim for Paramount, released early in 1928.

Very horrible movie. Lots of propaganda.It's essentially a silent movie over dubbed with sound effects and music. Really boring.While the original title, "Trailing the Killer" isn't a misnomer, it was a bit misleading since the "trailer" is a dog named Caesar Caesar the Dog) and the killer is a mountain lion, aka as a cougar or puma the narrator was quick to point out. But the makers also pointed out that Caesar "is the most intelligent dog actor since Rin-Tin-Tin" which probably lured a few Rin-Tin-Tin fans with a show-me attitude. Caesar prowls around the woods of the Northwest, dispatches a rattlesnake, visits his she-wolf mate and their pups, pauses to watch the dainty habits of a raccoon personally washing every morsel of food before eating it---and that raccoon had enough food to use up several minutes of running time---and then saves sheepherder Pierre (Francis McDonald)) from getting et up by one mean mountain lion. Rin-Tin-Tin he ain't, but then who was? Commonwealth changed the title to "Call of the Wilderness" when they acquired it for 16mm rental to the school market.