Tonight's Movies: Clash of the Wolves (1925) and Where the North Begins (1923) - Kino Lorber Blu-ray Reviews

One of the joys of this year's TCM Classic Film Festival was seeing the silent Rin Tin Tin film CLASH OF THE WOLVES (1925) with live musical accompaniment by Ben Model.

I'm delighted to say that CLASH OF THE WOLVES, which is on the 2004 National Film Registry list, was recently released on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber.

Model's score is also on this Blu-ray, which is a 4K restoration.

Kino Lorber made this a double feature disc with another Rin Tin Tin film, WHERE THE NORTH BEGINS (1923). That film was scanned in 2K from a print from the collection of Jon Mirsalis, who also provides the musical score.

Since I had time to watch both films today and they each feature doggy superstar Rin Tin Tin, I thought I'd review them together.

CLASH OF THE WOLVES also stars silent star Charles Farrell, especially known for his regular teaming with Janet Gaynor.

It's a 74-minute film directed by Noel M. Smith which combines adventure, pathos, and humor.

Farrell plays Dave, a borax prospector in the desert who helps the injured Lobo (Rin Tin Tin) when he has a thorn in his paw; in due course Lobo will return the favor when claim jumpers attack Dave.

Lobo helps Dave and his sweetheart May (June Marlowe) fight the claim jumpers, leading to an idyllic final scene of Dave, May, Lobo, Lobo's mate (Nanette), and Lobo's pups all enjoying canoeing on a lake.

Watching this Warner Bros. film one can see what made Rin Tin Tin movies popular. For instance, there are some exciting shots of Lobo and his mate saving their pups from a fire in the Sierras.

Lobo also comes in for his share of comedic moments, such as when Lobo wears a disguise or taps on a window to get May's attention. I think it says a lot about the movie that I enjoyed it just as much watching it the second time in a handful of months.

CLASH OF THE WOLVES was filmed by Edwin B. Dupar, Alan Thompson, and the uncredited Joseph Walker. Locations included Joshua Tree National Park.

The lone extra accompanying the movies in this two-film set is an audio commentary on CLASH OF THE WOLVES by film historian Anthony Slide.

WHERE THE NORTH BEGINS was Rin Tin Tin's first starring film. An opening title card describes the dog's true history, starting from being rescued from the front lines in World War I.

The movie is a "Northerner," as some of us like to call Westerns set in Canada. Rin Tin Tin plays a puppy who is raised by a pack of wolves. He later saves the life of a French Canadian trapper, Gabrielle (Walter McGrail).

Gabrielle loves Felice (Claire Adams) and they plan to marry and raise a baby orphaned when Gabrielle's friend dies. Of course, the grateful Gabrielle also adopts Rin Tin Tin after the dog saves his life!

The factor of the trading post (Pat Hartigan) wants to marry Felice himself and tries to have Gabrielle killed on a wilderness trail; when that fails he then attempts to frame Gabrielle for theft of furs.

Meanwhile the dog runs away after being accused of attacking the baby, but of course that wasn't true...he's Rin Tin Tin!

I quite enjoyed WHERE THE NORTH BEGINS, just as I did CLASH OF THE WOLVES. It's an engaging drama, and some of the dog footage is rather remarkable. I also loved the ending, which is a bit reminiscent of the dog family in ONE HUNDRED AND ONE DALMATIANS (1961)!

This 75-minute film was also from Warner Bros. It was directed by Chester M. Franklin with exteriors filmed in Canada. The cinematographer is not credited. Of note: The editor was Lewis Milestone, who if Wikipedia is accurate saved the film, which started out as a mishmash of footage with continuity issues.

Both prints, particularly WHERE THE NORTH BEGINS, have scratches and other flaws, which one might expect from movies made a century ago, but overall they look good; the flaws didn't disrupt my enjoyment, and I suspect they couldn't be further improved from their source material.

This is a very enjoyable set which I recommend, especially for fans of silent movies or dogs. These movies might also be good "gateway" films to silents for young viewers who will be entertained by Rin Tin Tin's exploits.

I would love to see more Rin Tin Tin films be released for home viewing in the future!

Thanks to Kino Lorber for providing a review copy of this Blu-ray collection.

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