If you like the other Rin Tin Tin silents, you'll like this one too. In In this case Rinty is a sheep dog whose master, John Martin, is a happy fellow with a happy family - wife and baby. Then one day lambs start disappearing from every flock but that of Rinty's owner. The other sheep owners get together and figure since a sheep dog never kills his own flock, the culprit must be Rinty. Things are made worse for Rinty when he spots the real killer - a condor - and chases it into a neighboring field. The sheep dog in residence there does not appreciate Rinty's intrusion and the two dogs fight it out. This diversion gives the condor time to pick out and kill his next meal. When the sheep owners arrive on the scene, they find one beat up dog, Rinty's collar, and another dead lamb. Rinty is pretty much convicted on the spot and John is ordered to destroy Rinty as it is "the law of the range". How will this all work out? Watch and find out.
Even today I'm impressed with how much expression this dog had. He could show confusion, anger, determination, you name it, with just a facial expression. And those stunts were something else. I must say though, that Warner Brothers' poverty row roots are showing in this one. When a sheep owner finds a dead lamb the thing looks very much like a toy store doll. The sheep man then carries the dead thing all over the valley - to the Martins that night when he and the other sheep men confront John about their suspicions, and around in the field with him the next day. Bury it already! Your neighbors KNOW you lost a lamb! Also the titles tended to be quite flowery and pedestrian. The final scene is just done for cuteness' sake, not because it makes any sense.
I'd recommend this one primarily for people who love watching Rin Tin Tin in action, but also for people interested in film history who are interested in what Warner Brothers' product looked like before The Jazz Singer.
