The Trail of the Lonesome Pine 1936

Deep in the Eastern Kentucky Coalfield, a feud between the Tollivers and the Falins has persisted for generations. An engineer named Jack Hale Fred MacMurray arrives with coal and railroad interests and quickly becomes a catalyst when he saves the life of Dave Tolliver Henry Fonda, whose injury has developed gangrene.

Dave expects to marry a cousin, June Tolliver Sylvia Sidney, but she takes an immediate shine to Hale. Her younger brother Buddie Tolliver George McFarland is also impressed with Hale, who begins to educate him and take the boy under his wing. Yet others from both families do not give this outsider their trust, and tension begins to mount.

Upset over the budding romance, Dave sets out after Hale with a rifle but is ambushed by the Falins. The latest round of violence drives June to consider leaving, so Hale sends her to Louisville to live with his sister, hoping to shield her from the animosity surrounding the town.

A bridge is destroyed by the Falins, causing Buddie’s accidental death. A funeral is held, and June returns, newly sophisticated from her time in the big city. The family patriarch Buck Falin extends his apologies about her brother, trying to repair some of the hurt that has split the clans.

Dave, however, is shot in the back by Wade Falin, a brutal blow that makes the feud feel far from over. In the end, the families agree that the feud has gone too far. Hale is befriended by all, and he will happily marry June.