Mark Trail

Show Information prepared using John Dunning's book "On The Air" and www.otrcat.com

Juvenile adventure drama, based on the comic strip by Ed Dodd. (1950-1952).

Mark Trail was a Sunday comics section feature by Ed Dodd, where Trail was a pipe-smoking, dark-haired forest ranger who loved nature and told of its wonders. The strip showed kids the tracks of animals, and what they did in the winter when there was no food, and was a great way for city kids to learn something about the big woods.

Of course, as brought to radio on Mutual by Kellogg's Pep cereal, all that quiet woodsy stuff like animal tracks wouldn't work, so the Mark Trail of radio was more along the lines of Sergeant Preston of the Yukon. Director Drexel Hines made action-hero Mark into a forest ranger who prowled the wilderness ready to stop baddies, while teaching his pals Scotty and Cherry about nature, all wrapped up in an exciting, action-packed radio show.

Three actors played Mark through its run: Matt Crowley, John Larkin and Staats Cotsworth. Certainly the best known actor of the show was one of the announcers, Jackson Beck, who was also the announcer for the classic Superman serial on radio (Kellogg's Pep sponsored), as well as Tank Tinker, Hop Harrigan's sidekick, and the later version of the Cisco Kid. Director Hines and Jackson Beck went on to do Tom Corbett, Space Cadet at the very beginning of 1952 for Kellogg's, so for a few months they were doing both shows weekly.

Mark Trail's adventures were good, intelligent fun for the kids, and probably gave many future nature lovers one of their first chances to get excited about wild America.

The opening signature of Mark Trail gave good evidence of its juvenile-comic-strip content, and is a great example of taking a mild-mannered forest ranger and taking his job "over the top":

Battling the raging elements!

Fighting the savage wilderness!

Striking at the enemies of man and nature!

One man's name resounds from the snow-capped mountains down across the sun-baked plains!

(Voice from echo chamber): MAAAAARRRRRKKKKK TRAIL!

CAST: Matt Crowley as Mark Trail,
a forest ranger whose enemies were spoilers and criminals who came into the wilderness.
John Larkin and Staats Cotsworth also as Mark Trail.
Ben Cooper and Ronald Liss as Scotty, Mark's young friend.
Amy Sidell and Joyce Gordon as Cherry, the girls' interest.

ANNOUNCERS: Jackson Beck, Glenn Riggs.

DIRECTOR: Drex Hines.

BROADCAST HISTORY:

Jan. 30, 1950-June 8, 1951, Mutual. 30m, three a week at 5.

Sept. 10, 1951-June 27, 1952, ABC. l5m continuation, three a week until Jan., then weekdays at 5:15.