AllMovie

This sequel to Zane Grey's Riders of the Purple Sage reunited the star and director of the earlier film, namely William Farnum and Frank Lloyd. Farnum is cast in the dual role of fugitive cowboy Lassiter and his look-alike son Shefford. Following in his dad's footsteps, Shefford devotes himself to freeing his community from the grip of a particularly despotic Mormon sect. In so doing, he rescues his foster sister Fay Larkin (Ann Forrest), who is coveted by lecherous Mormon elder Wagoner (William Burress). As was the case in Riders of the Purple Sage, the Mormons are villains simply because they are Mormons. This unpleasant strain of religious bigotry was fortunately soft-pedalled in all subsequent screen versions of The Rainbow Trail.