The Trail of Hate is a 1917 American silent drama film that portrayed the military exploits and personal rivalries of two United States Army officers stationed in the American West and later in the Philippines. The production starred John Ford, who at that time was credited as "Jack Ford". Currently classified as a lost film, this two-reel short is identified by some biographers of John Ford and in many filmographies, both in print and online, to be his second release as a director. He is also credited in various sources for writing the film's screenplay or "scenario". Other Ford biographers, however, most notably American director and film historian Peter Bogdanovich, credit this production's screenplay and its direction to John's older brother Francis Ford.

Plot

Reviews published in 1917 provide general descriptions of this lost film's main characters as well as its storyline. Lieutenant Jack Brewer (John Ford) is described as a member of a company from the Sixty-Seventh Regiment of the United States Army and stationed at a fort in the American West during the first decade of the 20th century. Brewer's troopers like him personally and admire him as well for earning his rank in action, by serving in the field and not simply by attending classes at a military academy. Some of Brewer's fellow officers, however, do not share such admiration for him, especially Captain Dana Holden (Duke Worne), a graduate of West Point. Soon the arrival of a beautiful young woman named Madge (Louise Granville) intensifies the animosity and tension between Brewer and his superior officer.