"Roaring Frontiers" was one of eight features starring Bill Elliott and Tex Ritter. A third character, "Cannonball" was played initially by Dub Taylor and later by Frank Mitchell. Sagebrush trios were quite popular at the time so Columbia decided to create one of their own.
The story begins with Tex Martin (Ritter) riding in to town following his father's murder. Tex suspects local saloon keeper Hawk Hammond (Bradley Page) and goes to confront him. The sheriff while trying to intervene, is murdered and Hawk frames Tex for the crime. Enter Marshal Wild Bill Hickock (Elliott) who takes it upon himself to pursue Tex to avoid Hammond's plan of lynching him. Wild Bill bring Tex in and plans to move him to the County Seat for trial. Hammond has his men break Tex out of jail in order to shoot him while trying to escape. During the scuffle at the jail, Tex is wounded and rescued by Hickock and the two flee to the hills.
Later they flag down the stagecoach in order to get help for Tex. Aboard the coach are heroine Reba Bailey (Ruth Ford), Cannonball (Frank Mitchell), barber Link Twiddle (Hal Taliaferro) and a gambler named Bert (Tristram Coffin). The group arrive at a relay station run by Moccasin (Charlie Stevens) whose horses have mysteriously disappeared thus stranding the travelers. Link and Reba tend to Tex's wound while Wild Bill plays poker with the others including stage driver Hank Bell and Guard Steve Clark. During the game Bill begins to believe Tex's story that he was framed due to the actions of Bert.
Bert flees to town and Hammond followed by Bill and Tex. A gunfight ensues and the real murderer is identified and Bill and Tex become friends.
Elliott and Ritter played well against each other making me eager to see other entries in the series. The casting of the villains was a weak point in my view. Bradley Page and his henchmen were not up to the level of say Columbia's resident baddies like Dick Curtis and Jack Ingram. Ritter gets to croon a couple of forgettable songs as well as woo the heroine. Most of the others in the cast were seasoned veterans including those mentioned earlier plus Ernie Adams as the jailer and George Cheseboro as the bartender.
The story begins with Tex Martin (Ritter) riding in to town following his father's murder. Tex suspects local saloon keeper Hawk Hammond (Bradley Page) and goes to confront him. The sheriff while trying to intervene, is murdered and Hawk frames Tex for the crime. Enter Marshal Wild Bill Hickock (Elliott) who takes it upon himself to pursue Tex to avoid Hammond's plan of lynching him. Wild Bill bring Tex in and plans to move him to the County Seat for trial. Hammond has his men break Tex out of jail in order to shoot him while trying to escape. During the scuffle at the jail, Tex is wounded and rescued by Hickock and the two flee to the hills.
Later they flag down the stagecoach in order to get help for Tex. Aboard the coach are heroine Reba Bailey (Ruth Ford), Cannonball (Frank Mitchell), barber Link Twiddle (Hal Taliaferro) and a gambler named Bert (Tristram Coffin). The group arrive at a relay station run by Moccasin (Charlie Stevens) whose horses have mysteriously disappeared thus stranding the travelers. Link and Reba tend to Tex's wound while Wild Bill plays poker with the others including stage driver Hank Bell and Guard Steve Clark. During the game Bill begins to believe Tex's story that he was framed due to the actions of Bert.
Bert flees to town and Hammond followed by Bill and Tex. A gunfight ensues and the real murderer is identified and Bill and Tex become friends.
Elliott and Ritter played well against each other making me eager to see other entries in the series. The casting of the villains was a weak point in my view. Bradley Page and his henchmen were not up to the level of say Columbia's resident baddies like Dick Curtis and Jack Ingram. Ritter gets to croon a couple of forgettable songs as well as woo the heroine. Most of the others in the cast were seasoned veterans including those mentioned earlier plus Ernie Adams as the jailer and George Cheseboro as the bartender.
