Down Dakota Way (1949)

User Rating:

6.0/10   

Director:

William Witney

Writers:

John K. Butler (screenplay) and
Sloan Nibley (screenplay)

Release Date:

9 September 1949 (USA)

Genre:

Western

Plot:

Rancher H. T. McKenzie is informed by veterinarian George Fredericks that his cattle are carriers of the hoof-and-mouth disease and must be destroyed...

Plot Keywords:

Veterinarian | Schoolteacher | Cattle Drive | Cattle Disease | Trucolor

Cast

Roy Rogers	...	Roy Rogers
Trigger	...	Trigger, Roy's Horse
Dale Evans	...	Ruth Shaw
Pat Brady	...	Sparrow Biffle
Montie Montana	...	Sheriff Holbrook
Elisabeth Risdon	...	Dolly Paxton
Byron Barr	...	Steve Paxton
James Cardwell	...	Saunders (McKenzie's foreman)
Roy Barcroft	...	H.T. 'Mack' McKenzie
Emmett Vogan	...	Dr. George Fredricks, DVM
Foy Willing	...	Foy
Riders of the Purple Sage	...	Musicians (as The Riders of the Purple Sage)

Runtime:

67 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Trucolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Filming Locations:

Corriganville, Ray Corrigan Ranch, Simi Valley, California, USA

Company:

Republic Pictures (I)

Goofs:

Continuity: Keep an eye on that scene right after Roy has the water hole fight with McKenzie henchman Saunders. After the fight, Sparrow picks up Saunders' hat and takes it with him, but Saunders shows up at McKenzie's later wearing it.

Quotes:

[Steve Paxton dies from wounds received from a posse]
Dolly Paxton: This is what happens to kids who think they can fight the world all alone... that won't listen to parents or those that love them.

A pat formula is the key here.

Republic Pictures released a series of formulaic contemporary westerns with Roy Rogers and his crew during the 1940s, of which this is a late example, a cookie cutter production with pleasing songs by Rogers and Foy Willing's Riders of the Purple Sage, comic interludes involving animals, and a hint of a romance between Roy and Dale Evans' character, none of which is remotely connected with the storyline. As is customary with productions directed by William Witney, this film is choppily edited and makes short shrift of a potentially interesting plot, i.e., cattle ravaged by hoof and mouth disease and a hired gun (Byron Barr) who attempts to cover up this plague by any necessary means, including multiple murders; there is excellent work by stage actress Elisabeth Risdon, who steals her scenes as the killer's stepmother, loyal to him until the finish, and a nice turn is included by great horseman Montie Montana as the local sheriff.