Young Bill Hickok (1940)

Bill Hickok, assisted by Calamity Jane, is after a foreign agent and his guerrilla band who are trying to take over some western territory just as the Civil War is coming to a close.

Director:

Joseph Kane

Writers:

Norton S. Parker (original screenplay), Olive Cooper (original screenplay)

Stars:

Roy Rogers, George 'Gabby' Hayes, Julie Bishop

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Roy Rogers	...	Wild Bill Hickok
George 'Gabby' Hayes	...	Gabby Whitaker
Julie Bishop	...	Louise Mason (as Jacqueline Wells)
John Miljan	...	Nicholas Tower
Sally Payne	...	Miss Calamity Jane Canary
Archie Twitchell	...	Phillip
Monte Blue	...	Marshal Evans
Hal Taliaferro	...	Morrell
Ethel Wales	...	Mrs. Stout
Jack Ingram	...	Henchman Red Burke
Monte Montague	...	Charlie Majors

Storyline

Bill Hickok in his early pre-gunslinger years as a freight-line agent protecting a gold shipment from villains out to steal gold and land out west while America is diverted by the Civil War back east. With the help of Calamity Jane and her horse-trader uncle, Hickok battles the bad guys while trying to win the love of his life, Louise, in a formulaic B western adventure with songs.

---

Plot Keywords:

wild bill hickok character | gold | foreign agent | american civil war | 

---

Taglines:

BILL HICKOK...PATHFINDER...PLAINSMAN...PIONEER...reliving America's most colorful days!

---

Genres:

Western

---

Certificate:

Passed

Did You Know?

Trivia

The failure of the original copyright holder to renew the film's copyright resulted in it falling into public domain, meaning that virtually anyone could duplicate and sell a VHS/DVD copy of the film. Therefore, many of the versions of this film available on the market are either severely (and usually badly) edited and/or of extremely poor quality, having been duped from second- or third-generation (or more) copies of the film.

---

Quotes

Wild Bill Hickok: Louise, this is Calamity Jane or Miss Canary in polite society.
Miss Calamity Jane Canary: Well, I never get in it, so just call me Calamity. Howdy.
Louise Mason: How do you do.
Wild Bill Hickok: An' this is Gabby Witacker.
'Gabby' Whitaker: [Gesturing to Calamity] I'm her uncle.
Miss Calamity Jane Canary: Don't a have the derndest luck?
'Gabby' Whitaker: Meanin' Me?
Miss Calamity Jane Canary: No, that pony's gone lame. We've gotta go see about it.
'Gabby' Whitaker: We ain't got no lame pony.
Miss Calamity Jane Canary: Well then come on out and help me trip one.

---

Connections

Edited into Six Gun Theater: Young Bill Hickok (2015)

---

Soundtracks

Polly Wolly Doodle
(uncredited)
Traditional
Played in the saloon

User Reviews

Not a bad way to kill an hour

This is the first Roy Rogers film I've ever seen in its entirety, although I watched many an episode of his TV show in my younger years. It was a passable B western, with some fine Yakima Canutt stunts, and features an appearance by a veteran of John Wayne's old Lone Star westerns, Jack Rockwell, as a stagecoach driver. Roy, Sally Payne and Gabby sing some fair but forgettable songs, Sally and Gabby's scenes together are a hoot, and Julie Bishop and Trigger both look as comely as ever. The screenwriters in typical Hollywood fashion play fast and loose with the history of these characters and their times.(The notion of anybody trying to take California away from the U.S. is ridiculous, Wild Bill and Calamity didn't meet until almost a dozen years after the Civil War and both were pretty homely looking even by 19th century standards.) All in all, some parts of this film are quite entertaining, it's mostly pleasing to the eye and ear, and it's not a bad way to kill an hour. Dale Roloff

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 October 1940 (USA)

Also Known As:

Young Bill Hickok

Filming Locations:

Burro Flats, Simi Hills, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Republic Pictures (I)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

59 min (original) 54 min (edited)

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1