Complete credited cast: | |||
Roy Rogers | ... | Roy Rogers | |
Trigger | ... | Trigger | |
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 | ... | Mack McKenzie | |
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Emmett Vogan | ... | Dr. George Fredricks, DVM |
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Foy Willing | ... | Foy |
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Riders of the Purple Sage | ... | Musicians (as The Riders of the Purple Sage) |
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. McKenzie hires Steve Paxton to kill the vet and steal his report. Roy Rogers and the Riders of the Purple Sage (Foy Willing, Darol Rice, George Bamby and Al Sloey) on their way to the Cheyenne Rodeo, detour through Sun Rock so that Roy can visit his old schoolteacher Dolly Paxton, Steve's stepmother. Roy becomes involved in the chase of Steve by Sheriff Holbrook. Ruth Shaw tells Roy that the school board has fired Dolly because of Steve, and that she has turned into a crushed and bitter woman still willing to defend her stepson. Roy discovers a McKenzie calf with symptoms of hoof-and-mouth which puts him on the trail of McKenzie. Written by Les Adams <longhorn1939@suddenlink.net>
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.