In the ubiquitous battle between cattlemen and sheep herders, it's usually the cattlemen that are the bad guys, but not here. Plotting to frame old John 'Gospel' Moody (Hobart Bosworth) for murder, the sheep faction intends to steal his land and water rights to put down the cattlemen for good.
There's not much to recommend this Tex Ritter vehicle; it's rather on the slow side and even though 1938 was well past the beginning of the sound era, it had some of that uncertain feel of an early talkie where the players seemed unsure of each other. Tex has a couple of sidekicks who provided the nominal comic relief, but I couldn't help but find them more annoying than funny. Particularly Snub Pollard in the early going who looked like he was a bit on the fey side. Horace Murphy as Ananias wasn't much better, and the pair didn't really complement each other all that well.
The one lively scene that makes the picture worth your while is the well staged barroom brawl between Tex Ritter and perennial baddie Charles King. They mix it up pretty well and destroy enough furniture to lay waste to the set. It's one of your better B Western brawls.
The picture does utilize a creative touch to begin bringing the villains to justice. Tex reads from the Bible in a darkened room after getting the drop on Cain Moody (Ernie Adams), as the 'ghost' of John Moody sings Rock of Ages. Cain goes berserk and spills the beans on the brains behind the sheepmen, Dan Barrow (Karl Hackett). Following your standard horse chase and shootout, Tex corners Barrow on the side of a cliff, where he loses his footing and falls to his doom. It's a rather awkward finish, but does provide the segue for Tex to sing the title song once more, just in case you missed it the first two times.
There's not much to recommend this Tex Ritter vehicle; it's rather on the slow side and even though 1938 was well past the beginning of the sound era, it had some of that uncertain feel of an early talkie where the players seemed unsure of each other. Tex has a couple of sidekicks who provided the nominal comic relief, but I couldn't help but find them more annoying than funny. Particularly Snub Pollard in the early going who looked like he was a bit on the fey side. Horace Murphy as Ananias wasn't much better, and the pair didn't really complement each other all that well.
The one lively scene that makes the picture worth your while is the well staged barroom brawl between Tex Ritter and perennial baddie Charles King. They mix it up pretty well and destroy enough furniture to lay waste to the set. It's one of your better B Western brawls.
The picture does utilize a creative touch to begin bringing the villains to justice. Tex reads from the Bible in a darkened room after getting the drop on Cain Moody (Ernie Adams), as the 'ghost' of John Moody sings Rock of Ages. Cain goes berserk and spills the beans on the brains behind the sheepmen, Dan Barrow (Karl Hackett). Following your standard horse chase and shootout, Tex corners Barrow on the side of a cliff, where he loses his footing and falls to his doom. It's a rather awkward finish, but does provide the segue for Tex to sing the title song once more, just in case you missed it the first two times.