Stage to Chino

George O'Brien is a postal inspector. He goes undercover to court pretty Virginia Vale, who owns a stage line, and to investigate Roy Barcroft, who owns a rival line and most of Chino, and is running a gold-shipping scam.

It's a light-hearted RKO B western. Hobart Cavanaugh has a pretty big and moderately funny role as a drummer who has whatever goods are needed for any plot point. Despite the usual good standards of O'Brien's RKO westerns, he was getting tired of the grind. He had been a huge star at Fox in the 1920s, for John Ford and in such prestige movies as SUNRISE. With the coming of sound he lost his contract and went into B movies, until RKO got his contract in 1938. For three years he toiled in popular B Westerns, but this one would be his next-to-last in the series. He would largely retire thereafter and, after a hitch in the Navy (he was also a WWI Navy vet), would play a few more roles for Ford and deal with his investments.