Sundown Trail

Frank Gruber once claimed there were only seven western plots. This would be the second in his list, the ranch story, in which outside forces threaten a rancher. In this case, it's Marion Shilling who has just inherited a ranch but if she wants it, she has to live on it for five years, lest it go to Tom Keene.

Tom was a dedicated actor who occasionally got small roles in A pictures, but most of his work was in the Cowboy Bs. This is a decent example of the sort of shoot-em-ups that RKO turned out. Within a couple of years, however, they dropped their lesser efforts in favor of two long-running series, first with George O'Brien and later with Tim Holt.

This one is not just an early example of the singing cowboy western -- people burst into song at reasonable moments -- but also a pretty good western on its own. With Ted McCord handling the camera work and Yakima Canutt as a stunt double, it's a well-done if not terribly exceptional one-hour western.

Sundown Trail would probably have served as a plot to a Roy Rogers/Dale Evans type western years later. There is some singing here as the cowboys gather round the campfire and warble a few western ballads. Roy and Dale would have handled the vocalizing better.

As it is this film falls under the funny will provision where only in Hollywood does someone make out wills like these. Marion Shilling with her lawyer Hooper Atchley has come west to claim her inheritance. But the will has a few jokers in the deck such as 50% of the place goes to his foreman Tom Keene and 100% of it if within the next five years she leaves ranch property for more than 10 days straight. I've often wondered how enforceable these things are in real life.

In any event Shilling who is most unwilling eventually takes a liking to the westerner Keene as opposed to that eastern lawyer. Keene also saves her from making one big mistake about the herd that's on the range now.

This is a passably good B western, but it would have been great with Roy and Dale.