George 'Gabby' Hayes

Roy edits a small town newspaper. A rancher is murdered, and his fortune is inherited by a young boy. Editor Roy, with the assistance (?) of big city reporter Dale, brings the killers to justice. In this Roy Rogers entry, featuring a song written by Oklahoma Governor Roy J. Turner (making him and Louisiana's Jimmie Davis and Texas' W.E. "Pappy" O'Daniel possibly the only state governors to write songs used in a western), Flying T ranch owner Sam Talbot is killed by a fall from a horse. St. Louis reporter Connie Edwards comes to check a rumor that he might have been murdered. She goes to Roy Rogers, editor of the local newspaper, and he takes her to the reading of Talbot's will. The ranch is left to Talbot's 12-year-old ward, Duke Lowery, much to the dismay of Talbot's niece, Jan Holloway. After some attempts on Duke's life, Roy finally proves that Jan, Steve McClory and coroner Jim Judnick had Talbot killed and are conspiring to do the same for Duke, making Jan the last heir. —Les Adams <longhorn1939@suddenlink.net> Duke (Lanny Rees, "The Life of Riley"), a 12-year-old orphan of unknown parentage and provenance, unexpectedly and inexplicably inherits a 50-million-dollar ranch from his informal guardian who is not related. Roy (Roy Rogers), as editor of the local newspaper and on the basis of a puzzling note from the dead man, takes on the role of investigative reporter and determines to ensure justice is done. Meanwhile, the late ranch-owner's daughter Jan (Carol Hughes), who is left a paltry sum of cash, reflects that if little Duke were out of the way, she would be the only possible remaining heir. Connie (Dale Evans), a singing ace reporter from St. Louis, joins the hunt, but soon there are two reasons for Duke to die. —Badger Wealthy rancher Sam Talbot has died in an accident and his only relative Jan expects to inherit his ranch. Instead it goes to an unrelated 14 year old boy. When an attempt is made on the boy's life, newspaper reporters Roy and Connie investigate. At the scene of the accident they find Talbot's broken watch and later learn that the time on it proves his death was not an accident. —Maurice VanAuken <mvanauken@a1access.net>

The mayor has sent for a gunslinger who, though appearing to clean up the town, is really to be the mayor's means of taking the town over. When Roy and Gabby arrive in Tombstone, Roy is mistaken for the gunslinger. Just as Roy is ready to expose the mayor, the real gunslinger shows up. —Ed Stephan <stephan@cc.wwu.edu>

Roy and Gabby have to establish fair business practices in the town of Deadwood, currently dominated by entrepreneurs who scare off potential competitors. Deadwood is controlled by Ripper's gang that has rendered the Sheriff and the Judge powerless. When Gabby's medicine show featuring Roy arrives they are quickly run out. They join the Laramie Gap gang that is fighting Ripper and when Gabby's inheritance money is stolen they rob the stage to get it back, Getting the money and the names assigned to it, Roy hopes this evidence will enable the Judge to bring law and order to Deadwood. —Maurice VanAuken <mvanauken@a1access.net>

In Kansas during the Civil War, opposing pro-Union and pro-Confederate camps clash and visiting Texan Bob Seton runs afoul of William Cantrell's Raiders. When transplanted Texan Bob Seton arrives in Lawrence, Kansas, he finds much to like about the place--especially Mary McCloud, daughter of the local banker, but politics is in the air: it's just prior to the Civil War and there is already a sharp division in the Territory as to whether it will remain slavery-free. When he gets the opportunity to run for marshal, Seton finds himself running against respected local schoolteacher William Cantrell. Not all is what it seems, though: While acting as the upstanding citizen in public, Cantrell is dangerously ambitious and prepared to do anything to make his mark, and his fortune, on the Territory. When he loses the race for marshal, he forms a group of raiders who run guns into the territory and rob and terrorize settlers throughout the territory. Eventually donning Confederate uniforms, it is left to Seton and the good citizens of Lawrence to face Cantrell and his raiders in one final clash. —garykmcd Cowpoke Bob Seton becomes a rival for William Cantrell's girl and for the sheriff's job Cantrell covets. When Seton wins both, Cantrell forsakes his respected position as schoolteacher and leads a band of renegades through Kansas, looting and destroying, all in the name of the Confederacy. —Jim Beaver <jumblejim@prodigy.net> A Civil-War era story of a renegade guerrilla band led by William Contrell. (Couldn't be a thinly-disguised take-off on the real William Quantrill, confederate guerrilla commander, 1837-1865. No, of course not.) Cow-town boss in conflict with the new marshal. —Ed Stephan <stephan@cc.wwu.edu> The story takes place before the Civil War when Bob Seton takes a run for Federal Marshal of Kansas against William Cantrell. He ends up defeating Cantrell which infuriates him. Cantrell then steals away Seton's girl and manipulates her into marriage. The rivalry between them comes to a climax when Seton exposes Cantrell and his guerrillas. —Christopher D. Ryan <cryan@direct.ca>

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. 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. —Dale Roloff

Hopalong Cassidy and his gang battle sabotaging crooks as they gather more horses for the Spanish-American war. During the Spanish-American War, Colonel Teddy Roosevelt's Rough Riders are short of horses, and Hopalong Cassidy and his Bar-20 friends are detailed to round up a bunch of wild horses, but a renegade and his gang are out to stop the roundup. —Les Adams <longhorn1939@suddenlink.net> The Army needs 500 horses and Hoppy has been sent to round them up. After he and his men do all the work, Carson arrives and plants ten of his branded horses among the group. Then he and his men arrest Hoppy and his crew for rustling and make plans to hang all of them and then sell the horses. —Maurice VanAuken <mvanauken@a1access.net> In this 14th film of the 66-film series that is credited on the film as being based on Clarence E. Mulford's novel "Tex"... but isn't, other than some character names...the United States Army needs horses for the Spanish-American war but all attempts to get wild horses from the Western plains has failed as the gathered herds have been taken by rustlers. Colonel Whitely instructs Major McCready to secure the services of Hopalong Cassidy who, meanwhile, has been training his men as a volunteer force. While disappointed at having to work as a civilian, Cassidy answers the call to the flag and with the help of Lucky Jenkins, Windy Halliday, Smokey and the other cowhands, rounds up a herd of 500 wild horses. Black Jack Carson and his henchmen Hawks, Shorty and Brad steal the horses and capture Cassidy and his men. With the help of Boots, the Colonel's son, and Barbara Allen, Lucky's sweetheart, Cassidy manages to escape, regain the horses and capture Carson and his men. —Les Adams <longhorn1939@suddenlink.net>

John Dawson loses control of his factory when he is crippled in an accident caused by a rival. Destitute, he travels the country organizing the homeless to help him regain control of his steel mill. John Dawson, a steel-mill owner loses his legs and his company in an accident engineered by his crooked secretary/treasurer, Jim Marley. After meeting a blind peddler, Marchant, he travels the country, under an assumed name, organizing beggars, peddlers, and the handicapped into a dues-paying system. —Les Adams <longhorn1939@suddenlink.net>