Ridin' the Cherokee Trail
Cast & Crew
Spencer Gordon Bennet
Tex Ritter
White Flash
"arkansas Slim" Andrews
Forrest Taylor
Betty Miles
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Texas Rangers Tex and Slim are about to leave for a fishing vacation when Captain Wallace asks them to unofficially cross the border into the Cherokee Strip, an area between Texas and Oklahoma in which they have no jurisdiction because it has not yet been accepted into the Union. Residents of the Strip are being badgered by a gang of outlaws led by Bradley Craven, who consistently prevents the residents from holding an election. Wallace asks Tex and Slim to lure Craven over the border so the Rangers can arrest him. In the Strip, rancher Wyatt leads a town meeting in which he announces that Tom Carson will be returning from Washington, D.C. with ballots for the citizens to vote to join the Union. Craven publicly supports the idea of statehood, but privately sends his thugs, Dirk and Squint, to stop Carson. Dirk and Squint attack Wyatt and his daughter Ruth's wagon, as they are driving Carson back to town. Carson is shot and killed, but Tex and Slim encounter the ambush and scare off the attackers. Although unaware that they are Rangers, Wyatt and Ruth are grateful when Tex and Slim accompany them into town. After Tex and Slim go into the saloon to earn a reputation as tough guys, they are captured and taken to Craven. Craven, a sophisticate who prefers to play chess while his men carry out his plans, assumes that Tex is an outlaw, and when Tex successfully matches wits with him, he hires him to get rid of the Wyatts. To that end, Tex and Slim demand a $5,000 land tax from the Wyatts to go toward the election, and threaten to run them off their land. The Wyatts are shocked by the change in Tex, who reports back to his new boss that the Wyatts will be off their land in a week. Tex then appeals to Craven's ego in order to convince the leader to ride across the border with his gang for a bank robbery. While the gang is en route, however, Squint finds Tex's watch, which is engraved from the Texas Rangers, and Craven realizes that he has been tricked. Tex escapes from the gang, and he and Slim devise a new plan to draw Craven across the border, then seek Wyatt's help after admitting their true identities. Wyatt is hesitant to aid the Rangers without proof, but Ruth convinces him to lend his support. Tex promises to lure the gang away from the ranch so that the ranchers can capture Craven and take him across the border. However, Tex is captured and the ranchers ride into an ambush, and again assume that Tex has tricked them. When Tex frees himself, Craven sees him escaping and follows with his men. The ranchers overpower the remaining outlaws and then join in the pursuit. Tex finally tricks Craven into crossing the border by moving the border marker, and leading him and his gang into an open field, where they are captured by Wallace and the Rangers. The relieved ranchers arrive shortly after, and realize that Tex and Slim have been working on their behalf all along. The ranchers invite Tex to be the first to hoist their flag when they join the Union.
Director
Spencer Gordon Bennet
Cast
Tex Ritter
White Flash
"arkansas Slim" Andrews
Forrest Taylor
Betty Miles
Jack Roper
Fred Burns
Bruce Nolan
Gene Alsace
Bob Card
Chick Hannan
The Tennessee Ramblers:
Jack Gillette
Harry Blair
Happy Tex Martin
Cecil Campbell
Kid Clark
Post Park
Jack C. Smith
Duke Lee
Crew
Slim Andrews
Harry Blair
Glenn Cook
Edward Finney
Jack Gillette
Glen Glenn
Robert Golden
E. R. Hickson
Edmond Kelso
Johnny Lange
Marcel A. Lepicard
Lew Porter
Tex Ritter
Frank Sanucci
Jack Smith
Samuel Wallis
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
Onscreen credits note that "The Tennessee Ramblers" were also known as "The Arizona Ranch Hands." According to copyright records, the singing group regularly performed on WBT radio in Charlotte, NC. Modern sources include the following actors in the cast: Ed Cassidy, Nolan Willis, Chuck Baldra and Sherry Tansey.
