Courtin' Trouble
Cast & Crew
Ford Beebe
Jimmy Wakely
"cannonball" Taylor
Virginia Belmont
Marshall Reed
Steve Clark
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Cowboy Jimmy Wakely meets up with old friend "Cannonball," a traveling peddler, when he returns to an area in which he had previously worked. When two gunmen, Cody and Becker, attack cattle rancher Curtis and his ranch hand, Bill Graves, Jimmy intervenes, but Graves is killed and Curtis robbed of money from a cattle sale. Jimmy catches Becker, Graves's killer, and hands him over to the sheriff. Later, Mark Reed, head of the cattlemen's association, tells Jimmy that Judge Madison is turning criminals loose as fast as they are brought in. Dude Dawson, a crooked saloon keeper and president of the businessmen's association, meanwhile, seeks help from attorney Carol Madison, the judge's daughter. When Dawson anxiously expresses his desire that the town be served by the railroad, Carol reminds him that her father is at the state capital trying to arrange it. Later, Jimmy gets a job as an entertainer at Dawson's saloon and renews his acquaintance with Carol. After Cody delivers the money from the Curtis robbery to Dawson, he tells Carol that Curtis and Graves fired the first shots, prompting her to agree to defend Becker. She fears, however, that Curtis will be a potentially dangerous witness. Accordingly, Cody, acting on Dawson's orders, kills Curtis, making it look like an accident, and Becker is released due to lack of evidence. Carol's father then returns with the news that the town will have its railroad spur. Later, Jimmy arranges a meeting between Reed and Dawson to try to bring an end to the fighting and also suggests circulating a petition to request the governor to send a state marshal to clean up the town. Dawson later tells Cody that he was coerced into signing the petition, but that it will never reach the capital. When Cody and Becker shoot the man carrying the petition to the governor, Jimmy intervenes and kills Becker. Reed then tells Jimmy that he thinks that the judge is working for Dawson and says he will prove it. At Dawson's saloon, where the judge is being allowed to win at poker, Reed accuses him of being in cahoots with Dawson. The judge swears he knows nothing about the killing of the petition carrier and demands to know from Dawson what is going on. Realizing he has been a fool, the judge says he will run Dawson out of town, but Dawson arranges to hire Burt Larsen, who is a member of Reed's association, to kill the judge. When the judge pleads with Reed to see the governor with him, Reed refuses and asks him to leave his property. Larsen rides up and Reed asks him to make the judge leave, but Larsen instead shoots and kills Madison. Larsen then frames Reed for the judge's murder. Jimmy asks Carol to defend Reed, but she intends to prosecute him. Jimmy and Cannonball then take Larsen prisoner so he cannot give evidence, but Dawson stirs up a mob to lynch Reed if he is released for lack of a witness. After Jimmy formulates a new plan and turns Larsen loose, Carol hides in a closet in Dawson's office and hears Larsen admit to killing her father. She is discovered, but manages to alert Jimmy before Dawson takes her hostage and rides off with her in a buckboard. Jimmy rides after them and shoots and kills Dawson. Reed is released and he and Carol thank Jimmy and wish him well as he rides off for his next adventure.
Director
Ford Beebe
Cast
Jimmy Wakely
"cannonball" Taylor
Virginia Belmont
Marshall Reed
Steve Clark
House Peters Jr.
Frank Larue
Wm. Norton Bailey
Bud Osborne
Bill Hale
Bob Woodward
Carol Henry
Bill Potter
Leonard Penn
Boyd Stockman
Don Weston
Louis Armstrong
Arthur Smith
Crew
George Booker
Ronald Davidson
Eddie Davis
Tommy Dilbeck
Oliver Drake
James Fullerton
Louis Gray
Harry Jones
Edward Kay
Helen Mccaffrey
Frank Mcwhorter
Harry Neumann
Carl Pierson
Len Powers
Johann Strauss Ii
Vin Taylor
Jimmy Wakely
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The working title of this film was Headin' for Trouble. Some contemporary reviews state that the film contains three songs, but only two were heard in the print viewed, which was complete. Modern sources add Frank Ellis and Ray Jones to the cast.
