Cow Town
Cast & Crew
John English
Gene Autry
Champion
Gail Davis
Harry Shannon
Jock O'mahoney
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Having heard about the effectiveness of a new product called barbed wire, rancher Gene Autry orders bales of it. When the wire arrives on the stagecoach, Gene is too occupied with chasing rustlers Mike Grady and Ed Loomis to retrieve it. Before Gene can bring the crooks to town, he is stopped at gunpoint by rancher Ginger Kirby, who identifies the men as her employees. Mike and Ed insist that they were chasing their own cattle, not rustling, but Gene wants Sheriff Steve Calhoun to arbitrate the dispute, and brings Ginger along too. Calhoun puts Ed and Mike in jail and places Ginger in the custody of his wife. Later, at Sandy Reeves's stable, Gene lends young Duke Kirby the money to pay Sandy for a saddle, unaware that Duke is Ginger's brother. Meanwhile, Ginger sneaks away from the sheriff's wife and helps Mike and Ed escape from jail. When the escape is discovered, a posse is formed to chase them. The two men hide among the rocks, where Sandy discovers them. After Mike and Ed greet him with relief because he is a friend, Sandy shoots them in cold blood and calls the others. Gene is suspicious, however, when he notices Mike and Ed are holding the wrong guns, but Sandy blames the mistake on the fact that the men left the jail in a hurry. Back in town, the sheriff puts Ginger in jail. Now Gene turns his attention to the barbed wire. During a demonstration for some skeptical ranchers, he enumerates its advantages without much effect. Then Sandy spreads a rumor that the use of the wire to fence in the range will put cowboys out of work. Gene's doubts about Sandy grow when he learns that Sandy paid Ginger's bail. Later, Gene's ranch comes under attack by angry cowboys. Loss of cattle to injury and rustlers has badly hurt many of the ranchers, and now Sandy and his former partner, Chet Hilliard, plot to buy up their land for back taxes and use it to raise sheep. As hostility grows among the ranchers, Gene learns that Ginger faces the prospect of losing her ranch for unpaid taxes and offers to help her round up her cattle so that she can sell them and pay her debt. By accident, Gene discovers a wanted poster with Hilliard's picture on it, and starts to suspect the truth. Then, Gene is able to stop a stampede by stringing barbed wire across a street and thus demonstrates that the wire works without injuring the cattle. Later, a desperate Hilliard stirs up the cowboys against Gene, but Ginger is able to warn Gene's men in time. After a gunfight, Gene reveals Sandy and Hilliard's plans. Sandy tries to escape, but is stopped by the barbed wire that was strung during the stampede. Now that its efficacy has been proven, orders pour in for the wire.
Director
John English
Cast
Gene Autry
Champion
Gail Davis
Harry Shannon
Jock O'mahoney
Clark "buddy" Burroughs
Harry Harvey
Steve Darrell
Sandy Sanders
Ralph Sanford
Bud Osborne
Robert Hilton
Ted Mapes
Charles Roberson
House Peters Jr.
Holly Bane
Herman Hack
Felice Richmond
Frank Mccarroll
Frank O'connor
Pat O'malley
Crew
George N. Allen
Gene Autry
Mischa Bakaleinikoff
Henry Batista
William Bradford
E. H. Chapin
Sidney Clifford
Lambert Day
Paul Donnelly
Gerald Geraghty
Carmen Lombardo
Harold Macarthur
Paul Mertz
Stanley Rochinski
Armand Schaefer
William Cool White
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
Portions of this film were shot on location in Lone Pine, CA.
