The Cowboy Counsellor
Cast & Crew
George Melford
Hoot Gibson
Sheila Manners
Jack Rutherford
Skeeter Bill Robbins
Al Bridge
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Outside a Colorado town, a stagecoach is robbed of $5,000 in new twenty-dollar bills contained in an express box. Sheriff Matt Verity and his posse lose the trail of the lone bandit near the Avery Ranch, where they find Ruth Avery with her little brother Bobby. Their brother Luke, out tending a sick cow, is suspected when the Mexican scarf that the bandit wore and disposed of at the ranch is found there and the empty express box is located near Luke. Ruth's rejected suitor, Bill Clary, drops $100 in new twenties under the Avery doorstep, and the sheriff finds them. With this evidence, he arrests Luke. After traveling bookseller Dan Alton convinces the sheriff and others in town to buy a book entitled The Ranchman's Own Lawyer , Bobby overhears his spiel and takes Ruth to him. Although Dan is not a lawyer, he agrees to help her. Suspecting Clary, who owns land bordering the Avery ranch, Dan has Ruth detain him while he ransacks his house for evidence. Before Dan finds anything, he hears the sheriff, who also suspects Clary, and his posse ride up, but Dan is able to escape without being recognized. Meanwhile, Ruth agrees to leave town with Clary after he promises not to go to Luke's trial and testify against him. Donning the Mexican scarf, which Bobby has stolen from the sheriff's office, Dan holds up the stage carrying the judge and state's attorney, and steals their wallets. At the trial, when the scarf, which has been returned to the sheriff, is presented as evidence, the judge and state's attorney recognize it. The jury, now with a reasonable doubt as to Luke's guilt, declares him innocent. However, Dan, who, during the holdup, spoke his favorite phrase, "but a gent never passes up the chance to say 'Thank you'," now says something similar to the judge and gives the same flourishing gesture that he used during the holdup, and the judge orders him arrested as the holdup man. Dan escapes and finds Clary, who is hurrying in a buggy to the courtroom now that he believes that Ruth has double-crossed him. Dan and Clary fight in the buggy as the posse chases them, and when the buggy falls over a small cliff, Dan subdues Clary. When the sheriff arrives, Dan reveals new twenties on Clary's person and Clary is arrested. Although Luke is released, the judge still insists on trying Dan. He schemes to clear himself, however, and after Ruth agrees to be his wife, asks the judge to perform the ceremony. Upon hearing that the judge has forgotten the service, Dan brings out The Ranchman's Own Lawyer and begins his sales pitch.
Director
George Melford
Cast
Hoot Gibson
Sheila Manners
Jack Rutherford
Skeeter Bill Robbins
Al Bridge
Fred Gilman
Bobby Nelson
William Humphrey
Gordon De Maine
Wm. Mccormack
Sam Allen
Crew
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The first name of the female lead, Sheila Manners, is misspelled "Shiela" in the screen credits, and actor William Humphrey's name is spelled "Wm. Humphrys." Modern sources list Frank Ellis and Slim Whittaker as additional cast members.
