Grand Canyon Trail


1h 7m 1948

Brief Synopsis

Sintown is just a deserted ghost town until Vanerpool starts looking for silver. Cookie and Roy's partners put $20,000 into the business only to find that the mine is worthless and Vanerpool is bankrupt. Carol comes out to look for silver to save the company, but does not know that their engineer, named Regan, is crooked and wants all the silver for himself. But only Old Ed knows where the mother lode is located.

Film Details

Genre
Western
Release Date
Nov 15, 1948
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
Republic Pictures Corp.
Distribution Company
Republic Pictures Corp.
Country
United States

Technical Specs

Duration
1h 7m
Sound
Mono (RCA Sound System)
Color
Color (Trucolor)
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1

Synopsis

Although rancher Roy Rogers instructs his men to go into town to purchase some horses, they are conned by blacksmith "Cookie" Bullfincher into investing in new ore smelting techniques instead. After he collects their money, half of which belongs to Roy, Cookie sends it to Eastern silver mine owner J. Malcolm Vanderpool. Shortly thereafter, Vanderpool receives a telegram from his mining engineer, Bill Regan, informing him that his mine is worthless. With two months' severance pay given to her by Vanderpool, secretary Carol Martin, who suspects that her boss may have defrauded his investors, decides to visit Sintown, the town nearest the mine. As she waits to be picked up, Carol notices the stagecoach wandering aimlessly across the valley. When Roy sees that the stage has no driver, he jumps aboard and ties his horse Trigger to the back. When he stops to pick up Carol, she mistakes him for the driver and tells him that he is fired. Carol then drives herself into town, where she tells Bill and his friend, Mike Delsing, that she is Vanderpool's daughter. After Mike and Bill take her to the Hangman's Hotel, Mike demands she return the $20,000 he gave Vanderpool, but she explains that her boss is ruined. Bill, meanwhile, rides to his hideout, where stage driver Ed Carruthers is being held hostage, and reads a government assay report which states that Vanderpool's mine is actually rich in silver. When Roy later sees Carol hanging precariously from her hotel window, he rushes upstairs and is hit over the head by Mike. Later, Roy and Cookie go to the mine, but henchman Dave Williams prevents them from entering. That evening, the bandits kill Ed and tie his body onto his mule Genevieve. When he sees them on their way to the Hangman's Hotel, Roy follows the two bandits. The outlaws drape a white sheet over the mule, and Carol thinks Genevieve is a ghost. Later, Carol screams and runs outside after finding Ed's corpse hanging inside her closet. Carol tells Roy what she has seen, but when they return to the room, they find the corpse gone. Once back outside, Roy looks up and sees the corpse hanging from the gallows atop the hotel entrance. After Bill accuses him of murder, Roy escapes on Trigger. Later, Carol finds a silver nugget tied to Genevieve's bell and discovers that it is very valuable. Suspecting that Carol is involved in the conspiracy, Roy takes her prisoner. When it begins to rain heavily, they decide to stay in an empty cabin, and Mike breaks in later that night looking for Roy. Thinking that Mike has come to set her free, Carol breaks a vase over Roy's head and escapes. Later, Roy reads her real name inside her wallet, and Carol admits that she is actually Vanderpool's secretary. The next day, Vanderpool arrives in town, and Carol demands that he be arrested for spreading false rumors about his mine. As Carol tries to persuade Roy to surrender, Genevieve sees Bill reach for his gun and knocks him down. Carol realizes that Bill is one of the bandits and knocks him unconscious with a rock. Later, she and Roy heave him onto Genevieve's back for his trip to jail.

Film Details

Genre
Western
Release Date
Nov 15, 1948
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
Republic Pictures Corp.
Distribution Company
Republic Pictures Corp.
Country
United States

Technical Specs

Duration
1h 7m
Sound
Mono (RCA Sound System)
Color
Color (Trucolor)
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1

Quotes

Trivia

Notes

A working title of the film was Grand Canyon Serenade. Onscreen credits misspelled sound engineer T. A. Carman's surname as "Carmen." According to the Daily Variety review, the picture was shot on location at the Grand Canyon.