Oklahoma Annie
Cast & Crew
R. G. Springsteen
Judy Canova
John Russell
Grant Withers
Roy Barcroft
Emmett "pappy" Lynn
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Judy Canova owns a trading post outside the town of Eureka where she proudly displays the gun and holster of her grandmother, Oklahoma Annie, a former county sheriff for whom villains either reformed or hanged themselves. Because Judy's customers take excessive advantage of the credit she extends, she has an appointment with Mr. Potter of the Eureka Bank to discuss renewing her loan. Finding a robbery in progress when she arrives, Judy tries to alert the sheriff, but is delayed by Eldridge Haskell, the county supervisor. The robbers get away, but Potter recognizes one of them as Curt Walker. As Walker killed the previous sheriff, the current one decides to resign. With the bank short of money, Judy holds a cash-raising sale to pay her loan. Although her customers seem to profit more than she, she manages to raise $300. Two friends, prospectors Blinky and Paydirt, then agree to deliver the money to the bank. Instead, they lose it betting on a rigged roulette wheel at the notorious Coffin Creek Cafe, a saloon and gambling house outside town. In the saloon's office, Haskell and Walker are meeting with the proprietor, Bull McCready, to discuss unloading the stolen bank money and getting Tullett, one of their henchmen, appointed deputy. Haskell meets with Dan Fraser, the new sheriff, who is oblivious to the supervisor's subtle attempts to ally him with local corruption. During their discussion, Judy calls Dan to complain about the crooked saloon, but getting Haskell instead, concludes that the new sheriff is also corrupt. She calls a meeting of the town's "Women Volunteers," who appoint Judy to demand Dan's resignation. However, when Judy sees Dan, she becomes infatuated, and accompanies him to the saloon in the new sheriff's car, which boasts a modern two-way radio, to check out her complaint. Haskell, meanwhile, warns McCready that Dan is coming, so when Dan and Judy arrive at the saloon, they find men knitting and a soda jerk serving sarsaparilla. Walker leaves abruptly after Dan recognizes him, and Dan and Judy then follow him in the police car until it gets stuck in a creek. On the way back, Judy asks to be hired as deputy, and Dan jokingly agrees, on the condition that she capture Walker. When Judy returns to her store, Blinky and Paydirt warn her that Walker has been seen nearby. Confidently she sets up an elaborate alarm system with items at hand, but Walker enters through an open window and demands shells for his 45. Realizing he has no ammunition, she fights him using all the resources a trading post provides, and though he grabs her grandmother's gun, which turns out to be loaded, she manages to knock him out. She then asks Blinky and Paydirt, who return when they hear the commotion, to deliver him to Dan. Later, when Judy reminds Dan of his promise, he deputizes her for as long as she handles the job like a man. Leaving Judy in charge, Dan then drives to another town to pick up the judge for Walker's trial, who is impressed by Walker's capture. When Judy calls on the radio to ask about jailhouse curtains, however, Dan turns off the radio in embarrassment. In town, Haskell's hoodlums stage a gunfight in the street, and unable to reach Dan, Judy tries to handle it. Finding her shooting skills ineffective, she throws fireworks from a Fourth of July display at the thugs, who throw them back, causing the whole stand to explode. By the time Dan and the judge arrive, the street is snapping and crackling, and Walker is missing from the jail. Judy is relieved of duty and Dan given twenty-four hours to recover him. Later, pretending to help, Haskell tells Dan that he saw Walker at Big Bear Rock, and Dan forms a posse to go there. After Judy overhears a woman calling the saloon for Walker, Dan decides to send the posse ahead, and leaving Judy at the office, drives to the saloon with Haskell. On the way, Haskell suggests that Dan cooperate with certain people, and Dan pretends to consider it, but turns on the two-way radio to alert Judy. She misinterprets his intentions and calls back, begging Dan to stay honest, and Haskell forces Dan into the saloon, where his demise seems assured. In town, Judy, finding all the able-bodied men out with the posse, rings the firebell to call the Women Volunteers, who drive the fire trucks to Coffin Creek, and raid the saloon with hatchets and a fire hose. Judy frees Dan, who joins the fight, knocking out Haskell and McCready. Judy captures Walker, and the rest of the hoodlums prove no match for the women. At election time, Dan becomes the new county supervisor and Judy, the sheriff.
Director
R. G. Springsteen
Cast
Judy Canova
John Russell
Grant Withers
Roy Barcroft
Emmett "pappy" Lynn
Frank Ferguson
Minerva Urecal
Houseley Stevenson
Almira Sessions
Allen Jenkins
Maxine Gates
Emory Parnell
Denver Pyle
House Peters Jr.
Andrew Tombes
Fuzzy Knight
Si Jenks
Paul E. Burns
Herb Vigran
Marian Martin
William Fawcett
Hal Price
Fred Hoose
Lee Phelps
Bobby Taylor
Howard Mitchell
Crew
Frank Arrigo
George Brown
Sonny Burke
Peter De Rose
Jack Elliott
Peggy Gray
John Grubbs
Howard Lydecker
Theodore Lydecker
Bob Mark
Jack Marta
John Mccarthy Jr.
Harry Mcclintock
Adele Palmer
Sidney Picker
Charles E. Roberts
Nathan Scott
Sterling Sherwin
Roland Skeete
Charles Thompson
Jack Townley
Dick Tyler
Richard L. Van Enger
Howard Wilson
Herbert J. Yates
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
A January 1951 Los Angeles Times news item announced that Oklahoma Annie was being written by Robert Lees and Fred Rinaldo, though they are not credited onscreen, and the extent of their contribution to the completed picture has not been determined. According to a July 1951 Hollywood Reporter news item, portions of the picture were shot on location at the Ray Corrigan Ranch in Simi Valley, CA. Shortly after filming, Judy Canova was named "Queen of the Cowgirls" by the Texas Rangers, according to an August 1951 Hollywood Reporter news item, and the title was added to her billing in subsequent films.
