Western Gold
Cast & Crew
Howard Bretherton
Smith Ballew
Heather Angel
Leroy Mason
Howard Hickman
Ben Alexander
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
During the Civil War, gold thieves are preventing gold from reaching the Eastern states, which greatly weakens the value of the dollar. In search of loyal soldier Bill Gibson, President Abraham Lincoln travels to the front, and there enlists Bill on a mission to find the perpetrators. Bill visits Red Bluff, where most of the robberies have occurred, and finds Thatcher, of Wells Fargo and Company, giving a driver named Bud instructions. Bud's brother Bart fears for Bud's life and tries unsuccessfully to stop him from going. A few hours later, Clem, a guard from the stagecoach, returns with news of a holdup. Meanwhile, Steve, one of the bandits, reports back to Fred Foster, a local businessman, that he believes a guard may have escaped. As Bart mourns the death of his brother, Bill brings in the abandoned coach and reports that the rest of the men are dead. Although Clem can't identify Bill, Bart convinces him that Bill is the bandit. Just then, Fred enters the station and, recognizing Bill as a childhood friend, vouches for his innocence. Fred, who owns the local hotel, offers Bill a room for the night. At the hotel, Holman, the leader of the bandits, meets with Fred, and they plan ways to dispose of the gold. Holman wants to stop the robberies, but Fred persuades him to rob one more coach. At the station, Bart, still upset over Bud's death, shoots Thatcher, but Bill jumps in front of the bullet and saves his life. After Bill has recovered from his wound, a driver from the East reports that the dollar is near collapse from lack of gold reserves. Because Thatcher cannot find a new driver, Bill decides to take the coach himself, despite the protests of Thatcher's daughter Jeanie. Despondent, Jeanie asks Fred to stop Bill and inadvertently reveals his plan to take the old Buffalo Trail, which hasn't been used in years. Bill consoles Jeanie and then leaves on the coach. Holman and his men attack Bill, and as Fred loads the gold, Bill reports back to Thatcher that he has located the bandits' hideout. They round up a posse and capture Fred with a wagon full of gold. Jeanie and Bill then get married.
Director
Howard Bretherton
Cast
Smith Ballew
Heather Angel
Leroy Mason
Howard Hickman
Ben Alexander
Frank Mcglynn Sr.
Otis Harlan
Victor Potel
Lew Kelly
Alan Bridge
Tom London
Bud Osborne
Wesley Giraud
Horace Murphy
Crew
Fleming Allan
Gene Autry
Forrest Barnes
Albert De Anno
Stephen Foster
Arthur Hilton
Julia Ward Howe
Corson Jowett
Walter Kittredge
Sol Lesser
Harry Neumann
Carl Pierson
George Sherman
Earl Snell
William Steffe
Frank Sylos
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The plot summary was based on a screen continuity in the Twentieth Century-Fox Produced Scripts Collection at the UCLA Theater Arts Library. According to a Hollywood Reporter news item, Sol Lesser was unable to negotiate a loan from Columbia Pictures of Richard Arlen to complete his contract to be in six Westerns that Lesser was to produce for Twentieth Century-Fox release. (Arlen previously had starred in the Lesser-Twentieth Century-Fox production Secret Valley.) Smith Ballew was then signed to replace Arlen. Ben Corbett is listed as a cast member in Hollywood Reporter production charts, but his participation in the final film has not been confirmed.
