In the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical "Oklahoma!", all of the characters were singing at the end about their enthusiasm of their territory finally becoming a stage, and after seeing this movie, which came out the year after that hit show opened on Broadway, you wonder if those people would be singing so enthusiastically if they went through what the people of Montana here go through. All of the local ranchers are considering moving back east when they discover that their taxes have risen, and even using a free water way to graze their cattle will cost them money.
To keep these people in line, the local politician, Harry Woods, hires law enforcement officer Ken Maynard but when it's obvious that he's going to side with the ranchers, Woods decides to set him up for murder, having conveniently forgotten to swear him in. But Maynard has a secret he's keeping from Woods and the ranchers which includes Hoot Gibson, Bob Steele and Betty Miles, just as tough as any of the male ranchers. Pretty decent for the most part, this has the usual amount of cases, gunfights and the ultimate showdown between good and evil where are you know that everything's going to turn out just fine, but it's the wondering how that keeps the viewer intrigued. A standard B Western that follows patterns of many others that have come before and would come after, no better or worse, most importantly the later.
To keep these people in line, the local politician, Harry Woods, hires law enforcement officer Ken Maynard but when it's obvious that he's going to side with the ranchers, Woods decides to set him up for murder, having conveniently forgotten to swear him in. But Maynard has a secret he's keeping from Woods and the ranchers which includes Hoot Gibson, Bob Steele and Betty Miles, just as tough as any of the male ranchers. Pretty decent for the most part, this has the usual amount of cases, gunfights and the ultimate showdown between good and evil where are you know that everything's going to turn out just fine, but it's the wondering how that keeps the viewer intrigued. A standard B Western that follows patterns of many others that have come before and would come after, no better or worse, most importantly the later.