Roy Rogers portrays Vance Corbin, an ex-Confederate soldier who takes the amnesty oath declaring his allegiance to the United States, and is duly elected sheriff of Purvis City. Opposing him is town boss Ambrose Ballard (Cy Kendall), whose goal is to eliminate all the local ranchers by declaring them seditionists and having them hung for treason. Gabriel Hornaday (George "Gabby" Hayes) is the voice of the ranchers, also going by the name of "The Night Rider". Vance and Gabby are aided by Sam and Belle Starr (Eddie Acuff and Sally Payne), and Gabby's niece Jeanie (Marjorie Reynolds, bearing an uncanny resemblance to Dale Evans).
Ballard attempts to ingratiate himself with a local contingent of cavalry troops, but when Colonel Davis suspects something amiss, Ballard's henchman Stacy (Jay Novello) shoots him. Ballard protects Stacy for as long as it may prove useful, but then attempts to eliminate him as well. With Stacy ready to come clean, Roy and company arrive in time to set the record straight with Captain Morgan, as Stacy settles his score with Ballard.
Presumably Roy Rogers is the Robin Hood of the story, otherwise the title of the film bears no relation to the actual story line, not uncommon for a lot of B Westerns. This one follows a typical formula, but there is one neat innovative sequence when Vance Corbin aboard Trigger is attempting to escape a bad guy posse. Riding up on a herd of wild horses, Corbin quickly dismounts, removes the saddle, and Trigger blends in with the herd as the bad guys ride by completely unaware. This is the only time I've seen this strategy in a Western film, and it came across as a fairly clever ruse.
Ballard attempts to ingratiate himself with a local contingent of cavalry troops, but when Colonel Davis suspects something amiss, Ballard's henchman Stacy (Jay Novello) shoots him. Ballard protects Stacy for as long as it may prove useful, but then attempts to eliminate him as well. With Stacy ready to come clean, Roy and company arrive in time to set the record straight with Captain Morgan, as Stacy settles his score with Ballard.
Presumably Roy Rogers is the Robin Hood of the story, otherwise the title of the film bears no relation to the actual story line, not uncommon for a lot of B Westerns. This one follows a typical formula, but there is one neat innovative sequence when Vance Corbin aboard Trigger is attempting to escape a bad guy posse. Riding up on a herd of wild horses, Corbin quickly dismounts, removes the saddle, and Trigger blends in with the herd as the bad guys ride by completely unaware. This is the only time I've seen this strategy in a Western film, and it came across as a fairly clever ruse.