"The town of Granville has been shaken by a series of fur pelt thefts from a trading post, and a murder".
Only a B Western of the Thirties and Forties could have a synopsis like that and have a title like "Romance on the Range". But you know what? There actually is a hint of romance in this story, and you'll never guess who's involved. Roy Rogers' future TV sidekick Pat Brady has a more prominent role here than in most early flicks with Roy and Bob Nolan's Sons of the Pioneers. As a member of the Lonely Hearts Club, Pat is 'half-engaged' to a gal named Sally (Sally Payne) back East, where she works for a society girl named Joan Stuart (Linda Hayes). Miss Stuart is the absentee owner of the Arrowhead Ranch where Roy is foreman, and with income from the ranch dwindling due to trapline raiders stealing fur pelts on her property, she decides to personally investigate while going undercover with Sally.
This film shakes out as one of the more fun outings by Roy and his regular cast of good guys and villains. The bad guy bunch includes Edward Pawley as Jerome Banning, Glenn Strange as henchman Stokes, Roy Barcroft as henchie Pete, and Harry Woods as thug Steve. Between Pat Brady and Gabby Hayes the humor flows freely, with Gabby taking a page out of Leo Gorcey's book of malapropisms with his quote in my summary line above. His attempt to scare the gals with weird howling outside their sleeping quarters backfires big time, and when he's left to guard one of the bad guys, he gets tricked into getting stuck in a 'South African slobberjack'. To understand that one, you'll have to catch the picture.
When all is said and done, there's no doubt Roy will get the drop on the bad guys, as well as learning the identity of the rich society gal who went undercover to help him smoke out the fur raiders. With a sprinkling of tunes by Nolan's Pioneers, this is one of the more entertaining of Roy's early Forties flicks, and deserves a look for all the diverse elements in the story.
Only a B Western of the Thirties and Forties could have a synopsis like that and have a title like "Romance on the Range". But you know what? There actually is a hint of romance in this story, and you'll never guess who's involved. Roy Rogers' future TV sidekick Pat Brady has a more prominent role here than in most early flicks with Roy and Bob Nolan's Sons of the Pioneers. As a member of the Lonely Hearts Club, Pat is 'half-engaged' to a gal named Sally (Sally Payne) back East, where she works for a society girl named Joan Stuart (Linda Hayes). Miss Stuart is the absentee owner of the Arrowhead Ranch where Roy is foreman, and with income from the ranch dwindling due to trapline raiders stealing fur pelts on her property, she decides to personally investigate while going undercover with Sally.
This film shakes out as one of the more fun outings by Roy and his regular cast of good guys and villains. The bad guy bunch includes Edward Pawley as Jerome Banning, Glenn Strange as henchman Stokes, Roy Barcroft as henchie Pete, and Harry Woods as thug Steve. Between Pat Brady and Gabby Hayes the humor flows freely, with Gabby taking a page out of Leo Gorcey's book of malapropisms with his quote in my summary line above. His attempt to scare the gals with weird howling outside their sleeping quarters backfires big time, and when he's left to guard one of the bad guys, he gets tricked into getting stuck in a 'South African slobberjack'. To understand that one, you'll have to catch the picture.
When all is said and done, there's no doubt Roy will get the drop on the bad guys, as well as learning the identity of the rich society gal who went undercover to help him smoke out the fur raiders. With a sprinkling of tunes by Nolan's Pioneers, this is one of the more entertaining of Roy's early Forties flicks, and deserves a look for all the diverse elements in the story.