''Sheriff of Las Vegas'' is a 1944 American

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

film directed by

Lesley Selander Lesley Selander (May 26, 1900 – December 5, 1979) was an American film director of Western (genre), Westerns and adventure film, adventure movies. His career as director, spanning 127 feature films and dozens of TV episodes, lasted from 1936 to ...

and starring

Wild Bill Elliott Wild Bill Elliott (born Gordon Nance, October 16, 1904 – November 26, 1965) was an American film actor. He specialized in playing the rugged heroes of B Westerns, particularly the Red Ryder series of films. Early life Elliott was born Gor ...

in the role of

Red Ryder Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a seconda ...

Costarring as Little Beaver, was actor ''(Bobby)''

Robert Blake Robert Blake may refer to: Sportspeople * Bob Blake (American football) (1885–1962), American football player * Robbie Blake (born 1976), English footballer * Bob Blake (ice hockey) (1914–2008), American ice hockey player * Rob Blake (born 19 ...

. It was the sixth of twenty-three Red Ryder feature films that would be produced by

Republic Pictures Republic Pictures Corporation (currently held under Melange Pictures, LLC) was an American motion picture production-distribution corporation in operation from 1935 to 1967, that was based in Los Angeles. It had studio facilities in Studio City an ...

Plot

The Duchess

Alice Fleming Alice Fleming, (August 9, 1882 – December 6, 1952) was a character actress in many films who also enjoyed considerable success on Broadway. She is best remembered as the Duchess, Wild Bill Elliott’s aunt in the Republic Pictures' Red Ryder ...

, living in Las Vegas, Nevada promises to help the local schoolteacher Ann Carter ''( Peggy Stewart)'' with her “wild” boyfriend, Tom Blackwell ''(

Jay Kirby Jay Kirby (born William Bennett George, January 28, 1920 – July 30, 1964) was an American actor in films and television. He was best known for playing Johnny Travers, the youthful sidekick of Hopalong Cassidy in six films in the 1940s. In 1948, ...

)''.

is asked to lend a hand by the Duchess but when he does, he discovers Tom drunk in the saloon owned by Dan Sedley ''(

William Haade William Haade (March 2, 1903 – November 15, 1966) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 250 films between 1937 and 1957. He was born in New York City and died in Los Angeles, California. Haade was a construction boss until ...

)''. Red is interrupted however, by an attempted bank robbery. He foils the heist and retrieves the money, which he returns to Arthur Stanton ''(

Selmer Jackson Selmer Adolf Jackson (May 7, 1888 – March 30, 1971) was an American stage film and television actor. He appeared in nearly 400 films between 1921 and 1963. His name was sometimes spelled Selmar Jackson. Jackson was born in Lake Mills, Iowa an ...

)'', the bank president. What Red doesn’t know is that Stanton has embezzled over $40,000 from his bank and afterwards, had his bank robbed to cover the crime. In the meantime, Tom Blackwell’s father, Judge Homer Blackwell ''( John Hamilton)'' says that he’s tired of his son’s behavior and will cut him out of his will. He asks Stanton to bring a list of his securities to his office that he might reconcile his books. To protect himself, Sedley slips into the Judge’s office and kills him. Red Ryder, who has been appointed Sheriff, is compelled to arrest Tom who had threatened his father. Meanwhile, Red has a newspaper story printed stating that he has discovered evidence that vindicates Tom. The worried Stanton orders his crime partner, Sedley, to stir up a lynch mob. He wants to takeover Stanton’s large estate to cover the embezzled funds. In order to protect Tom from the gathering lynch mob, Red hands him over to the Duchess but then tells Stanton that Tom is hiding in Ann’s schoolhouse. Red’s suspicions of Stanton are confirmed when the illicit banker sends Sedley to the schoolhouse to kill Tom. In the process, Sedley is mortally wounded by Red but before dying, confesses to the Judge’s murder. Ryder sets a trap for Stanton by sending Tom to Stanton’s office seeking help. Stanton, sensing an opportunity, pulls a gun on Tom but is captured by Red Ryder before he can kill Tom. Sedley is later convicted and imprisoned. Tom reforms and is ready to settle down with Ann, even vowing to use some of his inheritance to elect Red to the office of territorial governor. This proves to be too much for the red-headed cowboy who is last seen on the screen, riding off in the distance with Little Beaver ''(

)''.

Cast

as Red Ryder *

as Little Beaver *

as The Duchess (Red's Aunt) * Peggy Stewart as Ann Carter *

as Arthur Stanton *

as Dan Sedley *

as Tom Blackwell * John Hamilton as Judge Homer T. Blackwell *

Kenne Duncan Kenne Duncan (February 17, 1903 – February 5, 1972) was a Canadian-born American B-movie character actor. Hyped professionally as "The Meanest Man in the Movies," the vast majority of his over 250 appearances on camera were Westerns, but ...

as Henchman Whitey *

Bud Geary Bud Geary (February 15, 1898 – February 22, 1946), was an American film actor. He appeared in 258 films between years 1920 and 1946. He was born in Salt Lake City, Utah and died in Hollywood, California, aged 48. Partial filmography ...

as Henchman Nick *

Jack Kirk Jack Kirk (February 19, 1895 – September 13, 1948) was an American film actor from Missoula, Montana who had roles in over 300 films, mostly B-westerns, from 1926 and 1954. Selected filmography * ''The Stolen Ranch'' (1926) * ''Dames Ahoy!' ...

as Henchman Buck *Dickie Dillon as Oliver Blake *

Doc Adams Daniel Lucius "Doc" Adams (November 1, 1814 – January 3, 1899) was an American baseball player and executive who is regarded by historians as an important figure in the sport's early years. For most of his career he was a member of the Ne ...

as Townsman in Street (uncredited) *Freddie Chapman as Ulysses Botts (uncredited) *

Herman Hack Herman H. Hackenjos (June 15, 1899 – October 19, 1967) was an American film and television actor who appeared in over 500 films. Hack was born in Panola, Illinois. His screen debut was in the 1925 film ''The Big Parade'', which starred Joh ...

as Bartender (uncredited) *Frank McCarroll as Sheriff Lonegan (uncredited) *

Artie Ortego Artie A. Ortego (February 9, 1890 – July 24, 1960) was an American actor. He appeared in more than 240 films between 1912 and 1955. Ortego portrayed cowboys, henchmen and American Indians in a large number of westerns and performed hor ...

as Townsman in Street (uncredited) *

Robert J. Wilke Robert Joseph Wilke (May 18, 1914 – March 28, 1989) was an American film and television actor noted primarily for his roles as villains, mostly in Westerns. Early years Wilke was a native of Cincinnati. Before going into acting, he h ...

as Barfly (uncredited)

Production

''Sheriff of Las Vegas '' was based on the characters created by

Fred Harman Fred Charles Harman II (February 9, 1902 - January 2, 1982) was an American cartoonist, best known for his popular ''Red Ryder'' comic strip, which he drew for 25 years, reaching 40 million readers through 750 newspapers. Harman sometimes used th ...

for his

comic strip through a special licensing agreement with

Stephen Slesinger Stephen Slesinger (December 25, 1901 – December 17, 1953) was an American radio, television and film producer, creator of comic strip characters and the father of the licensing industry. From 1923 to 1953, he created, produced, published, develo ...

. The film was released December 31, 194. and then later re-released on February 7, 1949. The picture was shot on the studio’s back lot along with outdoor locations at Iverson Ranch, 1 Iverson Lane, Chatsworth, Los Angeles, CA, USA.''The Old Corral B-Westerns''
/ref>

Stunts

*Tommy Coats * Fred Graham *Frank McCarroll * Tom Steele

References

External links

* *
Sheriff of Las Vegas (Red Ryder and Little Beaver). Amazon.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sheriff of Las Vegas 1944 films 1944 Western (genre) films American black-and-white films Republic Pictures films American Western (genre) films Films based on comic strips Films based on American comics Films directed by Lesley Selander 1940s English-language films 1940s American films Red Ryder films