''Water Rustlers'' is a 1939 American Western film directed by Samuel Diege. It was the first of three Dorothy Page singing cowgirl films for

Grand National Films Grand National Films, Inc (or Grand National Pictures, Grand National Productions and Grand National Film Distributing Co.) was an American Poverty Row motion picture production-distribution company in operation from 1936 to 1939. The company h ...

Plot

Mr. Weylan purchases land in order to keep the water supply for himself, originally for

hydraulic mining Hydraulic mining is a form of mining that uses high-pressure jets of water to dislodge rock material or move sediment.Paul W. Thrush, ''A Dictionary of Mining, Mineral, and Related Terms'', US Bureau of Mines, 1968, p.560. In the placer mining of ...

. His long term scheme is when all the ranches fail due to their cattle having no water, he can buy their land cheaply and sell it to a meat company. Weylan gets his way through fair means, such as having his lawyers getting the rancher's case thrown out of court, as well as foul means such as his henchmen murdering Shirley Martin's father and preventing witnesses to testify. Shirley takes the law into her own hands to lead the ranchers in their fight for justice.

Cast

* Dorothy Page as Shirley Martin * Dave O'Brien as Bob Lawson *

Vince Barnett Vince Barnett (July 4, 1902 – August 10, 1977) was an American film actor. He appeared on stage originally before appearing in more than 230 films between 1930 and 1975. Early years Barnett was born July 4, 1902, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylva ...

as Mike, the cook * Stanley Price as Robert Weylan * Ethan Allen as Tim Martin * Leonard Trainor as Andy Jurgens, rancher *

Warner Richmond Warner Richmond (born Werner Paul Otto Raetzmann; January 11, 1886 – June 19, 1948) was an American stage and film actor. He began his career as a stock theatre actor and appeared in films in both the silent film and sound eras. His career spa ...

as Wiley, crooked foreman * Edward R. Gordon as Henchman Herman *

Edward Peil Sr. Edward J. Peil Sr. (January 18, 1883 – December 29, 1958) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 370 films between 1913 and 1951. Biography Peil was born in Racine, Wisconsin, one of 10 children of Mr. and Mrs. John H. Pell ...

as Lawyer * Lloyd Ingraham as Judge * Merrill McCormick as Sheriff

Production

Grand National Pictures lost their top singing cowboy star Tex Ritter to

Monogram Pictures Monogram Pictures Corporation was an American film studio that produced mostly low-budget films between 1931 and 1953, when the firm completed a transition to the name Allied Artists Pictures Corporation. Monogram was among the smaller studios i ...

. In what was planned to be a series of six musicals, Page filmed three films with a shooting time of five days each from August to October 1938. All were directed by Samuel Diege who died of a heart attack in October 1939.pp. 142-145 Bradley, Edwin M. ''Hollywood Musicals You Missed: Seventy Noteworthy Films from the 1930s'' McFarland, 5 Jun 2020

Soundtrack

* Dorothy Page -"Let's Go On Like This Forever" (Written by

Al Sherman Avrum Sherman (September 7, 1897 – September 16, 1973), pen name Al Sherman, was a Russian-American songwriter and composer active during the Tin Pan Alley era in American music history. Some of his most recognizable song titles include: "Yo ...

) * Dorothy Page - "When a Cowboy Sings a Dogie Lullaby" (Written by Walter Kent) * Dorothy Page - "I Feel at Home in the Saddle" (Written by

Milton Drake Milton Drake (August 3, 1912 - November 13, 2006) was an American lyricist and performing rights administrator. As a child, he performed in vaudevilles, in films and on radio. Later he wrote special material for theater and nightclub revues, includ ...

)

Notes

External links

* * 1939 films 1939 Western (genre) films American black-and-white films Grand National Films films American Western (genre) films 1930s English-language films 1930s American films {{1930s-Western-film-stub