''In Old Montana'' is a 1939 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

Raymond K. Johnson Raymond K. Johnson (1901–1999) was an American cinematographer and film director.Pitts p.367 He directed more than twenty films, mainly low budget westerns, for Poverty Row studios such as Monogram Pictures. After service in World War II Johnso ...

and starring Fred Scott,

Jean Carmen Jean Carmen (April 7, 1913 – August 26, 1993) was an American film, stage, and radio actress. She sometimes went by the stage name Julia Thayer. In addition to her appearances in various films throughout the 1930s, Carmen starred on Broadway i ...

and

John Merton John Merton (born Myrtland F. LaVarre; February 18, 1901 – September 19, 1959) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 250 films between 1927 and 1959, mostly as a villain. He was the brother of filmmaker André de la Varre an ...

. It is about the conflict existing between

sheepherders A shepherd or sheepherder is a person who tends, herds, feeds, or guards flocks of sheep. ''Shepherd'' derives from Old English ''sceaphierde (''sceap'' 'sheep' + ''hierde'' 'herder'). ''Shepherding is one of the world's oldest occupations, i ...

and

cattlemen A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the ''vaquero'' ...

in the nineteenth century.

Background

The film was "the second of four singing Westerns Scott made for C. C. Burr".''In Old Montana at Rotten Tomatoes''
Retrieved October 10, 2014. It was distributed in the United Kingdom in 1940 by Equity British Films. The film begins with a statement explaining the conflict:

When the links in the chain of States that made up the great United States were forged, there were many conflicts, dramatic and spectacular, that often threatened the prosperity of the frontier and the economic structure of the whole nation. Such was the war that broke out in Montana in 1860 between the cattle barons and the sheepherders. The cattlemen had priority and also claimed sheep polluted the land and streams, cropping the grass so short the grazing land was ruined for years. The sheepmen claimed that raising sheep was more profitable and that "the spread" was Government land and they had as much right to it as anyone else. The series of events chronicles here took place in the Lobo Valley just below the fertile grazing lands of the Powder River Basin. Although frankly a Western story, with fictitious characters, each one originally had its counterpart in fact.

Plot

Fred Dawson (Scott), a serving cavalry officer, requests leave of absence to visit his father, who has been shot. His commanding officer grants the request but asks him to carry out an investigation at the same time into the current conflict between the sheepherders and cattlemen in the area. Dawson arranges a meeting between the two factions to encourage mutual cooperation in an attempt to resolve the dispute. During the meeting Joe Allison (Walter Mcgrail) is shot and Dawson is framed for the shooting. He is locked up pending a trial but his friend Doc Flanders (Harry Harvey) breaks him out. Later Dawson and Ed Brandt (John Merton) have a fist fight, after which it emerges that Theodore Jason (Frank LaRue) has secretly been creating all the trouble for his own ends, hoping that the cattlemen and sheepherders would run out of money so that he could foreclose on their debts. There is a subplot in which Fred Dawson forms a close relationship with June Allison (Carmen), the daughter of Joe Allison.

Cast

* Fred Scott as Fred Dawson *

as June Allison *

as Ed Brandt * Harry Harvey as Doc Flanders *

Walter McGrail Walter B. McGrail (October 19, 1888 – March 19, 1970) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 150 films between 1916 and 1951. Besides feature films, he appeared in ''The Scarlet Runner'', a 12-chapter serial. McGrail was born in ...

as Joe Allison, father of June Allison *

Wheeler Oakman Wheeler Oakman (born Vivian Eichelberger; February 21, 1890 – March 19, 1949) was an American film actor. Early years Oakman was born as Vivian Eichelberger in Washington, D.C., and educated in that city's schools. He grew up in Fairfax, Virg ...

as Jim Dawson, father of Fred Dawson *Frank LaRue as Theodore Jason *

Allen Cavan Allan Cavan (March 25, 1880 – January 19, 1941) was an American film actor. He appeared in 145 films between 1917 and 1941. Cavan was the son of Mrs. Averila Cavan, and he had a brother, Carl. He began working on films with Sam Goldwyn S ...

as Sheriff *

Jane Keckley Jane Keckley (September 10, 1876 – August 14, 1963) was an American actress of the silent and sound film eras. Biography Keckley was born in Charleston, South Carolina, and went to school there and in Georgia. Before she acted in films, Kec ...

as Pocohantas

References

Bibliography

* Pitts, Michael R. ''Poverty Row Studios, 1929–1940''. McFarland & Company, 2005.

External links

* American black-and-white films 1939 Western (genre) films 1939 films American Western (genre) films Films directed by Raymond K. Johnson Films set in the 1860s Films set in Montana 1930s English-language films 1930s American films {{1930s-Western-film-stub