''Prairie Justice'' is a 1938 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 ...

"B" movie directed by

George Waggner George Waggner (September 7, 1894 – December 11, 1984) was an American actor, director, producer and writer. He is best known for producing and directing the 1941 film '' The Wolf Man''. For some unknown reason, Waggner sometimes configured his ...

and starring Bob Baker as a singing cowboy.

Plot

Baker plays an undercover marshall investigating a series of stage coach robberies. After his father is killed, he determines to get justice, pretending to be a drifter while gradually gathering clues to the identify of the killers. Early in the story Bob meets Anita, who is trying to save her ranch after all her cattle have been stolen. Bob woes Anita with his guitar. Finally he goes after the bad guys in a shoot-out. After justice had been done, Anita agrees to marry Bob.

Cast

* Bob Baker as U.S. Marshal Bob Randall * Dorothy Fay as Anita Benson *

Hal Taliaferro Floyd Taliaferro Alderson (November 13, 1895 – February 10, 1980) was an American film actor who specialized in westerns. After serving in the Great War, he began his career in the era of silent films, when he frequently used the name Wally ...

as Alfalfa *

Jack Rockwell Jack Rockwell Trowbridge (October 6, 1890 – November 10, 1947) was an American film actor who was born in Mexico. He appeared in over 250 movies, mostly Westerns, between 1927 and 1947. Rockwell's older brother was character actor Charles ...

as John Benson *

Forrest Taylor Edwin Forrest Taylor (December 29, 1883 – February 19, 1965) was an American character actor whose artistic career spanned six different decades, from silents through talkies to the advent of color films. Early years Taylor was born in B ...

as Sheriff Pop Randall *

Carleton Young Captain Carleton Scott Young (October 21, 1905 – November 7, 1994) was an American character actor who was known for his deep voice. Early years Born in Fulton, Oswego, New York, Young was the second and only surviving child of Sta ...

as Dry-Gulch Baker * Glenn Strange as Hank Haynes (Express Agent) *

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 Boots *

Dick Dickinson Dick Dickinson (September 16, 1895 – July 27, 1956) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 90 films between 1920 and 1954. Selected filmography * '' The Phantom of the West'' (1931) * '' The Galloping Ghost'' (1931) * ''The ...

as Committeeman Doc (uncredited) * George Hazel as Townsman (uncredited) * Murdock MacQuarrie as Stage Line Agent (uncredited) * Slim Whitaker as Bert – Stage Guard (uncredited)

Production

Director George Waggner wrote the script, using the pseudonym Joseph West. Fleming Allen wrote several of the songs, including "Starlight on the Prairie", "40 Miles From Water", "High Falutin' Cowboy" and "Trailin' My Way To You". Dorothy Fay, who shortly after filming ended married

Tex Ritter Woodward Maurice Ritter (January 12, 1905 – January 2, 1974) was a pioneer of American country music, a popular singer and actor from the mid-1930s into the 1960s, and the patriarch of the Ritter acting family (son John, grandsons Jason and ...

, another singing cowboy, provides the love interest. The film is one of the first to introduce a faithful dog as the cowboy's companion.

Critical reception

One reviewer said of Baker's performance: "Baker has good looks, a pleasing personality, and seems to have the intelligence to do better acting than most of the western heroes." Another said, "Baker is so overconfident in this role, it hurts, but then, this was just one of 10 films he made in 1938."

Notes and references

Citations Bibliography * *

External links

{{George Waggner 1938 Western (genre) films Universal Pictures films American Western (genre) films Films directed by George Waggner 1938 directorial debut films 1938 films American black-and-white films 1930s American films