Grand Canyon Trail (1948)

Released in Republic Pictures' low-budget Trucolor and filmed at the majestic location of the title, Grand Canyon Trail stars Roy Rogers is a rancher going up against a crooked mining engineer played by fellow Western star Robert Livingston. The latter, Bill Regan, has conned eastern silver magnate J. Malcolm Vanderpool (Charles Coleman) into believing that his Sintown mine is worthless. But Vanderpool's pretty secretary, Carol Martin (Jane Frazee), is suspicious and travels to the ghost town masquerading as the boss' daughter. Rancher Rogers and his hired hands -- Foy Willing & the Riders of the Purple Sage in their first Rogers Western -- have all invested in the mine, courtesy of hayseed blacksmith "Cookie" Bullfincher (Andy Devine), and are doing a bit of digging themselves. The only person with knowledge of the location of the mine, elderly stage driver Ed Carruthers (Emmett Lynn), is kidnapped by the gang and later murdered. Carol, whom Roy accuses of being in cahoots with the villains, is kept captive in a cabin during a rainstorm and when Mike Delsing (Ken Terrell), one of Regan's men, turns up, she mistakenly believes he has come to rescue her and hits Roy over the head with a vase. Realizing her error, Carol later aids Roy and the Riders capture the gang and their leader, Regan, whom she dispatches with a well-appointed rock. In between the action, Roy and the Riders perform "Everything's Going My Way," by Foy Willing and "Grand Canyon Trail" and "Colorado Joe" by Jack Elliott. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi