Riders of the Dawn (1945)

57-58 mins | Western | 1945

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HISTORY

The film's working title was Rainbow Valley. The title of the viewed print was Riding the Dusty Trail. ...

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The film's working title was Rainbow Valley. The title of the viewed print was Riding the Dusty Trail.

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SOURCE CITATIONS
SOURCE
DATE
PAGE
Daily Variety
12 Oct 1945
p. 3
Hollywood Reporter
27 Jul 1945
p. 14
Hollywood Reporter
3 Aug 1945
p. 12
Hollywood Reporter
12 Oct 1945
p. 3
Motion Picture Herald Product Digest
20 Oct 1945
pp. 2685-86
CAST
PRODUCTION CREDITS
NAME
PARENT COMPANY
PRODUCTION COMPANY
DISTRIBUTION COMPANY
NAME
CREDITED AS
CREDIT
DIRECTORS
Asst dir
PRODUCERS
Assoc prod
WRITERS
Orig story
PHOTOGRAPHY
ART DIRECTOR
Art dir
FILM EDITOR
Film ed
MUSIC
Mus dir
SOUND
Re-rec and eff mixer
VISUAL EFFECTS
Opt eff
Transparency projections shots
PRODUCTION MISC
Prod mgr
SOURCES
MUSIC
"Pop Goes the Weasel," traditional.
SONGS
"Rainbow Valley," words and music by Johnny Lange and Lew Porter; "I'll Never Let You Go, Little Darlin'" and "Saddle Pals," words and music by Jimmy Wakely; "Tomorrow Never Comes," words and music by Ernest Tubb and Johnny Bond; "Sleep, Baby, Sleep," words and music by John J. Handley; "Shame on You," words and music by Spade Cooley; "Hannah, Boil Dat Cabbage Down," words and music by Sam Lucas.
SONGWRITERS/COMPOSERS
+
DETAILS
Alternate Titles:
Rainbow Valley
Riding the Dusty Trail
Premiere Information:
Los Angeles opening: 11 Oct 1945
Production Date:
late Jul--early Aug 1945
Copyright Info
Claimant
Date
Copyright Number
Monogram Pictures Corp.
21 October 1945
LP13602
Duration(in mins):
57-58
Length(in feet):
5,114
Length(in reels):
6
Country:
United States
SYNOPSIS

As Jimmy Wakely, Lasses White, Dusty Smith and other members of a medicine show are nearing Big Horn, their final stop of the season, they decide to make camp on land owned by rancher Clem Ferguson. Jimmy and Dusty ride to the Fergusons' to ask permission to camp and arrive just as another rider is dashing away in a fury. They then discover that Clem and his wife have been murdered, the apparent victims of poisoning, and their baby boy, abandoned. Fearing for his safety, Jimmy and Dusty take the baby back to their camp. Unknown to them, they are being watched by outlaws Joe and Slick, who later try to kidnap the baby. Dusty, meanwhile, reports the murders to Sheriff Beasley and learns from the mayor of Big Horn, Melinda Pringle, that earlier that day, she had received a letter from the Fergusons declaring that in the event of their sudden demise, Dr. "Doc" Judd Thomas was to become the baby's guardian. Anxious to keep the baby's whereabouts a secret, Jimmy, who has just arrived in town with Lasses, tells the sheriff that he and Dusty did not see the infant at the Fergusons' house. Upon returning to the Ferguson ranch with the sheriff, Jimmy announces that when he and Dusty first found the Fergusons, their table was set for three, but that one of the place settings has since been removed. Later, Jimmy and Dusty go out to find milk for the baby and end up stealing Melinda's cow. Melinda and her niece Penny witness the theft and follow Jimmy and Dusty to their camp. Melinda is ready ...

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As Jimmy Wakely, Lasses White, Dusty Smith and other members of a medicine show are nearing Big Horn, their final stop of the season, they decide to make camp on land owned by rancher Clem Ferguson. Jimmy and Dusty ride to the Fergusons' to ask permission to camp and arrive just as another rider is dashing away in a fury. They then discover that Clem and his wife have been murdered, the apparent victims of poisoning, and their baby boy, abandoned. Fearing for his safety, Jimmy and Dusty take the baby back to their camp. Unknown to them, they are being watched by outlaws Joe and Slick, who later try to kidnap the baby. Dusty, meanwhile, reports the murders to Sheriff Beasley and learns from the mayor of Big Horn, Melinda Pringle, that earlier that day, she had received a letter from the Fergusons declaring that in the event of their sudden demise, Dr. "Doc" Judd Thomas was to become the baby's guardian. Anxious to keep the baby's whereabouts a secret, Jimmy, who has just arrived in town with Lasses, tells the sheriff that he and Dusty did not see the infant at the Fergusons' house. Upon returning to the Ferguson ranch with the sheriff, Jimmy announces that when he and Dusty first found the Fergusons, their table was set for three, but that one of the place settings has since been removed. Later, Jimmy and Dusty go out to find milk for the baby and end up stealing Melinda's cow. Melinda and her niece Penny witness the theft and follow Jimmy and Dusty to their camp. Melinda is ready to arrest the entire medicine show for kidnapping, but Jimmy persuades her of their innocence and promises to bring the Fergusons' killer to justice. To that end, Jimmy and Dusty return to the Ferguson ranch and there find the third place setting and part of a horseshoe, which they presume belonged to the killer. They also notice new pipes in the yard. Armed with this information, Jimmy and Dusty ride to Big Horn and question Thorpe, the blacksmith, about a horse he is shoeing. After Thorpe insists that the horse belongs to a farmer, he reports Jimmy and Dusty's visit to Doc. Doc, who has hired Slick, Joe, Thorpe and their gang to aid him in a scheme to acquire the Fergusons' oil-rich land, demands that Jimmy and Dusty not be harmed until the baby, whom he needs in order to legally lease the property to the oil company, is found. Jimmy, meanwhile, describes the horse to Penny, who speculates that it belongs to Doc. When they return to the blacksmith's to make a positive identification, however, they discover the horse gone. Jimmy and Dusty spot the horse's tracks and follow them to the gang's hideout, where they steal the horse and take it to Melinda's. Penny, meanwhile, rides to the camp with some toys for the baby, and when she and Lasses spy the sheriff approaching, Penny slips away with the baby after placing a doll in his bassinet. Assuming that the baby is in the bassinet, the sheriff arrests Lasses for kidnapping. At Melinda's, Penny positively identifies the horse as Doc's. Jimmy also shows Melinda a letter he found on the horse, which implicates Doc in the land-grabbing scheme. At that moment, the sheriff, who released Lasses after discovering the doll in the bassinet, arrives and, after finding both the baby and the horse, arrests all of them. Later, Lasses uses the medicine show as a distraction and manages to free Jimmy and Dusty. The two then search Doc's office and locate the empty poison bottle and the lease. Before they can leave, however, Doc and the gang surprise them, and a fierce fight and chase ensues. Jimmy and the medicine show finally overwhelm the gang and turn them over to the sheriff. Later, Jimmy, Lasses and Dusty say a fond farewell to Melinda and Penny, who have assumed care of the baby, and head off with the medicine show.

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Legend
Viewed by AFI
Partially Viewed
Offscreen Credit
Name Occurs Before Title
AFI Life Achievement Award

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