Despite "The Lady from Cheyenne" being an A-budget film, it's plot is strictly from a B-movie western....and I've seen many dozens of Bs with this same story line. Now this doesn't mean there isn't some originality about the picture, it does feature a female who is fighting the local baddie boss....but otherwise it's pretty typical of the westerns of the day.
When the stoy begins, Jim Cork (Edward Arnold) is setting up a town...complete with a sheriff and judge who will do his bidding. Cork's goal is to make himself the big despot who controls the town and his plan for doing it includes buying up all the land with water--and then using this to either take away others' land or making them stay and bleeding them dry. The only one willing to stand up to this jerk is the local school teacher, Annie Morgan (Loretta Young)..but what can one woman and her crusade do to stop Cork and his army of baddies?! And, what could she possibly do when she visits the capital and lobbies the lawmakers?
What I enjoyed most about this film was seeing Willie Best. Best was a black actor who frequently played very stereotypical roles....and mostly negative ones. However, here he actually plays a very smart character--and it's refreshing seeing him in such a part. It's a small one...but a major step in Best's career, as he's playing an admirable and intelligent guy.
Aside from Best, the film is enjoyable and worth seeing....mostly because the film is quite different from most westerns. Yes, it has the greedy baddie but what it does with it is quite unusual.
