Down Dakota Way

Republic Pictures released a series of formulaic contemporary westerns with Roy Rogers and his crew during the 1940s, of which this is a late example, a cookie cutter production with pleasing songs by Rogers and Foy Willing's Riders of the Purple Sage, comic interludes involving animals, and a hint of a romance between Roy and Dale Evans' character, none of which is remotely connected with the storyline. As is customary with productions directed by William Witney, this film is choppily edited and makes short shrift of a potentially interesting plot, i.e., cattle ravaged by hoof and mouth disease and a hired gun (Byron Barr) who attempts to cover up this plague by any necessary means, including multiple murders; there is excellent work by stage actress Elisabeth Risdon, who steals her scenes as the killer's stepmother, loyal to him until the finish, and a nice turn is included by great horseman Montie Montana as the local sheriff.