I can just about guarantee this film has something you've never seen before, and will most likely never see again. At the beginning of the picture, there's an elk stampede! AN ELK STAMPEDE! When did you ever see more than one elk in one place at the same time? I don't know how the film makers did it, as CGI wasn't available in 1939, and those elk sure looked real enough.
Well, enough of that. But there is another oddity in the story. Our hero, Tex Ritter, is hired by a ranch owner to dress up as Santa Claus for their annual Christmas party. While performing for the guests, a man who's just been shot stumbles into the room and claims that Tex was the one who shot him by virtue of the Santa suit and fake beard! The old codger must have subsequently died because Tex is arrested for murder, even though we never get to see the corpse. It's all pretty awkward as no one believes Tex is innocent except maybe his pal the sheriff (Horace Murphy), who uncomfortably bends to the will of the crowd. In addition to the 'murder', the Parker Ranch payroll is stolen, and the thief, believe it or not, is the father of Candy (Mary Brodel) and Jerry Parker (Bobby Larson), though the siblings are not aware of this little secret. How this is possible in a far flung prairie location is anybody's guess, but this plot device seems to have been somewhat of a staple in these old B Westerns of the Thirties and Forties.
At least Tex gets to sing a handful of tunes, one while under arrest, which always amazes me when I see a good guy cowboy strum his guitar and sing away while in the calaboose. Roy Rogers and Gene Autry did so as well, so I guess it was a way of keeping spirits up. Eventually escaping jail, Tex manages to outrun a bad guy posse but in the process, falls off his horse and tumbles down a snow covered hillside. No one said being a cowboy hero was easy!
All's well that ends well though for Tex, who cleans up with the bad guys who had to see it coming when one of them killed a spider - that was bad luck during the Wyoming Trail days! Try to maintain a straight face while watching this film because it does get a little surreal, especially that one scene where 'Red' Becker (Charles King) falls victim to an avalanche. You would think the guy would have moved out of the way!
Well, enough of that. But there is another oddity in the story. Our hero, Tex Ritter, is hired by a ranch owner to dress up as Santa Claus for their annual Christmas party. While performing for the guests, a man who's just been shot stumbles into the room and claims that Tex was the one who shot him by virtue of the Santa suit and fake beard! The old codger must have subsequently died because Tex is arrested for murder, even though we never get to see the corpse. It's all pretty awkward as no one believes Tex is innocent except maybe his pal the sheriff (Horace Murphy), who uncomfortably bends to the will of the crowd. In addition to the 'murder', the Parker Ranch payroll is stolen, and the thief, believe it or not, is the father of Candy (Mary Brodel) and Jerry Parker (Bobby Larson), though the siblings are not aware of this little secret. How this is possible in a far flung prairie location is anybody's guess, but this plot device seems to have been somewhat of a staple in these old B Westerns of the Thirties and Forties.
At least Tex gets to sing a handful of tunes, one while under arrest, which always amazes me when I see a good guy cowboy strum his guitar and sing away while in the calaboose. Roy Rogers and Gene Autry did so as well, so I guess it was a way of keeping spirits up. Eventually escaping jail, Tex manages to outrun a bad guy posse but in the process, falls off his horse and tumbles down a snow covered hillside. No one said being a cowboy hero was easy!
All's well that ends well though for Tex, who cleans up with the bad guys who had to see it coming when one of them killed a spider - that was bad luck during the Wyoming Trail days! Try to maintain a straight face while watching this film because it does get a little surreal, especially that one scene where 'Red' Becker (Charles King) falls victim to an avalanche. You would think the guy would have moved out of the way!