The Old Chisholm Trail
1942
Action / Drama / Music / Western

The Old Chisholm Trail
1942
Action / Drama / Music / Western
Plot summary
Dusty Gardner, and other Texas ranchers, are driving a herd of cattle to Abilene, Kansas along the Chisholm Trail. Desperate need of water takes them to the Turner ranch, where Belle Turner demands exorbitant prices for the water. Dusty learns that Belle is also trying to oust Mary Lee and Montana Smith from the trading post Mary operates. The sheriff sides with Belle following a fight between the two women. Belle knows there is artesian springs under the land the trading post occupies and intends to get the property by any means.
Director
Top cast
Tech specs
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Good Songs, So-So Film
Belle is an annoying and ridiculous character, though she's not the only one in this film.
In "The Old Chisholm Trail", Universal Pictures decided to combine the star power of Johnny Mack Brown with Tex Ritter. Plus, while Brown isn't a singing cowboy, Ritter was and the film featured quite a bit of singing for a Johnny Mack Brown flick...too much for my taste. In addition, the film features some of the most one-dimensional and annoying characters I can recall in a B-western, such as Belle as well as an American Indian which will make most folks a bit ill watching him!
Dusty (Brown) is on a cattle drive on the Chisholm Trail. However, their trip comes to an abrupt halt when they run out of water and a local nutty woman, Belle, tries to charge them exorbitant rates to water the animals...so much so they cannot possibly afford it. But Dusty and the gang don't realize that this feisty lady isn't above a lot of dirty tricks...and the local sheriff seems unwilling to intervene.
Belle is the sort of tough, liberated cowgirl that would make feminists today cringe. She isn't so much a liberated western woman but a walking stereotype of an annoying lady boss...the sort that old westerns enjoyed making fun of because, as they all knew back in the day, ladies should really just be pretty and nice.
Overall, a really dumb film that doesn't age well. Plus, Johnny Mack Brown was a terrific cowboy star...but here he just seems overshadowed by all this silliness.