Overlooked Movies: Cheyenne Roundup

There's no trailer available for Cheyenne Roundup, but you can watch the complete movie on YouTube if you're so inclined.  When I saw that it was going to be on some movie channel or other, how could I not watch?  After all, it stars Johnny Mack Brown, Johnny Mack Brown, and Tex Ritter, with Fuzzy Knight for comedy relief and the Jimmy Wakely Trio for the music. Johnny Mack Brown plays Gils Brandon, leader of an outlaw gang that buys a ghost town named El Dorado just before an old miner discovers gold nearby.  The seller is Fuzzy Knight, and his best friend is the old miner.  

Gils and his crew decide that they’ll take over the mine and turn the ghost town into a boomtown, which they do.  They’re running the show, making the laws, and having their way.  Fuzzy and some of the decent folk who have moved to El Dorado send a representative to Steve Rawlins (Tex Ritter) and ask him to come to be their marshal. Gils goes to stop him and Rawlins shoots him.  Gils finds his way to an abandoned cabin to die, and who should come riding by but his twin brother, Buck Brandon (Johnny Mack Brown).

Gils has a deathbed change of heart and asks Buck to go to El Dorado and make it a decent place. Buck agrees and teams up with Steve. Complications ensue, of course, along with shootin’, ridin’, fightin’, and singin’, and Buck is eventually found out.  Then comes the final big shootout, and guess who wins.  Hint: Not the bad guys.

Johnny Mack Brown, was cruelly denied an Oscar mention for his outstanding dual performance.  

You might have noticed that although the title of the movie is Cheyenne Roundup, the setting doesn’t appear to be Cheyenne. And it isn’t.  You might also have noticed that there was no mention of a roundup.  That’s because there isn’t one. There’s not even a shot of any cattle. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.  I’m sure the audience for the movie didn’t care one bit or even notice. I’m surprised that I did.