Rollin' Plains (DVD)

A shoot-out in Powder Flats is the latest battle in a deadly range war. Trigger Gargan is a ruthless rancher with eyes on cattleman Gospel Moody's homestead and water rights. Trigger orders the sheriff's brother killed and frames Gospel for the crime. Facing the noose, the cattleman's only hope is Texas Ranger "Tex" Lawrence. With the help of the Sheriff, who also believes Gospel is innocent, Tex stages Moody's death as part his plan to scare the truth out of the real killer with a ghostly encounter.

Rollin' Plains is Tex Ritter's last film for the Grand National studios. He had already signed a lucrative new deal with Monogram and was no doubt anxious to separate himself from the comic sidekicks that he'd been saddled with. The eerie predawn shootout in the opening scenes and the spooky western "seance" in the film's final act lift this traditional singing cowboy work well above the standard fare.

• western