Dorothy Sings the Cowgirl Blues
Rancher John Tolen (Stanley Price - Thunder in the Dust) has set his sights on getting the Harkins ranch as his men discovered some gold in the river which runs through it. What Tolen doesn't know is that Dorothy (Dorothy Page - Water Rustlers), a local, and Dick (Dave O'Brien - Sheriff of Sage Valley), a wanderer, discover that the gold is actually washing down from the Tolen ranch into the Harkins ranch. With Tolen wanting to eliminate the Harkins family, even young Billy (Dix Davis), Dorothy and Dick along with Billy's uncle set about tricking Tolen by offering to switch ranches with him.
I have come across only one other movie featuring Dorothy Page which was also a western like this one and I imagine I may have already said what I am about to. The only difference between "The Singing Cowgirl" and other westerns of the era is we have a female singing star, so basically Tex Ritter is replaced by Dorothy Page. As such for the most "The Singing Cowgirl" is routine with a typical storyline about one rancher trying to get his hands on a neighbouring ranch by illegal means. Along the way there is some romance, some singing and of course some comedy thanks to Vince Barnett playing a character called Kewpie.
For that reason "The Singing Cowgirl" is nothing special but is still entertaining enough with Dorothy Page being a pleasant singer even if she doesn't actually do much as a western star. But this is a movie which surprisingly sees something happen to a child you would not normally see in an old western. And it also featured a simple old toy, a half drawn face on a piece of card with a chain to move around to give it features, which reminded me of my childhood. But that is it and whilst it tries to be clever with a land swap twist there is nothing but routine going on here
What this all boils down to is that "The Singing Cowgirl" is just about a typical western of the era when it comes to the story but with the difference with is featuring a singing cowgirl instead of a singing cowboy. But it is a case that the balance is out with the western stuff playing second fiddle to all the light stuff such as the humour and the musical scenes.
