Durango, aka Steve Rollins rides into town with saddle pal Smiley Burnette. The boys go to the rescue of pretty Kathleen Case, who is being victimized by greedy relatives.
The period is the 1840s and California is part of Mexico. Many of the citizens wish to become part of the United States. Other countries are also interested and the Russians have established bases in the northern part of the state. To further their hold they have stolen guns and Don Arturo Bordega, a leader of those wanting statehood, is out to recover them.
It's 1893 and gold is being smuggled out of the country. Instead of stealing gold bars, the outlaws are stealing high grade ore, having it smelted, and then having it plated to look like lead. The Government sends agents Bret and Larry who arrive in Cripple Creek posing as Texas gunfighters. Bret finds the smelting operation and Larry learns of the payoff. But the crooked town Marshal is suspicious of the two men and the reply of his inquiry to Texas exposes them putting their lives in danger.
Little Willie's large imagination turns his family-home in the suburbs into the old Wild WEst when he puts on his cowboy suit, guns, holsters and hat, and goes out to play with his friend Archie.(No, this is not Archie Andrews.) The two boys have some desperate adventures, until Willie's mom calls him in to take his afternoon nap.
Marshal Rocky Lane is sent to help the Sheriff who is under attack from both the miners whose ore wagons are disappearing and the newspaper editor for not catching the outlaws. But the editor is actually the leader of the gang and with the election forthcoming, she has a plan to make the Sheriff look bad so her son will be elected Sheriff thereby making it easy for them to continue with their robberies.
Magician-turned-actor John Calvert, previously the suave leading man of Film Classics' "Falcon" series, is a curious choice to star in the rough-and-tumble western Gold Fever. John Bonar (Calvert) and grizzled old prospector Nugget Jack (Ralph Morgan) strike it rich, whereupon they are besieged by Bill Johnson's (Gene Roth) outlaw gang. Heavily outnumbered, our heroes are forced to rely on brain rather than brawn.
Charles Starrett returns as the Durango Kid in Columbia's Rough, Tough, West. For most of the film, however, Starrett is known as "Steve Holden," a former Texas Ranger who comes to a wide-open mining town to visit an old friend (Jack -- later Jock -- Mahoney). Alas, said friend has turned bad, and is busy arranging a major land grab when Steve arrives on the scene. With deep regret, our hero dons his Durango disguise to thwart his ex-friend's criminal activities.
Mine owner William Sharon keeps having his gold shipments held up by a gang of bandits. Sharon hires banker Charles Crocker, who happens to have connections in the Central Pacific Railroad, to build a spur line from Virginia City to Carson City, so that the gold can be shipped by railroad. Silent Jeff Kincaid is the railroad engineer. However there is opposition to the railroad, chiefly from another mine owner, Big Jack Davis.
Will Kane, the sheriff of a small town in New Mexico, learns a notorious outlaw he put in jail has been freed, and will be arriving on the noon train. Knowing the outlaw and his gang are coming to kill him, Kane is determined to stand his ground, so he attempts to gather a posse from among the local townspeople.
John Malvin , prospecting the Montana territory during the gold rush, sees bandits kill a miner and his son. He eludes the outlaws by hiding near a stagecoach relay station run by "Possum" Enoch and his daughter Clair, with whom John Falls in love with. Sheriff Henry Plummer, secret head of the outlaws, learns John witnessed the killings and sends him as his deputy on a dangerous mission with a planned ambush.
In Indiana of the early 1800s, conflict once again arises between the United States and Great Britain over territory and boundaries. Each side endeavors to gain the support of the Shawnee Indian tribes in the area. Governor William Henry Harrison enlists the aid of Steve Rubbell, whose friendship with the Shawnee chief Tecumseh goes back to childhood. Tecumseh's leadership of the Shawnee is contested by his brother, known as The Prophet, who sides with the British. Tecumseh, who grew up as a childhood playmate of Steve and of Laura McGregor, loves Steve as a brother and hopes to marry Laura. But Laura is in love with Steve. Laura's father, Shayne McGregor, secretly leads local support of the British against the Americans, even though it risks the life and love of his daughter. Everything comes to a head at the battle of Tippecanoe.
Parolee John Carver seeks the stolen money he has hidden, but so does his girlfriend, lawyer and cellmate. Tom and Chito are hired to get him across the border into Mexico and find themselves caught in the middle.
Martin Corona, player and womanizer, defends the underprivileged, the poor and the needy. He will have to defend a Spanish girl and her servant from the clutches of the villainous of the town. Not only will he have to fight the bad guy, but against the pride of the girl who initially believes that he is the bad character and distrusts him. She was very proud to put him at her feet, but there was a problem, Martin Corona was due more to his people than anyone and she was not willing to risk losing it, so before marrying him, made him swear he would not intervene In other problems.
U.S. Marshal Rocky Lane arrives to help his friend Nugget whose shipments are being robbed. Learning the gang only goes for incoming shipments, he figures they are repacking the loot and having Nugget ship it out. So he hijacks the next outgoing shipment finding a box labeled tools contains gold bars. Then posing as an outlaw he makes a deal with the gang hoping to round them up. But the boss learns he is a Marshal and he is made a prisoner.
Jim Vesser and his team of railroading men try to build a rail line through a mountain pass, while a group of less scrupulous construction workers sabotages the entire operation in the hopes that they can get their tracks laid first and get the money from the railroad.
Bandit Pistol Pete enters a lawless western town and robs a bank. The town is in desperate need of a sheriff. Enter wandering cowboy Goofy who notices a pretty girl being held up in a stagecoach robbery by Pete. Lovestruck and completely oblivious to Pete, he foils the robbery while getting to know the girl better. This earns him a reputation as a great gunslinger and he is challenged to apprehend Pete. Pete tries to get his revenge on Goofy but every attempt backfires due to Goofy's clumsiness usually directed unintentionally at Pete.