Evelyn Hicks, a beautiful daughter of the west, becomes engaged to Broncho Billy, while at an informal dance. Sheriff Hardley, laid up with an injured ankle, sends for Broncho Billy, swears him in as sheriff, and instructs him to capture the two horse thieves that were causing considerable disturbance in the surrounding territory. Imagine the surprise, humiliation and pain Broncho Billy suffers when he discovers that one of the bandits is the brother of the girl he loves.
Molly Killbride, daughter of the inspector in the Royal Mounties, is in love with trooper Jimmy Hearn, but her father prefers that she marry Harry Morgan, a wealthy young civilian. Morgan, however, is allied with a gang of outlaws headed by Hanley, and when Morgan taunts Jimmy into a fistfight the gang causes him to be railroaded to prison for felonious assault.
At the end of the Civil War, Aleck Kellaway, a fighter for the South, is tricked by the brothers Clegg and Elliot into helping them to carry out the robbery of a gold cargo belonging to the Northern Army.
A chronic gambler whose addiction has lost him his ranch. On the verge of total bustitude, he discovers that a gold mine, of which he is part-owner, has finally paid off. Once his debts are settled, his first move is to buy out the local banker who'd foreclosed on him.
In a remake of Dawn Trail, Bob Mason is wounded chasing the killers of his father. During his recovery, his nurse is Alice whom his friend Ben plans to marry. He eventually learns the killer was Alice's brother Rudd. But Rudd convinces Ben that Bob is taking Alice away from him. So Ben removes the bullets from Bob's gun just before Bob goes off to face Rudd.
The Last Outlaw (1919) proved very tantalizing. An end-of-the-West Western, it shows its grizzled hero revisiting the town of his youthful exploits. But now, in an anticipation of Ride the High Country (1962), civilization has taken over. Cars chase Bud off the streets and the theatre features movies (Universal Bluebirds at that, a bit of product placement). Ford heightens the contrast by letting us into the hero’s memory, introduced by the title: “Memories of the past flashing back to him”—the earliest reference to the term “flashback” I recall seeing in the movies.
Rockefeller is a tough and resilient man, who has spent his life as a cowboy in the Wild West, always without fear and without remorse. He is the head of a large family, which he leads with authority, sharp words and a passionate temperament. In the village, Rockefeller faces an alcoholic doctor, a wise wife, a generous-hearted girl and a sheriff who takes justice into his own hands.
A sheriff and his posse shoot it out with a gang of robbers headed by Bad Jake Kennedy. The surviving robber, Buckshot John, won't tell where the gang's loot is hidden and gets 30 years in prison. Halfway through his sentence he "gets religion" and in order to save his soul, decides to tell where the gang has hidden its stash of gold. However, a phony clairvoyant, The Great Gilmore, finds out about John's intentions and tricks him into revealing where the gold is. When John finds out what happened, he decides to break out of prison and take care of matters himself.
Rodeo king Bill Hammon invites the owner of a Wild West show to give an exhibition at the ranch. A pair of jewel thieves uses the event to "ply their trade", prompting the show's owner, a radio champion, to go after them.
The tenderfoot came into camp with his ill-gotten money intending to purchase a claim. The faker salted a claim, hoping thereby to secure the money. But the gambler got ahead of him through cheating at cards. Later the tenderfoot sought to regain his money and in the struggle it fell into worthier hands.
Broncho Billy, through a notice posted on a tree, learns he can go free if he will give himself up. He keeps the notice, and, as he rides away, comes upon a little girl, who wandered from her mother, when an accident happened to the stage coach in which the two were riding. The mother, frantic, starts in search of her child, and meanwhile the coach drives on.
Broncho Billy learns that part of his land is occupied by a "squatter." He orders the "squatter" evicted. The latter starts out to kill Billy, but Bessie, the "squatter's" daughter, prevents him. She pleads with Billy to permit them to remain on the land. Billy immediately falls in love with her.
Partners "Smilin' Bob" Corey and Jim O'Neil are forest rangers sent to peacefully "penetrate" Paradise Valley, which is scheduled to become part of a national park. Although the townspeople are sullen about their presence, they manage to befriend Marie Roselli, an Italian girl whose brother Wolf owns a cattle ranch and from they obtain supplies. Before they; know it, Bob and Jim get caught up in a kidnapping, an illegal logging ring, and a murder.
A young spitfire cowgirl, and her coolheaded Native American friend, race a gang of neighborhood bullies to find a mysterious treasure supposedly having mystical powers.
Singing cowboy Eddie Dean and his sidekick Soapy (Roscoe Ates) enter into the thick of things when they thwart a stagecoach holdup. Our heroes take it upon themselves to champion the cause of stage-line owner Margie Rodgers (Helen Mowery), who's being victimized by an unknown villain. Dean suspects that there's more to the case than mere robbery, and he's right: someone wants to gain control of Margie's business, and that someone is?
When beautiful Salomy Jane resists the romantic advances of a young ruffian, she is rescued by Jack Dart, who has his own additional reasons for tangling with the man. Jack fights the ruffian and kills him. He escapes with the law on his trail, for it is (wrongly) presumed that he is also the man who held up the stagecoach. Salomy Jane comes to his rescue when he is captured and about to be lynched.