Plot: Curt Stanton is a singer hoping to get a job on the prestigious Circle X Ranch. He is mistaken for a gunman by the Hoosier Hotshots, who unknowingly bought the ranch off two crooks (who themselves purchased it with stolen money). The Hotshots hire Curt, who really can't shoot, to protect them from Dusty King, who was swindled by the bad guys and is convinced that the Hotshots are outlaws, too.
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| Lobby card |
Starring. . . .
Ken Curtis
Jeff Donnell
Guy Kibbee
Dusty Anderson
Guinn "Big Boy" Williams
The Hoosier Hot Shots
Ken Trietsch
Hezzie Trietsch
Gil Taylor
Gabe Ward
Deuce Spriggens and His Band
Carolina Cotton
The Plainsmen
Four Chicks and a Chuck
Ian Keith
Matt Willis
Sam Flint
Joe Hayworth
Eddy Waller
Jody Gilbert
Coulter Irwin
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Storyline Roundup (Warning: SPOILERS)
The film opens to Curt Stanton (Curtis) "singin' his song on the trail" while setting up bottles for target practice and adeptly doing tricks with his six-shooters. As the song ends, he turns and fires from the hip—bam, bam, bam, bam, bam. But alas, the bottles remain fully intact, right where he left them. With more determination, he fires at them again, but still no luck. At this point, his friend, Big Boy (Williams) rides up with supplies from town.
"The only way you'll ever hit one of them bottles is to bang it on a rock," he tells Curt.
Curt quickly forgets about target practice when he sees the ham Big Boy brought from town—the newspaper the ham is wrapped in, that is. "THE HOOSIER HOTSHOTS—Well-known radio act now appearing at the Circle X Ranch." Curt, an aspiring singer, would like a job on the ranch too.
"Someday," Big Boy comments, "you're going to upset someone with your singing, and they'll do something about it!"
"So that's what you think of my voice, eh?" Curt replies jokingly. "You'll be sorry when I'm rich and famous!"
Meanwhile, at the Circle X Ranch, it is revealed that the current owners, Jerry Easton and Dan Prichard (Keith and Willis), bought it with money they stole from an ex-peace officer, Jim "Dusty" King.
When the men hear that King is coming after them, they decide to sell the ranch as fast as they can and hightail it out of the area. They pawn the ranch off on the Hoosier Hotshots for $5,000 and a station wagon. Easton replaces the bill of sale with a blank paper, hoping to cheat the Hotshots, but Hezzie switches it back. Easton and Prichard leave thinking they are ahead of the game,
It isn't long before Dusty King (Kibbee) shows up at the ranch. Assuming that the Hotshots are in cahoots with the men who swindled him, he demands to see the bill of sale, but absent-minded Gabe can't remember where he hid it. King, on horseback with guns blazing, chases the Hotshots, until King's daughter Helen (Anderson) shows up and slows him down.
King goes back to the ranch to wait for the Hotshots to return. They know they can't return safely, so they decide to hire a gunman to protect them. (Before they find a gunman, they hire Deuce Spriggens and his band and Carolina Cotton to perform at the ranch.)
Through a misunderstanding, the Hotshots end up hiring Curt as their gunman. Of course, he can't hit the broad side of a barn, but he takes the job in hopes that he can audition to sing at the ranch. The misunderstanding happens when Curt gets on the bad side of local tough guy Cheyenne Pete (Hayworth). Curt whips Pete in a fist fight and then has to face him in a gun duel. Big Boy, worried about his buddy's life, helps Curt fake some good shooting. Curt manages to scare Pete off, and the Hotshots witness it.
Curt and Big Boy follow the Hotshots back to the ranch where they meet Cindy (Donnell). Curt manages to put off the initial gun fight with King by talking to him.
Helen keeps begging her father to give up and go back home, but to no avail.
With things around the ranch temporarily placid, everyone just sort of hangs around. Big Boy and Cindy start to get sweet on each other, much to the chagrin of Hezzie, who always thought Cindy liked him. Curt tries to get the Hotshots to hire him as a singer instead of a gunman, but they are convinced they still need protection and won't even listen to him.
Curt and Helen start to get acquainted, and they come this close to liking each other but. . . he is a gunman! And that won't do! Cindy and the Hotshots play matchmaker, and Curt eventually convinces Helen that he is not a gunman.
Dusty does not like the idea of Curt and Helen being romantically involved, but he says that he'll allow it if Curt can out-shoot him.
Without telling Curt, Big Boy loads his six-gun with birdshot so that Curt hits all of the targets and wins. Dusty "pulls in his horns" and gives his blessing for Curt and Helen to see each other. Of course, both Curt and Helen are surprised that Curt won the match, until Big Boy explains what he did.
When rich guy Terrence Mallory (Flint) comes to the Circle X, the Hotshots aspire to sell him the ranch. To impress him, they put on a huge show, which catches the eyes of Easton and Prichard, who decide it's time to "take back their ranch." With horror, the bad guys find out that THEY are the ones who ended up with the blank piece of paper. They head back to the ranch to get even.
They sneak into the ranch and demand the bill of sale from the Hotshots, who cannot help much because, of course, Gabe lost the valuable paper. First Big Boy and Cindy, and then Curt and Helen, come to check on the Hotshots, and they all end up facing the business ends of the bad guys' guns. Easton and Prichard start searching throughout the room. Angry about not finding what they want, Prichard starts a fight.
Dusty saves the day, showing up and getting the drop on the bad guys. Curt and Dusty take them to the sheriff, leaving the Hotshots behind to wonder where the bill of sale is. Fortunately, Gabe finds it again, although it is quite by accident.
Curt finally confesses to Dusty that he "can't shoot for sour apples," and that he used birdshot in the shooting match. Dusty explodes with anger—but that lasts only a split second, as he sits back down and laughs. "I haven't used my guns in over thirty years," he says, "and I was a bit rusty. I used birdshot, too!"
The film ends with a musical finale featuring all the good guys and gals.
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| Curt getting ready for target practice |
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| Hoosier Hotshots |
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| Bad guys |
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| Deuce, Carolina, and half of the Hoosier Hotshots |
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| Curt and Cheyenne Pete |
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| Big Boy and Cindy |
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| Helen and Curt |
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| Dusty getting the drop on the outlaws |
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| Finale |
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Songs:
Singing My Song on the Trail (written by Ken Curtis and Fleming Allen) (sung by Ken Curtis)
When Grown-Up Ladies Act Like Babies (written by Joe Young, Edgar Leslie, and Maurice Abrahams) (performed by the Hoosier Hotshots)
What's the Matter with You? (written by Deuce Spriggens) (performed by Deuce Spriggens and His Band, and Carolina Cotton)
Darlin' You Can't Love One (aka "New River Train") (traditional) (performed by the Hoosier Hotshots)
Soft Breeze (written by Ken Curtis and Dink Rogers) (sung by Ken Curtis)
Wabash Cannonball (performed by Deuce Spriggens and His Band, Andy Parker and the Plainsmen, and Carolina Cotton)
Singing on the Trail (reprise) (performed by Deuce Spriggens and His Band, Andy Parker and the Plainsmen, and Carolina Cotton)
The Old West Is Gone (written by Bert Reisfeld and Mickey Stoner) (performed by Ken Curtis, Deuce Spriggens and His Band, and Andy Parker and the Plainsmen)
Put the Blame on Mame (written by Allan Roberts and Doris Fisher) (sung by Four Chicks and a Chuck)
My Bonnie Lies of the Ocean (performed by the Hoosier Hotshots)
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Singing on the Trail is a 1946 Columbia Pictures production.
67 minutes running time.
Director: Ray Nazarro
Producer: Colbert Clark
Screenwriter: J. Benton Cheney
Cinematographer: George F. Kelley
Film Editor: James Sweeney
Art Director: Charles Clague
Set Decorator: Robert C. Bradfield
Sound Department: Jack A. Goodrich
Music Department: Paul Mertz
Philip Faulkner Jr.
Assistant Director: William A. O'Connor