Tonight's Movie: The Man From Thunder River (1943)

THE MAN FROM THUNDER RIVER (1943) is a pleasant Bill Elliott "B" Western.

This was the second film of a total of eight in which Elliott costarred with Anne Jeffreys. I reviewed their first film, CALLING WILD BILL ELLIOTT (1943), for Classic Movie Hub last summer.

This one starts out with Bill saving a family in a runaway covered wagon while he's on his way to visit the Ferguson family, consisting of Aunt Bess (Georgie Cooper) and her niece and nephew, Nancy (Jeffreys) and Jack (John James). Bill is clearly sweet on Nancy, as he brings her a gift.

Baddie Henry Stevens (Ian Keith) has learned an abandoned mine owned by the Fergusons is valuable and is working to steal the ore, moving it into his own neighboring mine. When Jack tries to convince a banker (Edward Cassidy) to help him reopen the Ferguson mine, Stevens kills the banker and frames Jack.

It's up to Bill to clear Jack's name and save the mine by the time the movie's 57 minutes are up!

The film has a couple of notable aspects, starting with a full scene featuring Jeffreys singing. Her musical ability was also utilized in the prior film, and I'm hoping to hear more from her in the later movies in the series.

The film also has a notable actor as the villain. In the '30s Ian Keith played significant roles in DeMille films such as THE SIGN OF THE CROSS ( 1932), CLEOPATRA (1934), and THE CRUSADES (1935), where he had an especially good role as the Sultan.

Gabby Hayes is on hand as Wild Bill's sidekick. The cast also includes Jack Ingram, Jack Rockwell, and Eddie Lee. I've seen Lee in numerous small roles from the course of his two-decade career.

The movie was written by J. Benton Cheney and directed by John English. It was filmed by filmed by Bud Thackery.

Gene Blottner's book WILD BILL ELLIOTT confirms my visual recognition that the movie was filmed at Iverson Ranch, along with Corriganville.

All in all, this one is a solid "B" film which held my attention throughout.