Water Rustlers is a 1939 American Western film directed by Samuel Diege. It was the first of three Dorothy Page singing cowgirl films for Grand National Films.

Water Rustlers
Original film poster
Directed bySamuel Diege
Written byLawrence Meade (story)
Don Laurie (story)
Arthur Hoerl (screenplay)
Produced byGeorge A. Hirliman (executive producer)
Don Lieberman (producer)
StarringSee below
CinematographyMack Stengler (director of photography)
Edited byGuy V. Thayer Jr. (as Guy Thayer)
Distributed byGrand National Films
Release date
  • January 6, 1939 (1939-01-06)
Running time
54 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Plot

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Mr. Weylan purchases land in order to keep the water supply for himself, originally for hydraulic mining. His long term scheme is when all the ranches fail due to their cattle having no water, he can buy their land cheaply and sell it to a meat company.

Weylan gets his way through fair means, such as having his lawyers getting the rancher's case thrown out of court, as well as foul means such as his henchmen murdering Shirley Martin's father and preventing witnesses to testify. Shirley takes the law into her own hands to lead the ranchers in their fight for justice.

Cast

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Production

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Grand National Pictures lost their top singing cowboy star Tex Ritter to Monogram Pictures. In what was planned to be a series of six musicals, Page filmed three films with a shooting time of five days each from August to October 1938. All were directed by Samuel Diege who died of a heart attack in October 1939.[1]

Soundtrack

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  • Dorothy Page -"Let's Go On Like This Forever" (Written by Al Sherman)
  • Dorothy Page - "When a Cowboy Sings a Dogie Lullaby" (Written by Walter Kent)
  • Dorothy Page - "I Feel at Home in the Saddle" (Written by Milton Drake)

Notes

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  1. ^ pp. 142-145 Bradley, Edwin M. Hollywood Musicals You Missed: Seventy Noteworthy Films from the 1930s McFarland, 5 Jun 2020
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