Tumbleweed Trail
Tumbleweed Trail
| 19 July 1946 (USA)
Tumbleweed Trail Trailers

Eddie Dean's assignment is to thwart the efforts of a crooked gambler, Brad Barton, to take over the property of his half-brother Bill Ryan. In order to secure the ranch, which is believed to hold large silver deposits, the scheming relative contracts to have Ryan killed. He then presents a forged will to the court naming himself as the sole heir. Shocked by the tide of events, Ryan's two rightful heirs, his grown daughter Robin and young son "Freckles" are determined to remain on their father's property. Eddie and his sidekick, Soapy Jones, arrive on the scene in time to enter the fight on the side of Robin and "Freckles."

Reviews
CrawlerChunky In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.
StyleSk8r At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.
Ogosmith Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.
Quiet Muffin This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.
classicsoncall I'd say Kermit Maynard got himself a pretty easy payday with his effort here, showing up once near the beginning of the film only to get shot, then again at the end to help star Eddie Dean and sidekick Soapy Jones (Roscoe Ates) make the save on the Ryan Ranch before bad guy Barton (Bob Duncan) could take over. At one point it was mentioned that months had gone by before Bill Ryan (Maynard) showed up after being presumed dead. I'd have to wonder - what was he doing that whole time? Well, trying to analyze stuff like this with these 'B' oaters from the Forties is a thankless task. Not a whole lot of thought was put into these stories, and what the heck, what do you expect in a flick that comes in under an hour? The most original element here were the names of the bad guy henchmen - Deadeye, Blackie, Gringo and Apache. On second thought, forget about originality.Some consider Eddie Dean's voice among the finest of the singing cowboys. It's on display here with the opening title song, and he also turns in a nice rendition of 'Poor Lonesome Cowboy' a little later on. Pretty Shirley Patterson provides the eye appeal as the distressed daughter of rancher Ryan, but the romance angle isn't taken very far, as Eddie and Soapy have more trails to blaze when this one is over.
bkoganbing No cowboy hero is going to stand for a girl and her little brother being tossed off their ranch. That's the situation that Eddie Dean and sidekick Roscoe Ates have on their hands in Tumbleweed Trail.The two are in the area to meet up with the father of the two aforementioned persons when they hear that he's missing and presumed dead and his half brother Bob Duncan has a will naming him sole heir and he's now tossing them out of their home. Snidely Whiplash could not have done it in a nastier fashion. Shirley Patterson and Johnny McGovern have to trust in Dean and Ates and you know it will come out right in the end.Tumbling Tumbleweeds is an easy to take B western from the PRC company which did not do as much in production values as Republic did. Eddie Dean sings some nice songs which are the best part of the film.
Jim Tritten Villain Brad Barton has his men ambush rancher and his half brother Bill Ryan to get control of his ranch. Barton forges a will that gives the ranch and everything on it to him. Bills daughter and son are left out in the cold. Two marshals have been called in to help -- hero and singing cowboy Eddie Dean and sidekick Soapy Jones help the kids and save the day. A surprise ending - but really nothing can save this lackluster performance from itself. Recommended only if you want to hear the hero sign the theme and other songs or watch a teen age girl and young boy successfully chase off the bad guys. Does the hero get the girl or the horse in the end? You will have to see it to find out.