Call of the Canyon

Gene Autry and his sidekick Frog look into a phony oil scam being perpetrated on a mission orphanage.

With the increasing popularity of Republic's sagebrush crooner Gene Autry, rival company Columbia found it necessary to add a musical element to this Charles Starrett Western released in early 1937. As Starrett himself was no singer, the studio hired Donald Grayson to warble Lonesome River, Out in the Cow Country and Pancho's Widow, all by Ned Washington and Sam H. Stept.

Two guys come to Nashville and try to make it on the country music scene. Their vision is to play at the Grand IL' Opry. Rejection after rejection pushes them to the verge of quitting and moving back to wherever they came from.

After the Texas Rangers are disbanded, the the reconstruction years following the Civil War, a private state-police force extorts money from the citizens in a "protection" scheme. Ex-Rangers Jimmy Wakely and "Cannonball" Taylor foil an arrest by state-police officers Hamon and Kelly. Commissioner Jed Brant tells his nephew that his old friend Jimmy is plotting against the law-and-order forces. Vic's fiancée and ranch-owner, Sheila Carol, refuses to sign up with the crooked police outfit, and believes Jimmy is an outlaw. On Chief Barton's order, Hamon shoots ex-Rangers Murphy and Payson, so they can be blamed for a raid on Sheila's ranch.

In his starring debut, Roy gets elected to Congress in order to bring water to the ranchers in his district. In Washington, he learns he needs the backing of a key congressman and gets that man to go west for an inspection trip. When the congressman is initially unimpressed, Roy gets the inspection party stranded without water to show the true conditions.

As the sheriff of a small western town, Autry sings his way into a relationship with Eleanor, a singer from a Chicago nightclub who earlier witnessed a murder.

Melody arrives looking for the killer of his uncle and at the same time Dumont arrives looking for the murderer of her father. They both suspect Skelton and Dumont finds incriminating evidence in his office. But when Melody finds the murder weapon in Skelton's office he is arrested by Shelton's stooge Sheriff.

When it appears that Fred Jamison is a member of Red's gang, he is kicked out of the Rangers. But it's just a plot between Fred and the Ranger Captain. Fred then gets into Red's gang and makes plans that will enable the Rangers to bring them all in. But his message to the Captain is intercepted and the hoax revealed.

It's cattlemen versus sheepmen and Trigger Gargan appears to be the leader of the gang causing the trouble. But unknown to Ranger Tex Lawrence, the respected town citizen Barrow is the boss and is tipping off the gang as to the Ranger's activities.

Ranch owner Sandra, fresh from animal husbandry school, brings a flock of sheep into cattle country. The local ranchers don't like it, and ranch foreman Gene must deal with it.

Gene and Frog set out to find out who has been causing the accidents at a dam construction site.

Hughie Mack, a not so nice western singer, is discovered by Clover Doyle as the next movie cowboy hero. His name is changed to Slim Carter and a promotional buildup begins. Leo Gallaher, an orphan boy wins the contest to spend a month with Slim. Leo is a good influence on his cowboy hero. Clover sees the good and more in Slim. Montana Burriss is Slim's double.

Working undercover, the Rangers are after Bull and his gang. Ted successfully joins Dr. Aikmans traveling medicine show, but Jim's identity has been exposed and he is in danger.

Americans come west to California in the hope of peaceful settlement. Roy and Gabby sing a duet: "We're Not Coming Out Tonight." Other songs include "Sundown on the Rangeland" and "Ride on Vaquero."

If a young lady gives up her inheritance the local ranchers will lose their free grazing land.

A cowboy is wrongfully accused of murder. He winds up in Harlem, where he assumes the identity of a preacher-turned-gangster who looks like him. He infiltrates the gang to catch the men who framed him.

Bob Blake and his sidekick and four singing cowboys arrive at the Jackson ranch where Bob learns from Betty Jackson that her brother, Joe, is missing. Bob investigates and learns that there is gold on the Jackson ranch, and the neighboring rancher has kidnapped Joe in order to get his land.

To win possession of the ranches he holds mortgages on, crooked banker Jim Kelton has his henchmen raid the ranches and stampede the cattle herds thereby ensuring the ranchers can't meet their notes. U. S. Marshal Wild Bill Hickok arrives...

Vignettes weaving together the stories of six individuals in the old West at the end of the Civil War. Following the tales of a sharp-shooting songster, a wannabe bank robber, two weary traveling performers, a lone gold prospector, a woman traveling the West to an uncertain future, and a motley crew of strangers undertaking a carriage ride.

A cowboy helps a pretty young woman and her father in their fight against land-grabbers who are trying to swindle them out of their cattle ranch.