WATER RUSTLERS (1939) Dorothy Page, Dave O'Brien & Vince Barnett | Western | B&W

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.

SYNOPSIS
Shirley Martin finds that Weylan has diverted the water from the valley and her cattle are dying. First she and her foreman Bob Lawson go to court. This fails when Weylan's men keep the ranchers from testifying.

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 & CREW
Dorothy Page as Shirley Martin
Dave O'Brien as Bob Lawson
Vince Barnett as Mike, the cook
Stanley Price as Robert Weylan
Ethan Allen as Tim Martin
Leonard Trainor as Andy Jurgens, rancher
Warner Richmond as Wiley, crooked foreman
Edward R. Gordon as Henchman Herman
Edward Peil Sr. as Lawyer
Lloyd Ingraham as Judge
Merrill McCormick as Sheriff

Directed by Samuel Diege
Written by Lawrence Meade (story), Don Laurie (story), Arthur Hoerl (screenplay)
Produced by George A. Hirliman, Don Lieberman
Cinematography Mack Stengler
Edited by Guy V. Thayer Jr. (as Guy Thayer)
Distributed by Grand National Films
Release date January 6, 1939
Running time 54 minutes
Country United States
Language English

NOTES
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.