The Apache Kid (1941)

Remade, with only slight revisions in names and relationships, in 1953 as "Old Overland Trail" with Rex Allen, "The Apache Kid" has Pete Dawson (Don 'Red' Barry) leading a group of friends and neighbors westward from a dust-ravished Missouri to settle Rock Creek, a frontier town in the Oregon territory. Pete has been induced to make this move by his uncle, Joe Walker (Robert Fiske), who ran afoul of the law twenty years past, but is presumably now a honest citizen. In reality, he is the same crook he was in the past. He and his partner, Nick Barter (LeRoy Mason), obtain a government contract to build a road through the territory and are exploiting the settlers and forcing them to work on the road gang for little or no pay, through the use of script money they issue. The purpose for luring Pete and his friends is to obtain more labor. Walker has his henchmen, disguised as Indians, raid the wagon train, stampede the stock and destroy the supply wagon, and the distitute group reaches Rock Creek and are dependent on Walker's dubious largesse in giving them jobs on his road gang. When government funds to pay the workers comes through, Walker has his gang hold up the gold-carrying coach, and forces the laborers to accept script redeemable at one-fourth of its face value. Pete becomes aware of what is happening, so when the next payroll shipment comes through he holds up the coach himself before Walker's henchmen have a chance to, and sends the money into town to the sheriff, so that the workers will be paid in real money. He continues this procedure week after week and Walker posts a huge reward for the bandit whom he calls "The Apache Kid." Pete places the true facts before the United States Road Commissioner, who helps him depose the Walker-Barter regime. Pete marries Barbara Taylor (Lynn Merrick), daughter of one of the immigrants.