a5c7b9f00b Bill Hickok, assisted by Calamity Jane, is after a foreign agent and his guerrilla band who are trying to take over some western territory justthe Civil War is coming to a close. Bill Hickok in his early pre-gunslinger yearsa freight-line agent protecting a gold shipment from villains out to steal gold and land out west while America is diverted by the Civil War back east. With the help of Calamity Jane and her horse-trader uncle, Hickok battles the bad guys while trying to win the love of his life, Louise, in a formulaic B western adventure with songs. &quot;Young Bill Hickok&quot; freely uses the names of historical figures to tell a formulaic story of adventure in the closing days of the Civil War. Roy Rogers portrays Wild Bill, earning his name after he wards off a band of Morrell&#39;s Overland Raiders singlehandedly. The central story involves the shipment of gold to help finance the Union&#39;s war effort, while foreign agent Nicholas Tower (John Miljan) attempts to disrupt the enterprise, enlisting the aid of seedy John Morrell (Wally WalesHal Taliaferro). On the side of the good guys are crusty Gabby Whitaker (George &quot;Gabby&quot; Hayes) and Calamity Jane Canary (Sally Payne). Jacqueline Wells provides the love interest for Hickok, and her presence sets up some tension in the film, firsta Southern lady and Confederate sympathizer, and alsoHickok&#39;s bride to be who must take a back seat to his duty to help the Union cause.<br/><br/>Before the film is over, the Civil War has ended with Lee&#39;s surrender, and the news of Lincoln&#39;s assassination arrives. Tower&#39;s association with John Wilkes Booth was established midway through the filmHickok discovers a letter signed by Booth in Tower&#39;s office. The inclusion of these historical snippets adds some interest to the proceedings, but ultimately have no affect on the main story itself. <br/><br/>Generally Roy Rogers portrayed himself or a character named Roy Rogers in his films, butin this movie, he occasionally was casta legendary Westerner. For more of this type of fare, try &quot;Billy the Kid Returns&quot;, &quot;Young Buffalo Bill&quot;, or &quot;Jesse James at Bay&quot;. In the final days of the Civil War, young Bill Hickock (Roy Rogers) is sent by the War Department to deliver a shipment of gold for the Union cause. Actinga decoy, he sends the gold with Gabby Hayes and Hayes&#39; sidekick Calamity Jane (!), hoping to outsmart the European backed saboteurs that want to take it.<br/><br/>Not so wild this time around, Young Bill Hickock&#39;s bland script takes too much time getting started and doesn&#39;t really generate much excitement or great music. This Republic Picture does have some decent production values though.<br/><br/>Astonishingly, the script veers into JFK style conspiracy theories near the end, with European powers using John Wilkes Bootha pawn in order to divide the US again, in order to gain control of the west! However, it&#39;s still not enough to make this really worth recommending, except for maybe the most die-hard Roy Rogers fans.<br/><br/>The best thing in the movie is the feisty performance by Sally PayneCalamity Jane. She&#39;s pretty cute and does a good job.
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