Cattle Queen (1951)

Maria Hart is Queenie Hart, an orphaned girl who accepts the challenge of running a ranch in the West and succeeds in creating one of the biggest spreads around.

But as she heads into Big Bend on her latest cattle drive, she encounters trouble. A man named Duke Drake has taken over the town and is determined to take over all the ranches around it.

He starts by “reserving” the cattle pens, making sure his herd is sold first. Then he has the legs of Queenie’s cows painted — no joke — so a veterinarian will declare the herd contaminated.

Then, when Queenie is forced to move her cows out of town, he blows up the only water hole at her disposal.

Fortunately, Queenie finds help in the form of a smaller rancher named Bill Foster (Drake Smith). She hires him as foreman and, in a strange twist, he winds up wearing a lawman’s badge.

In fact, he even convinces the governor of Wyoming to free three life-sentence inmates — Shotgun Thompson, Bad Bill Smith and Blackie Malone — to help him out with a promise of amnesty if they succeed.

What he doesn’t know is that one of those inmates is sweet on a saloon girl named Rosa. And Rosa is very good friends with Duke Drake.

Maria Hart as Queenie Hart, trying to salvage her herd, her ranch and get her man in Cattle Queen (1951)

Drake Smith as Bill Foster, sporting a marshal’s badge and informing Queenie Hart he’ll have to step down as her foreman in Cattle Queen (1951)

Review:

For a movie that was supposed to be about a strong, independent woman, the moral of the story seemed to be that she still needed a strong male around to bail her out of trouble.

That’s hardly the only thing wrong with this B Western. There are a couple of downright silly scenes. Like when Queenie’s cattle are dying of thirst. She gathers her men around and says the Lord’s Prayer. Sure enough, the sky turns black and rain starts falling.

Then there’s the death scene for the Tucson Kid, who had been Foster’s partner. He has one last request … well, two really. “Don’t let them take off my boots. And take care of my horse.”

During that climatic gunfight, Foster runs out of bullets. So he merely grabs a whip and flicks a gun out of a badman’s hand to arm himself. As for how he comes to wear a badge — he’s on trial for murder when Queenie marches all the woman in town into the courtroom to announce that they’ve just held an election and selected Foster as sheriff.

Oh my.

According to online bios, Hart later married her co-star in this film. In a double ceremony that also involved her ex-husband.

Robert Gardett as Duke Drake, fighting to take control of the cattle market in Cattle Queen (1951)

William Fawcett as Alkali, the man who helped raise Queenie Hart, watching her fall for a man in Cattle Queen (1951)

Directed by:
Robert E. Tansey

Cast:
Maria Hart … Queenie Hart
Drake Smith … Bill Foster
William Fawcett … Alkali
Robert Gardett … Duke Drake
John Carpenter … The Tucson Kid
Edward Clark … Doc Hodges
Emile Meyer … Shotgun Thompson
James Pierce … Bad Bill Smith
Joe Bailey … Blackie Malone
Douglas Wood … Judge Whipple
Alyn Lockwood … Rosa (saloon girl)
I. Stanford Jolley … Scarface
Lane Chandler … Marshal Houston
Frank Marlowe … Stage driver

Runtime: 72 min.

Emile Meyer as Shotgun Thompson and James Pierce as Bad Bill Pierce, astonished by the power of Queenie Hart’s prayers in Cattle Queen (1951)

John Carpenter as The Tucson Kid, Bill Foster’s saddlemate, joining Queenie Hart’s trail crew in Cattle Queen (1951)

Memorable lines:

Alkali, after one of Drake’s men has been wounded: “Hey, veterinary, did you ever doctor a jackass?”

Queenie, praying to God: “Lord, we pray not for ourselves, but for our cattle.”

Queenie to Alkali: “You know I haven’t get time for men. I haven’t met one yet worth shooting.”

Alkali about Bill Foster: “You scared him off by throwing yourself at him. You should have played hard to get.”
Queenie: “I wouldn’t have had him around for a second if you hadn’t said we needed a man like that.”
Alkali: “I guess it’s pretty hard for a gal to play hard to get when she wants to be gotten.”

WIlliam Fawcett as Alkali watching Queenie Hart (Maria Hart) pretty herself up to impress Bill Foster in Cattle Queen (1951)

Douglas Wood as Judge Whipple, presiding over Bill Foster’s sham murder trial in Cattle Queen (1953)

Alyn Lockwood as Rosa, a saloon girl working for Duke Drake and trying to help him get the upper hand over Queenie Hart in Cattle Queen (1951)

Maria Hart as Queenie Hart, her prayer for rain answered as Bill Foster (Drake Smith) gets wet in Cattle Queen (1951)

I. Stanford Jolley as Scarface, one of Duke Drake’s henchmen, ready to pronounce Bill Foster guilty in Cattle Queen (1951)

Maria Hart as Queenie Hart, helping the women of Big Bend express their will in court in Cattle Queen (1951)