After a handful of non-formula westerns, Charles Starrett returned to the mixture as before in Thundering Frontier. Starrett plays Jim Fillmore, kind to old ladies, small animals and heroine Norma Belknap (Iris Meredith). In contrast, the villains are kind to no one, least of all struggling building contractor Square Deal Scottie (Alex Callam), whose projects are continually targeted for demolition and his payroll is forever being stolen at gunpoint. A good 25 percent of the film's running time is given over to Bob Nolan and the Sons of the Pioneers, whose C&W croonings are pleasant but a bit much. One of the film's few surprises is that Starrett's perennial screen sparring partner Dick Curtis isn't one of the bad guys.
Practical Effects
That landslide is actual rocks, not a model—RKO spent money once
Costume
Starrett's hat deserves supporting credit, it's doing heavy lifting
Sound
Sons of the Pioneers singing 25% of runtime—blessing or curse?
Director
D. Ross Lederman
Charles Starrett
Jim Filmore
Iris Meredith
Norma Belknap
Ray Bennett
Ed Filmore
Alex Callam
Square Deal Scottie
Carl Stockdale
Andrew Belknap
Fred Burns
Hank Loomis
Bob Nolan
Bob
John Tyrrell
Bartender Mac
John Dilson
Carter Filmore
Pat Brady
Musician (uncredited)
George Chesebro
Henchman Dirk (uncredited)
Hugh Farr
Musician (uncredited)
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The Sons of the Pioneers were already western music royalty by 1940—this was early Roy Rogers adjacent content before he became the bigger star.
Director D. Ross Lederman reportedly shot this in under a week—explains why 25% is musical padding and the 'landslide' is mostly dust and yelling.
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