Gunners & Guns

Pop Norton is murdered when sleazy guests who arrive at his Dude Ranch turn out to be Chicago gangsters with whom he was once associated. The mobsters frame ranch foreman Steve Madison for the killing. With Madison out of the way, gang leader "Slim" Griffith plans to move in on Pop's beautiful daughter, June. Outraged, Steve vows to do whatever it takes to clear his name and win back his girl.

Originally titled Racketeers Round-Up, the studio shot some additional minutes with Black King, "The Horse with the Human Brain" (who receives top billing), and released it as Gunners & Guns. Edmond Cobb was the grandson of the Kansas senator who is said to have cast the deciding vote in President Andrew Johnson's impeachment trial. Cobb co-starred with his wife, actress Helen Hayes, in Riders of the Range (1923) and A Rodeo Mix-Up (1924).

A group of Chicago gangsters descends on a western ranch in this obscure oater from low-budget H. and H. Productions. The rancher, Merrill (Ned Norton), used to be a gangster himself and is hiding $50,000, the loot from his final heist. The leader of the gang, "Slim" Griffith (Edward Allen Biby), falls for his "host's" pretty daughter June (Edna Aslin), although she is engaged to foreman Steve Madison (Edmund Cobb). By threatening to expose Merrill's past, "Slim" has Steve fired but the latter is suspicious and begins an investigation into the matter aided by Black King, "The Horse with the Human Brain." Soon Steve is falsely accused of killing Merrill, while "Slim" takes off with June as his captive. The foreman and his horse, however, manage to free the girl and the entire gang is soon apprehended. GUNNERS AND GUNS was in reality RACKETEER ROUND-UP, which had been released a month earlier. The filmmakers simply went back to the editing room, inserted a few scenes featuring Cobb and Black King and released the brew under a new title. Typically for ultra low-budget independent fare such as this, veteran screen cowboy Edmund Cobb suffered the indignity of having his name appear as "Edwin Cobb" in publicity material and on posters. Francis Walker, who was billed third on posters but not at all in the film's credits, found himself in the same predicament, his name appearing as "Frank Walker." Leading lady Edna Aslin, on the other hand, was billed correctly on posters but as "Edna Aselin" in the opening credits. And so it went.