Barbed Wire

Barbed Wire is a 1950 musical Western about a rancher (Gene Autry) who uses barbed wire to rein in his cattle despite the skepticism of his neighboring ranchers. Another rancher, Sandy Reeves (Harry Shannon), plots to buy up the land in the area by devaluing their property. He sees an opportunity when the ranchers display their skepticism of the barbed wire. Reeves hires some goons (Jock O'Mahoney, House Peters Jr., Holly Bane, Chuck Roberson and Ted Mapes) to mark the neighbors cattle with wire marks to start a range war. Predictably, the plan works and the war divides the ranchers. Meanwhile, Martin Dalrymple (Ralph Sanford), the owner of the general store, is comically divided over whether to it is better to profit from barbed wire sales, or side with the opponents. Songs included in Barbed Wire included "Buffalo Gals, Powder Your Face with Sunshine," "Down in the Valley" and "Oh, Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie."