Overland Telegraph (1951) Tim Holt, Gail Davis, Hugh Beaumont, Mari Blanchard, George Nader Movie Review

Overland Telegraph (1951)   3/53/53/53/53/5


Gail Davis in Overland Telegraph (1951)

Telegraph for Tim

Terry Muldoon (Gail Davis) and her father Terence (Cliff Clark) have the contract to install a local stretch of the telegraph around Mesa City. But not everyone is enthusiastic about progress as storekeeper Paul Manning (George Nader) relies on the trade from a nearby Army post which will be going once the line is completed. As such Manning is out to sabotage the completion of the telegraph line until he is able to shift his stock and he isn't the only one. But with Tim (Tim Holt) and Chito (Richard Martin) in the area and having already met the pretty Terry they can't help but snoop in to what is going on especially when someone is murdered.

"Overland Telegraph" is a generic, 100% typical Tim & Chito western with western director Lesley Selander comfortably delivering what young audiences would have wanted at the time. As such we have Tim & Chito ride in to Mesa City and finding themselves coming to the aid of a damsel and in to trouble with a crooked business man trying to not only line his own pockets but as it turns out settle an old score. As such 90% of "Overland Telegraph" could have been pieced together using footage from earlier Tim & Chito westerns.

But "Overland Telegraph" has something or someone which makes it entertaining and that is Gail Davis. Davis has a real pluck about her and a sense of fire which makes her character stand out from the rest which are incredibly ordinary in comparison. Ordinary doesn't mean bad as both Holt and Martin deliver their usual mix of comedy heroics but they end up in Gail Davis' shadow.

What this all boils down to is that "Overland Telegraph is just a routine Tim and Chito western with their usual blend of humour and action. But this is a western where the supporting performance from Gail Davis ends up stealing the show and truth be told it is a good thing as most of this movie is ordinary.


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