Toll of the Desert

Toll of the Desert transcends its "B"-picture origins with a plotline that would have done Zane Grey proud. In one of his few starring roles, Fred Kohler Jr. plays hero Bill Carson. Apparently orphaned at the age of 4, Bill grows up to become a scrupulous honest, upright sheriff. In this capacity, he brings notorious outlaw Tom Collins (Roger Williams) to justice, never dreaming that the villain is his own father. Rather than compromise his son's integrity, Collins never reveals his true identity -- not even as he's being led to the gallows. Heroine Betty Mack, late of the Hal Roach Charlie Chase comedies, gets to sing a song or two.