Eddie Dean

Flash

Roscoe Ates

Sarah Padden

Lash LaRue

Eddie and his sidekicks have been called in to help get a new telegraph line through. Dawson and his men along with his stooge Judge are out to stop them. When Eddie and the boys catch three of Dawson's men destroying telegraph equipment, the Judge releases them and this leads to the showdown between the two sides.

It is now an accepted fact that the best of Johnny Mack Brown's Universal westerns were directed by the talented Joseph H. Lewis. Boss of Hangtown Mesa may not be in the same league as the Brown-Lewis classic Arizona Cyclone, but it comes awfully close. This time around, hero Steve Collins (Brown) comes to the aid of Betty Wilkins (Helen Deverell), who has taken over the telegraph-line business established by her uncle John (Henry Hall). The latter was murdered by outlaws who don't cotton to having the territory linked up electronically with the rest of the world.

The arrival of the telegraph put Pony Express riders like John Blair and his pal Smoky out of work. A race will decide whether they or stageline owner Drake get the government mail contract.

Johnny Mack Brown is sent to the badlands to round up an elusive outlaw gang.

Not to be confused with the 1929 film The Overland Telegraph, this Western from director Lesley Selander stars Tim Holt as a cowboy appropriately named Tim Holt. In order to hinder the construction of a new telegraph line for his own financial gain, scheming shopkeeper Paul Manning (George Nader) enlists the assistance of a gang of outlaws led by Brad Roberts (Hugh Beaumont in one of his many pre-Leave it to Beaver roles). Unfortunately for the bad guys, Holt and his cohort Chito Rafferty (Richard Martin) sense that there's foul play afoot and embark on an investigation.

To increase profits for his shipping company, Lynch has goaded the Indians to attack both the telegraph line and the new railroad. When Lynch sells rifles to the Indians, Rod Farrell captures Lynch and his gang. But Lynch's Indian friends free him and this time Farrell finds himself the prisoner.

Billy Carson and Fuzzy Jones have just collected a reward and Fuzzy indulges in a dream of getting away from the hectic life he has been leading and wants to settle down. They arrive in Red Rock just as the newspaper is being sold at foreclosure and, despite the attempts by Lafe Barlow to intimidate him from bidding. Fuzzy finds himself the owner of a newspaper. Fuzzy meets Edith Martin, daughter of the former owner, and unthinkingly commits himself to carrying on her father's policy of bringing a telegraph line to Red Rock. For reason of his own, Barlow is against this and has his henchmen wage a campaign of terror against the ranchers and citizens. Before long, Billy who had been lazily indifferent to everything connected to Fuzzy and his newspaper, decides to take a hand on the side of the good guys.

Though Don "Red" Barry is the star of Jesse James, Jr., he plays a character named Johnny Barrett. The scene is a small western town, lacking telegraph service. Every time the locals try to set up communications with the Outside World, they are thwarted by an outlaw gang.