City-bred J. Wellington Pike, author of several blood-and-thunder dime novels, has convinced himself that the West is still wild, and he undertakes a trip to gather material for a new story. Pike visits the Claytonville ranch of Ann Keith, a former acquaintance who has persuaded her fellow townspeople to dress and behave like two-fisted, gun-toting westerners in order to give the dude a thrill. Honest-to-goodness badman Killer Madden takes advantage of the theatrics by staging a real robbery, putting Ann in danger and Pike's manhood to the test.
An independent production made on a modest budget, A Tenderfoot Goes West reaches back to the silent movie days for its premise of the townsfolk re-enacting the wild & wooly west for the benefit of a visiting dude. Russell Gleason, son of beloved character actors James and Lucile Gleason, is perfectly cast as the timid writer who overcomes his fear to rescue the girl he has come to love. A Tenderfoot Goes West also makes a good showcase for Virginia Carroll, a charming ingenue whose film outings diminished in number once she married actor Ralph Byrd, the screen's future Dick Tracy, who appears with her here. - Ed Hulse