Shooting High 1940

In the town of Carson’s Corners, a long-running feud between the Carsons and the Pritchards shapes every decision and a lot of everyday life. The romance budding between Will Carson [Gene Autry] and Marjorie Pritchard [Marjorie Weaver] sits atop a fault line of pride and power. Calvin Pritchard [Frank M. Thomas], the town’s bank president and mayor, pretends to back the relationship, but his real goal is to secure a piece of Carson land to clear a highway through the area. When Will learns of these motives, he confronts Marjorie with accusations that she’s colluding with her father to seize Carson property, and the town’s fragile peace begins to crack.

Into this tension rides Gabby Cross [Jack Carson], a publicity agent for Spectrum Pictures, bearing a tempting offer: $20,000 to film a movie about Wild Bill Carson—the legendary founder of Carson’s Corners—right there in town. The highway scheme complicates matters, and Calvin remains wary of the project. Jane Pritchard [Jane Withers], Calvin’s youngest daughter, proposes a compromise: Spectrum Pictures can shoot in Carson’s Corners if the highway proposal gets approved. With that proposal, the town see-saws between progress and peril, and the film crew moves in, bringing glamour, attention, and new rivalries.

As production begins, the film’s real-life romance subplot heats up when Bob Merritt [Robert Lowery], the movie’s star, begins courting Marjorie, creating a fresh fault line for the two families. To protect her sister and Will’s future, Jane teams with the local sheriff to hatch a plan to scare Merritt away by hinting that a lynch party is targeting him. The ruse pays off, and Merritt leaves town in a hurry. But the setback prompts Spectrum Pictures to threaten legal action against Pritchard, while Cross suggests a new bargain: Will Carson could take the lead role if Pritchard extends the Carson mortgages, tying the future of the town to the film’s success.

Yet trouble isn’t done with the script. Three gangsters ride into Carson’s Corners under the cover of filming, bringing genuine danger with them. During a bank hold-up scene, they slip into actor costumes and rob the bank, escaping with the money. Will, embodying the town’s sense of duty, pursues the trio on horseback, corners them, and returns the money to the grateful townspeople. His swift, brave actions win respect from both sides of the feud, including Marjorie, and they begin to see a path forward through cooperation rather than conflict. In the end, Will’s courage helps bridge the old rift, and his engagement to Marjorie signals a hopeful new chapter for Carson’s Corners—proof that unity and resilience can outpace generations of quarrel.