The Medico of Painted Springs (1941)

The Medico of Painted Springs (also known as Doctor's Alibi) is a 1941 American Western film produced by Columbia Pictures. Based on the novel of the same name by James Lyon Rubel, the film stars Charles Starrett, Terry Walker, Ben Taggart, Wheeler Oakman, and the Simp-Phonies in a cameo appearance. It was directed by Lambert Hillyer and written by Wyndham Gittens and Winston Miller. In the film, Starrett's character, Dr. Steven Monroe, travels to a tumultuous Painted Springs and attempts to resolve a raging conflict between two camps – the cattlemen and the sheep ranchers. The film received mixed reviews from contemporary film critics. After the release of the film in June 1941, Columbia allowed the release of two more Medico films, Thunder Over the Prairie (July 1941) and Prairie Stranger (September 1941). Starrett, who went on to star in around sixty other western flicks, found The Medico of Painted Springs to be his favorite film. The film has many noticeable differences from Rubel's original work.