Most of the B-westerns of the 1930s-40s were made by second and third-tier studios...such as Republic, Monogram and Grand National. But a few of the big-name studios also made B-westerns...and their Bs generally had a bit more polish...such as Paramount and their Hopalong Cassidy films. One of these polished films made by Warner Brothers is "Land Beyond the Law"...and it looks pretty good, though overall I think I prefer many of the Republic westerns a bit more.
Dick Foran was Warner Brothers' answer to Republic's singing cowboy of the day, Gene Autry. While I think Foran had a lovely voice and was prettier than Autry, there is just something about Autry's voice and songs that put Foran to shame by comparison. Audiences of the day must have assumed the same, as he never reached the levels of stardom as Autry.
In this story, Foran plays Charles 'Chip' Douglas*...a nice but hellraising sort of guy. He and his father are at odds with each other, as the elder Douglas thinks Chip is working for a thug and also doesn't like what Chip is doing with his life. However, after his father is murdered by bandits, Chip agrees to be sheriff and vows to clean up the town...even if it means fighting his former boss.
The film is the epitome of adequate...aside from the nice polish. Otherwise, the plot is familiar and nothing really stands out as good or bad. The love interest is typical...hating Chip and then, inexplicably, loving him in the second half of the film. Watchable and a film that has 'time passer' written all over it.
*IMDB lists Foran's character as 'John 'Chip' Douglas'...but he clearly was Charles 'Chip' Douglas in the film.