Two prisoners, Steve Brandt and Nick Montana, chained to each other, escape by jumping from the train that brought them to the penitentiary. Persued, they hide in the carriage with Jane Langton. Arriving at her ranch, they discover that she is fighting against a Pete Sutton, who wants to take her pasture. Not wanting to confront, Sutton offers the two escapees help by assisting them move to Mexico.

Driving off an Indian attack, the soldiers capture one of the Indian rifles only to learn that it came from their own warehouse. With Lieutenant Bentley and Sergeant Luke having the only keys to the guns, Bentley finds himself under suspicion and starts to investigate.

Popular crooner Russ Raymond abandons his career at its peak and joins the Navy using an alias, Tommy Halstead. However, Dorothy Roberts, a reporter, discovers his identity and follows him in the hopes of photographing him and revealing his identity to the world. Aboard the Alabama, Tommy meets up with Smoky and Pomeroy, who help hide him from Dorothy, who hatches numerous schemes in an attempt to photograph Tommy/Russ being a sailor.

In the Dakotas during the days of the Great Gold Boom, brothers Jim and Bob Holliday are bumping heads over the affections of pretty Anne Grayson. While all this is going on, Wild Bill Hickok does his best to neutralize the local criminal element-and to fend off the romantic overtures of boisterous Calamity Jane.

Dick Tracy goes up against a villain known as The Ghost, who can turn himself invisible.

Hoppy and new sidekick California Carlson head to California to help out Lucky Jenkins.

A town bedeviled with outlaws sends for Hoppy, Lucky and California after their own vigilante committee fails to solve the towns problems. Hoppy discovers that the bad guys are led by the town boss, and so are the vigilantes.

When Jesse learns that Krager is cheating settlers, he and his gang rob trains to obtain money for them to purchase their land. Krager, finding a Jesse look alike in Burns, hires him to wreck havoc on the ranchers. When Jesse kills Burns he switches clothes and goes after the culprits.

Belle Langtry runs a town being taken over by cattle rustlers. She is also a front for the outlaws, who are led by Steve Fraser. Hoppy gets elected sheriff and cleans up the town with help from the Bar 20 boys.

Chip of the Flying U was Johnny Mack Brown's first western entry for 1940. Brown essays the title role of Chip Bennett, foreman of the Flying U ranch. Before the second reel has tumbled over the spools, Chip finds himself falsely accused of robbery and murder. The actual miscreants are in the employ of a band of foreign gunrunners, who speak in heavily Teutonic accents. Rest assured that Chip makes short work of these bush-league Storm Troopers before the sun sets in the West. Musical interludes are provided by a group calling themselves the Texas Rangers, even though they actually hailed from Kansas City.

After a payroll robbery the Mesquiteers catch up with the gang. But the members escape, the gang leader is killed, and they end up with only the leaders young son who is quickly sent to a work farm. They adopt the boy hoping to learn where the money is. Just as their kindness is about to pay off a gang member takes the boy away forcing him to retrieve the money. - Written by Maurice VanAuken

Jackie Gleason and Jack Durant are teamed for the first and only time as Hank and Jed, a pair of dimwitted barbers who are forced into bankruptcy because all their customers have marched off to war. Figuring that if you can't beat 'em, join 'em, Hank and Jed try to join the Army themselves, only to be rejected for a variety of reasons (When asked to read the eye-chart, Hank says he can't-not because he can't see, but because he can't read).

A crooked gambler poses as a descendant of a noble Spanish family has successfully secured court validation of a counterfeit land grant, and proceeds to drive out ranchers already settled on the land with high taxes, road tolls and violent tactics. A pair of horse sellers pitch in to help a customer, his daughter, and the other "tenant" ranchers after being roughed up by toll collectors when they refuse to pay the assessed toll.

Beyond Hell's Gate Pass is territory controlled by a man who calls himself King Carter; he uses a variety of schemes to prevent the railroad from being built, for fear it will finish his control of (what he considers) his land.

Prison escapee Utah Evans kills Sheriff McClay. Joe Norton was McClay's predecessor and sent Utah to prison. Ma McClay having taken over as Sheriff for her husband, now gets Joe to return. Joe sets out to get Utah and Utah, learning Joe is after him, hopes to get revenge for being sent to prison.

A 12-episode serial in which Tim Tyler goes to Africa in search of his father in gorilla country. He meets up with Laura, who is after Spider Webb who has framed her brother. Webb causes the death of Tim's father, but is eventually tracked down.

Wild Bill Hickock (William Elliott), aka The Peaceable Man, meters out justice in the tough town of Deadwood in this highly fictional western from Columbia. Unlike the historic character, Elliott's gunfighter survives his encounter with the South Dakota hellhole, where he arrives to aid beleaguered livery stable owner Clint Wilson (Richard Fiske) and his sister, Madge (Dorothy Fay), in their battle against self-appointed town czar "Flash" Kirby (Arthur Loft). But before he gets that far, there is a little matter of proving Kirby guilty of wrongdoing and to achieve that, Wild Bill earns the enmity of both the Wilsons.

The son of Sheriff Clay Hartley, of the frontier town Elder, has gotten into bad company and hangs out with an outlaw gang in which, Collins, owner of the Golden Rule Saloon, is the secret head. Sheriff Hartley suspects him, but has been unable to gather the needed evidence. Collins instructs his gang, including young Hartley, to hold up the stagecoach on its return trip from Missionary Flats and take the cargo of gold dust it is carrying. Sheriff Hartley is notified of the planned holdup by one of his deputies who has been spying on Collins, and organizes a posse. A deputy-sheriff is killed in the ensuing gunfight between the lawmen and the outlaws, but Deputy Joe Larkin, pursues and captures Clay Hartley Jr. The latter is quickly tried and convicted of the killing of the deputy, and sentenced to be hung. Sheriff Hartley has only a few hours to prove his son was not the killer. He enlists the aid of Collins' step-daughter, Joan, who is in love with Hartley's son.

A U.S. marshal is sent to investigate a gang that is stealing horses from the cavalry.

Atkins is the boss of one of the Pony Express relay stations. He has been causing trouble and is replaced with Cal Sheridan. Atkins now gets the Richard brothers to raid one of the relay stations and they kill Norma's father. Cal sees that the horse of one of the raiders has a broken shoe and Norma sets out to find that horse.