Former nightclub crooner
Smith Ballew made his singing-cowboy debut in Western Gold. Set during the Civil War, the story finds Union soldier Bill Gibson (Ballew) heading West to prevent valuable Northern gold shipment from being systematically stolen by Confederate spies. Making our hero's job difficult is the fact that his old friend Fred Foster (
LeRoy Mason) is in charge of the Rebel raiders. Anguishing over the notion of having to arrest his lifelong chum, Bill is "saved" when Foster is dispatched by a bullet conveniently fired from a stranger's gun. The leading lady in Western Gold is British-born
Heather Angel, who looks mighty confused by her unfamiliar frontier surroundings. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide