Rio Grande (1938 film)

Rio Grande is a 1938 American Western film directed by Sam Nelson and starring Charles Starrett, Donald Grayson, and Iris Meredith. Produced by Larry Darmour for Columbia Pictures, the film is notable as an early entry in the singing cowboy subgenre. Charles Starrett stars as a U.S. Border Patrol agent who sings and plays guitar while tracking down smugglers along the Rio Grande. The plot involves border disputes, mistaken identities, and the pursuit of justice in the American Southwest. While not considered a major classic of the Western genre, Rio Grande provided Starrett with a vehicle for his musical and acting talents, and contributed to the popularity of singing cowboy films during the late 1930s and early 1940s.