Spectrum Pictures (I)

The fourth of 12 singing Westerns starring the "Silvery-Voiced Baritone," Fred Scott, Melody of the Plains begins peacefully enough with Scott, as cowboy Steve Condon, warbling Don Swander and June Hershey's "Albuquerque." The story quickly takes a rather grim turn when one of Steve's colleagues is shot and killed after selling out to a gang of rustlers. Mistakenly believing he fired the deadly shot, a dejected Steve, along with sidekick Fuzzy, goes to work for Bud's father, a rancher nearly forced into bankruptcy by a crooked land developer.

Sheriff Bill Jones, in the line of duty, kills outlaw Joe Land and adopts his young son, Tim. They come upon a former silver boomtown, reputed to be haunted, whose only inhabitant is Hiram McDuff, a friend of Bill's. Ranch owner Joan Stanley hires Bill and Tim. Her father has been killed by the gang of Wolf Larson. By mistake, McDuff hires the Larson gang on as ranch hands for Joan. They plan to steal the stock while Bill is away. Tim overhears the plot and informs Bill. Bill and Tim use ghost makeup, skeleton sheets (even outfitting their horses with skeleton-looking blankets) and tricks to rout the superstitious gang members...

Tom "Killer" Dane kills Jeff's friend, who then pursues him. Jeff and Dane are look-alike half brothers, which allows Dane to make a raid dressed like Jeff. Jeff is arrested, but before Dane's henchman can organize a lynch mob, Fuzzy breaks him out and Jeff heads after Dane again.

Baritone singer Barry Glendon, completing a successful season in opera, departs for his ranch in the west over the objections of his manager Tony. Arriving there with his double-talking friend Shorty, Barry learns that a parcel of his vast ranch has been fraudulently sold to Carol Marland and her ailing (and tiresome) young brother Johnny. Pretending he is only the foreman, and having his cowhands go along with it,Barry allows Carol and her whining, growing-ever-more-tiresome brother to believe that they are the actual owners in order to give him a free hand in running down the swindlers who victimized Carol who, with a brother like hers, was a victim to begin with.Barry learns that brothers Clem and Jonas Allen are the villains and,through a ruse in which they are led to believe there is a hidden treasure on the land they sold Carol, they try to buy it back bidding against Barry, who forces the price up.

Barbara Evans has $25,000 and Gifford is after it. When his henchman fail to get it he refuses to pay them. They then decide to double cross him and get the money for themselves. Gordon is trying to protect Barbara and he must not only take care of the two henchmen, but also Gifford and his phony Sheriff.

The Sheriff and his deputies are after Scar Adams. Scar is the brother of Alice Denton, the girl Deputy Tom plans to marry, and when the Sheriff is wounded she makes Tom refuse the job of Sheriff. But when Scar kills his father, Tom puts on the badge and takes out after him.

A cowboy captures two rustlers and collects a $5000 reward. Using the money to take a vacation, he winds up getting accused of a murder he didn't commit.

Twenty-two years earlier Kirk Dean murdered his brother Fred Dean Sr. Now Fred Dean Jr. is looking for his father's killer. Unknown to Fred, Bill Barton who now works for Kirk, witnessed the murder.