Shooting High

Shooting High

Year: 1940

Runtime: 65 mins

Language: English

Director: Alfred E. Green

WesternMusicComedyAction

TWO GREAT STARS TOGETHER! A movie company making a film about a famous sheriff hires his grandson as a stand-in for the lead.

Warning: spoilers below!

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Timeline & Setting – Shooting High (1940)

Explore the full timeline and setting of Shooting High (1940). Follow every major event in chronological order and see how the environment shapes the story, characters, and dramatic tension.

Time period

Location

Carson's Corners

Carson's Corners is a tight-knit frontier town where the Carsons and Pritchards preside over local politics, land, and mortgages. The town's future hinges on a proposed highway that could reshape its boundaries and fortunes. When a film crew arrives to shoot a story about the town's founder, old feuds surface and old loyalties are tested.

🏘️ Small town 🚧 Highway development 🎬 Western setting

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 17:32

Main Characters – Shooting High (1940)

Meet the key characters of Shooting High (1940), with detailed profiles, motivations, and roles in the plot. Understand their emotional journeys and what they reveal about the film’s deeper themes.

Will Carson (Gene Autry)

Will Carson is a principled young man who loves Marjorie Pritchard and stands up to threats to his family’s land and town. He is quick to defend what is right, even when it clashes with powerful interests. His steadfast honesty and courage drive the town toward resolution.

🤠 Hero 🛡️ Principled 🏇 Courageous

Marjorie Pritchard (Marjorie Weaver)

Marjorie is the daughter of Carson Corners' bank president and mayor. She balances loyalty to her family with a growing willingness to pursue love and practical compromise. Her actions show she can shape the town’s future through measured decisions.

💖 Romantic lead 🧭 Conflicted 🏛️ Family-oriented

Jane Pritchard (Jane Withers)

Jane is the youngest Pritchard daughter who schemes to broker a compromise that could save the town. She is pragmatic, quick-witted, and deeply invested in preventing a destructive feud from reaching a breaking point.

💡 Resourceful 🗺️ Mediator 🎭 Clever

Gabby Cross (Jack Carson)

Gabby Cross is Spectrum Pictures' publicity agent who arrives with a lucrative offer to film in Carson's Corners. He is energetic, persuasive, and motivated by the promise of a big production; his arrival injects new dynamics into the town’s conflicts.

💼 Showman 🎬 Industry insider 🗺️ Opportunistic

Bob Merritt (Robert Lowery)

Bob Merritt is the film star who begins courting Marjorie, stirring jealousy and competition among the town’s residents. He is charming and ambitious, becoming entangled in the local power plays that surround the highway and land disputes.

🎭 Film star 💘 Romantic interest 🕵️‍♂️ Charismatic

Calvin Pritchard (Frank M. Thomas)

Calvin Pritchard is the bank president and town mayor who uses the highway project to maneuver for land control. He plays the town’s factions against each other, hoping to profit from the deals while keeping up appearances of public support.

💼 Bank president 🏛️ Mayor 🧩 Strategic

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 17:32

Major Themes – Shooting High (1940)

Explore the central themes of Shooting High (1940), from psychological, social, and emotional dimensions to philosophical messages. Understand what the film is really saying beneath the surface.

🤝 Feud & Reconciliation

Generations of feuding between the Carsons and Pritchards drive romantic tension and threaten the town's cohesion. The dispute centers on land, mortgages, and control of Carson's Corners' future. The conflict tests loyalties and forces characters to reassess what loyalty means. Ultimately, reconciliation emerges through compromise and mutual respect.

🎬 Showbiz & Community

Spectrum Pictures' plan to film in Carson's Corners acts as a catalyst that pulls outsiders into the town's power dynamics. The project offers money and opportunity but also raises the stakes of the highway disagreement. Local leaders must balance personal gain with the community's well-being as filming reshapes town life. The film serves as a mechanism to resolve tensions by uniting factions around a shared goal.

🏇 Heroism

Will Carson's bravery in chasing the gangsters proves his courage and integrity. His actions earn the respect of the Carsons and Pritchards, helping secure a future for his romance with Marjorie. The story frames heroism as a catalyst for unity in a divided town.

Last Updated: October 04, 2025 at 17:32

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The narrative pattern centers on the arrival of a film production, which acts as a catalyst for change. Local characters are often cast as extras or stand-ins, leading to cases of mistaken identity and the revelation of secrets. The plot uses the artifice of filmmaking to explore themes of authenticity, performance versus reality, and community, all wrapped in a meta-fictional framework.

Why These Movies?

These movies are grouped by their unique 'film within a film' plot device and the specific comedic tone it creates. They share a meta-narrative structure where the process of making a movie becomes the source of the story's conflict and charm, appealing to viewers who enjoy playful, self-referential humor.

Unlock the Full Story of Shooting High

Don't stop at just watching — explore Shooting High in full detail. From the complete plot summary and scene-by-scene timeline to character breakdowns, thematic analysis, and a deep dive into the ending — every page helps you truly understand what Shooting High is all about. Plus, discover what's next after the movie.

Shooting High Summary

Read a complete plot summary of Shooting High, including all key story points, character arcs, and turning points. This in-depth recap is ideal for understanding the narrative structure or reviewing what happened in the movie.

Shooting High Summary

Shooting High Timeline

Track the full timeline of Shooting High with every major event arranged chronologically. Perfect for decoding non-linear storytelling, flashbacks, or parallel narratives with a clear scene-by-scene breakdown.

Shooting High Timeline

Shooting High Spoiler-Free Summary

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Shooting High Spoiler-Free Summary

More About Shooting High

Visit What's After the Movie to explore more about Shooting High: box office results, cast and crew info, production details, post-credit scenes, and external links — all in one place for movie fans and researchers.

More About Shooting High

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