Rolling on into the 1940s was Paramount's "Zane Grey" series with Knights of the Range. Russell Hayden, taking a break from playing Hopalong Cassidy pictures, stars as Renn Frayne, a college-educated youth heading westward who finds more than he bargained for. Following a terrifying run-in with an outlaw gang, Frayne aligns himself with the heroine Holly Ripple (Jean Parker), whose father's cattle ranch is in danger of falling into the hands of the villains. Victor Jory as Malcolm Lascallie, the wily gambler, manages to play both sides of the fence. Knights of the Range was directed by Lesley Selander, also an alumnus of the Hopalong Cassidy unit.