FINLEY, EVELYN

(1916–1989)

   Evelyn Finley was one of the female leads of the late 1940s low-budget Westerns who represented the trend toward strong, independent women who could stand up to the villains as well as the cowboy heroes. In The Sheriff of Medicine Bow (1948), a pants role, Finley played Nan, the daughter of a rancher who is sent to prison unjustly. It is up to her to protect the ranch from villains. When Johnny Mack Brown comes to her rescue, Nan does not need him. Finley was an excellent rider and did much stuntwork and doubling. Ghost Guns(1944), also starring Brown, features Evelyn Finley’s equestrian abilities.