| Riders of the Range | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Lesley Selander |
| Starring | Tim Holt Richard Martin Jacqueline White |
| Cinematography | J. Roy Hunt |
| Edited by | Robert Swink |
| Music by | Paul Sawtell |
| Distributed by | RKO Radio Pictures |
Release date |
|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Riders of the Range is a 1949 American Western film directed by Lesley Selander.
In the Old West, Kansas Jones and his sidekick, Chito Rafferty, ride into Cedar Hill, Arizona looking for work. Entering a bar, they witness a poker game between card shark Clint Burrows and Harry Willis. Harry and his sister, Dusty, own a cattle ranch. Harry owes Burrows $3,000 in past gambling debts. Burrows suggests Harry give him the Willis' cattle herd in exchange for satisfaction of the gambling debt. Dusty, without knowledge of Harry's predicament, hires Kansas and Chito as cowhands. Chito is attracted to Dusty.
Burrows hires the Ringo Kid for $1,000 to rustle the Willis herd with the help of Burrows' henchman, Trump Dixon. With Harry's collusion, Burrows promises Ringo it will be an easy job. To keep Kansas and Chito away from the herd, Harry instructs them to mend fences while he tends the cattle. Kansas becomes suspicious. Ringo and his gang attempt to rustle the cattle, under Harry's supervision, when Kansas and Chito arrive. The theft is thwarted and Ringo rides away. Harry feigns his knowledge of the theft; however, Dusty, who arrives, is also suspicious of Harry.
Ringo, who was promised an easy theft, demands payment from Burrows. Ringo greedily takes $3,000 from Burrows rather than the $1,000 he was promised. Harry plans to leave the ranch for good, but Burrows intercepts and threatens him. A fight ensues during which Kansas and Chito intervene and escort Burrows off the ranch. Harry confesses his involvement with Burrows. Dusty agrees to pay Harry's debt and entrusts Kansas and Chito to deliver the $3,000 to Burrows. En route, Kansas and Chito recognize Ringo as one of the rustlers and give chase. A fight ensues during which Ringo loses the $3,000 he stole from Burrows. Chito also loses his "lucky peso." Searching for the peso, Kansas and Chito find Ringo's money, and they now hold two separate payments of $3,000 each. Searching for the money, Ringo later returns to the scene of the fight only to find Chito's peso.
Kansas and Chito pay Burrows the $3,000 owed by Harry, but Ringo observes the payoff and concludes Burrows sent Kansas and Chito to rob him. After Kansas and Chito leave, Ringo kills Burrows and takes back the $3,000 (Harry's payoff). However, Trump Dixon believes Kansas killed Burrows and summons Sheriff Cole. The sheriff and his posse attempt to arrest Kansas at the Willis ranch, but Kansas and Chito ride away. Harry distrusts Kansas who was still holding $3,000 (actually Ringo's money), but Dusty is uncertain. Chito diverts the posse, while Kansas goes to the bar and forces Trump to disclose the location of Ringo's hideout. Dusty appears and Kansas tells her to find Chito while he and Trump find Ringo. The sheriff catches up with Chito and arrests him. Kansas and Trump find Ringo's hideout. Kansas' cover is blown and a gunfight ensues. Dusty finds the sheriff who is escorting Chito and uses a ruse to divert the sheriff to Ringo's hideout by telling him Kansas is there and she will guard Chito. The posse arrives and subdue Ringo's remaining gang. Ringo rides away with Kansas in pursuit. Chito arrives and helps Kansas subdue Ringo, finding the $3,000 (Harry's payoff) and Chito's lucky peso. Kansas and Chito leave the Willis ranch to collect the reward money from Ringo's arrest, and then move on. Kansas leaves Chito's lucky peso with Dusty.
The film reported a loss of $50,000, indicating the declining market for B Westerns with the spread of television. [2]
The Lincoln County War was an Old West conflict between rival factions which began in 1878 in Lincoln County, New Mexico Territory, the predecessor of the state of New Mexico, and continued until 1881. The feud became famous because of the participation of William H. Bonney. Other notable participants included Sheriff William J. Brady, cattle rancher John Chisum, lawyer and businessmen Alexander McSween, James Dolan and Lawrence Murphy.
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral is a 1957 American Western film starring Burt Lancaster as Wyatt Earp and Kirk Douglas as Doc Holliday, and loosely based on the actual event in 1881. The film was directed by John Sturges from a screenplay written by novelist Leon Uris. It was a remake of the 1939 film Frontier Marshall starring Randolph Scott, which was until 1957 the definitive film of the gunfight story.
The Pleasant Valley War, sometimes called the Tonto Basin Feud, or Tonto Basin War, or Tewksbury-Graham Feud, was a range war fought in Pleasant Valley, Arizona in the years 1882–1892. The conflict involved two feuding families, the Grahams and the Tewksburys. The Grahams were ranchers, while the Tewksburys, who were part Native American, started their operations as cattle ranchers before branching out to sheep.
Oath of Vengeance is a 1944 American Western film directed by Sam Newfield. Shot at Corriganville Movie Ranch, the film was released by Producers Releasing Corporation as one of the studio's Billy the Kid film series.
Mail Order Bride is a 1964 American Western comedy film directed by Burt Kennedy and starring Buddy Ebsen, Keir Dullea and Lois Nettleton. The screenplay concerns an old man who pressures the wild son of a dead friend into marrying a mail-order bride in an attempt to settle him down.
The Mason County War, sometimes called the Hoodoo War in reference to masked members of a vigilance committee, was a period of lawlessness ignited by a "tidal wave of rustling" in Mason County, Texas in 1875 and 1876. The violence entailed a series of mob lynchings and retaliatory murders involving multiple posses and law enforcement factions, including the Texas Rangers. The conflict took the lives of at least 12 men and resulted in a climate of bitter "national prejudice" against local German-American residents in the following years.
Phineas Fay Clanton was the son of Newman Haynes Clanton and the brother of Billy and Ike Clanton. He was witness to and possibly played a part in a number of illegal activities during his life. He moved frequently in his early life from Missouri to California and to Arizona.
Feuds in the United States deals with the phenomena of historic blood feuding in the United States. These feuds have been numerous and some became quite vicious. Often, a conflict which may have started out as a rivalry between two individuals or families became further escalated into a clan-wide feud or a range war, involving dozens—or even hundreds—of participants. Below are listed some of the most notable blood feuds in United States history, most of which occurred in the Old West.
West of the Pecos is a 1945 American Western film directed by Edward Killy and starring Robert Mitchum and Barbara Hale. It is the second film version of Zane Grey's novel, previously made in 1934 and also titled West of the Pecos starring Richard Dix. It is no relation to the 1922 silent film of the same name.
Rustlers is a 1949 American Western directed by Lesley Selander. The film is a Tim Holt B Western about a group of Arizona ranchers intent on stopping a gang of cattle rustlers.
Home on the Prairie is a 1939 American Western film directed by Jack Townley and starring Gene Autry, Smiley Burnette, and June Storey. Written by Charles Arthur Powell and Paul Franklin, the film is about a cattle inspector's efforts to prevent a corrupt cattle rancher from shipping to market a herd of cattle infected with hoof and mouth disease.
Trail Guide is a 1952 American western film directed by Lesley Selander and starring Tim Holt, Richard Martin and Linda Douglas. Distributed by RKO Pictures, it lost $20,000.
Pistol Harvest is a 1951 Western film starring Tim Holt.
Law of the Badlands is a 1951 American western film starring Tim Holt. Although the cheapest Holt vehicle since the war years, it still recorded a loss of $20,000.
The Arizona Ranger is a 1948 American Western film directed by John Rawlins and starring Tim Holt and his father Jack.
Stagecoach Kid is a 1949 American Western film directed by Lew Landers and starring Tim Holt, Jeff Donnell and Richard Martin. It was one of a number of B-Westerns Holt made for RKO.
Rider from Tucson is a 1950 American Western film directed by Lesley Selander for RKO Pictures and starring Tim Holt and Richard Martin. It was the only time Martin worked on screen with his wife Elaine Riley.
Rio Grande Patrol is a 1950 Western film directed by Lesley Selander and starring Tim Holt and Tom Tyler.
Saddle Legion is a 1951 American Western film directed by Lesley Selander and starring Tim Holt. It co-stars Dorothy Malone, who was one of Holt's most prestigious co-stars. She was borrowed from Warner Bros.
Bullet Code is a 1940 American Western film directed by David Howard and starring George O'Brien, Virginia Vale and Slim Whitaker. The screenplay was written by Doris Schroeder from a story by Bennett Cohen.