Boots of Destiny
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Arthur Rosson
Ken Maynard
Claudia Dell
Vince Barnett
Ed Cassidy
Martín Garralaga
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
The Vasco family of Mexico, after having lost a suit in an American court to regain their land across the border, plan one last raid on the ranch of Alice Wilson, whose father was killed because of the Vasco-Wilson feud. José Vasco, who is not interested in the feud, agrees to ride in the raid because of the purported buried treasure on the ranch. After straws are drawn to see who will lead the raid, José wins, and he is given the boots that Don José Vasco died in, to wear for luck during the raid ten days hence. To celebrate, José goes drinking at a cantina, where he meets his old American pal Acey Ducey. Hearing shots inside the cantina, Acey's pal, Ken Crawford, who is continually getting Acey out of scrapes, rescues José and Acey. After a chase, the drunken José gives Ken his boots in gratitude before passing out. Ken returns them, but Acey, unknown to Ken, grabs them back. In the town of Cisco, Ken stops a man from hassling Alice, and she hires him on the ranch, despite foreman Jack Harmon's objection. When Ken sees Pete, one of the ranch hands, trying to rustle some of Alice's cattle, he lassoes Pete, who confesses that Harmon is behind a rustling operation that has been going on for months, but that he has not yet paid his men. After Ken tells this to Alice, she gives Harmon until the first of the month to leave. Alice sees Ken playing with his horse Tarzan and training him to dance at his imagined wedding to Alice. Amused, she offers the embarrassed Ken the job of foreman. Meanwhile, Harmon, having heard of the planned raid, makes a deal with the Vascos to help them find the treasure if they will use blanks and let him appear to rescue Alice. However, on the night of the raid, Harmon and his men search for the treasure, planning to beat the Vasco family to it. When Cherokee, a dissatisfied member of the gang, rebels, Harmon shoots him and fixes the blame on Ken, who is then arrested. Acey, while being robbed of his boots, hears the thieves speak in Spanish about the planned raid, and he tells Ken, now in jail. The Mexican raiders invade the ranch and, after finding the treasure, kidnap Alice. With the help of Acey, Ken escapes from jail. Harmon and his men kill the Mexicans and capture Alice, but Ken finds them and sends Tarzan, as a ruse, into the open. When Harmon's men shoot at him, Tarzan feigns being hit and lures two of the men to him. Ken lassoes them to a tree, then fights Harmon and knocks him down a hill. Alice asks Tarzan should she keep Ken as foreman, and the horse shakes his head up and down.
Director
Arthur Rosson
Cast
Ken Maynard
Claudia Dell
Vince Barnett
Ed Cassidy
Martín Garralaga
George Morrell
Tarzan
Walter Patterson
Fred Cordova
Sid D'albrook
Crew
Edward L. Alperson
Milton Brown
Sam Diege
Tom Galligan
M. H. Hoffman Jr.
M. H. Hoffman
A. F. Meyer
Fred Preble
Arthur Rosson
W. C. Smith
Philip Graham White
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
While some sources, including ad sheets, an Hollywood Reporter production chart and a pressbook included in the copyright descriptions credit Philip Graham White with the original screenplay, the screen credits make no mention of White and credit director Rosson with the screenplay. Hollywood Reporter production charts list Octavio Giraud in the cast; however, no information has been located concerning his participation in the final film. According to Variety, this was the first of a series of Westerns Ken Maynard made between circus seasons. Maynard was billed in the Cole Bros. touring circus second only to Clyde Beatty. Variety also notes that the tricks which Maynard's horse Tarzan performs in the film were from their vaudeville shows the previous year. According to modern sources, the film was produced for about $30,000, which was one-half the cost of the films Maynard previously made for Columbia. Modern sources also state that the cast also included Carl Mathews and Wally West.
