Border Outlaws
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Richard Talmadge
Spade Cooley
Maria Hart
Bill Edwards
Bill Kennedy
George Slocum
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
In an isolated stretch of cattle country, amid wanted posters for the notorious Phantom Raider, a shootout claims the life of two men. Later, at Spade Cooley's Dungaree Ranch, Carson, a guest at the dude ranch and a novice horseman, is questioned about the incident by the sheriff and says that he did not see anything suspicious during his morning ride. Spade's friend Jill, from the nearby Cross Bar Ranch, tells him that she expects the attacks by rustlers to end now that her uncle, Kimball, has arrived from San Francisco. Meanwhile, special agent Mike Hoskins, who is also a guest at Spade's ranch, has a secret meeting with Kimball, who reveals that he has lost a thousand head of cattle to rustlers. Mike tells him the cattle may be in Mexico, and says he suspects the rustlers are receiving contraband in exchange for the stolen livestock. Kimball and Mike agree that no one must know they are working together. Later, Kimball catches one of his ranch hands, Turner, unloading contraband, but Kimball is shot to death by Kevin, another ranch hand, before he can report the crime. Kevin then brings the sheriff and his deputy to the ranch, and when Jill comes home, the sheriff gives her the bad news about her uncle. The next day, Turner and Kevin are leading a group of ranch hands in a raid on a herd of cattle when they notice Mike on a nearby ridge and shoot at him. Mike escapes, but he is intercepted by Jill, who tells him that Kimball is dead and orders him to get off the range. Later, at Spade's ranch, as the ranch hands are practicing some acrobatic feats, Jill expresses her suspicion of Mike. The following morning, while Mike is out riding, he is shot at by Carson, who is hiding in the trees. Mike escapes, and he and Spade ride to the canyon, where they see the masked Phantom Raider meet with Turner and Kevin and exchange contraband. Acting on Mike's hunch, they hurry back to the ranch and wait for Carson to return. Meanwhile, at the Cross Bar, Jill confronts Kevin after finding a vial full of diamonds, and he locks her in the barn. Back at Spade's ranch, Mike searches Carson's room and confronts Carson with evidence that he is the Phantom Raider. Carson escapes, but Spade and Mike pursue him to the Cross Bar Ranch, where, with the help of Jill and the acrobatic ranch hands, the rustlers are subdued. After the sheriff arrests Carson and his gang, Mike says a warm goodbye to Spade and Jill before heading back to Tucson.
Director
Richard Talmadge
Cast
Spade Cooley
Maria Hart
Bill Edwards
Bill Kennedy
George Slocum
John Laurenz
Douglas Wood
Bud Osborne
John Carpenter
The Six Metzetti Boys
Crew
Herbert Bernard
I. Berne
Darrell Calker
Darrell Calker
Richard Currier
Elmer Dyer
Harry S. Franklin
Arthur Hoerl
Karl Johnson
Roland C. Price
Harry Reif
Jack Schwarz
Jack Seaman
Earl Snyder
Richard Talmadge
Douglas Wood
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The working title of this film was Border Raiders. Hollywood Reporter production charts include Don Antaky in the cast, but his appearance in the final film has not been confirmed. Portions of the film were shot on location in Agoura, CA. According to information in the file on the film in the MPPA/PCA Collection at the AMPAS Library, the Breen Office objected to references in the script to unidentified "contraband" and small pharmaceutical or medicinal bottles, which could give the impression that the smugglers were transporting narcotics. In a letter to Jack Schwarz dated August 15, 1950, PCA director Joseph I. Breen suggested identifying the contraband as diamonds or gold dust. According to modern sources, director Richard Talmadge also appeared in the film as one of the tumbling Metzetti Boys.
