Ride Clear of Diablo
Cast & Crew
Jesse Hibbs
Audie Murphy
Susan Cabot
Dan Duryea
Abbe Lane
Russell Johnson
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Film Details
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Synopsis
One night in the western town of Santiago, lawyer Thomas Meredith, sheriff Fred Kenyon and their henchman, Jed Ringer, rustle the cattle of Patrick O'Mara, killing him and his young son Andrew. Meredith then sends word of the murders to Patrick's older son Clay, who appears in town days later. Clay is bent on retribution, even though Reverend Moorehead warns him against the danger and sin of vengeance. Kenyon's unsuspecting niece Laurie, who is also Meredith's finacée, takes Clay to meet with the men, and Clay informs them that he is after his family's killers. Meredith, hoping to get the brave young man killed, offers to deputize him and suggests that legendary sharpshooter Whitey Kincade is the murderer. In the neighboring town of Diablo, Clay waits in the saloon for Whitey, heedless of the other outlaws, who laugh at him. When Whitey finally shows up, Clay easily outdraws him, winnings the respect of the townsmen and appealing to Whitey's keen sense of humor. Clay takes Whitey prisoner, and although the criminal tries several times along the way to kill Clay, Clay always eludes him, and Whitey derives great amusement from the outcome. One night on the trail, the two men are shot at, and Whitey is trapped under his horse. To Whitey's shock, Clay helps him to shelter and then refuses to shoot the retreating men in the back. When they arrive in Santiago the next morning, Clay's success is the talk of the town, to the consternation of Meredith and Kenyon. In the jailhouse, Kenyon shows Whitey how to escape, gives him a gun and instructs him to murder Clay, but Whitey instead demands a fixed trial. That night, Clay sleeps in the jail, and Whitey, who cannot bring himself to shoot him in the back, instead warns him of the danger of his search. At the trial, Jed's evidence in Whitey's favor leads to a verdict of innocence, after which Clay knocks Jed out and leads Whitey to the town border. Clay gives Whitey a loaded gun upon letting him go, and Whitey reveals to a skeptical Clay that Jed and Kenyon are complicit in the murders. That night, during a church social, Meredith is called away to map out a silver heist with Kenyon. Clay asks Laurie to dance, and later kisses her. She feels so drawn to him that she reveals the indiscretion to her uncle and Meredith, who, upset, arrange for Jed to steal a prize stallion and sell it to the Loweries, an outlaw family. When Clay is informed about the theft, he assumes the Loweries stole the horse, and asks Whitey to help him find them. Whitey brings Clay to the Lowerie ranch and holds a gun on the brothers until Clay procures the stallion. Whitey laughs as Clay then outruns the pursuing brothers by leaping from his horse onto the stallion. When Clay returns to town with a bullet wound from the Loweries, Meredith pays Jed to kill him. While Clay recuperates under Laurie's loving care, Jed plans with his saloon singer girl friend, Kate, to double-cross Meredith, steal the silver himself and escape without harming Clay. Meredith soon discovers that Jed has disappeared with the silver and Clay is still alive, and plots with Kenyon to induce Clay to kill Jed by claiming that Jed murdered his family. Clay takes off after Jed, and when Whitey arrives with a get-well gift, a worried Laurie tells him where Clay is. Suspicious, Whitey visits Kate, who first reveals to Whitey that Meredith killed the O'Maras and then informs Laurie that Kenyon is also in on the scheme. Whitey accompanies Clay to the abandoned mine where Jed is hiding the silver, and there Whitey, amused to watch a gunfight, is shot just before Clay kills Jed. Clay helps Whitey to the town saloon, and when Meredith and Kenyon appear outside with Tim Lowerie, Whitey convinces Clay that they are the real culprits. Clay insists on facing them head-on, and Whitey, who knows he is about to die, bursts through the doors first, drawing fire away from Clay and killing Kenyon. As Whitey falls in a hail of bullets, Clay shoots Lowerie and then beats up Meredith. He returns to Laurie, who, even after hearing that her uncle is dead, falls into his arms. Days later, the married couple is headed to Dallas to welcome a more peaceful future.
Director
Jesse Hibbs
Cast
Audie Murphy
Susan Cabot
Dan Duryea
Abbe Lane
Russell Johnson
Paul Birch
William Pullen
Jack Elam
Denver Pyle
Ray Bennett
Lane Bradford
Michael Ragan
James Griffith
Edward Dew
Tim Graham
Leo Curley
Ray Boyle
Robert Bray
Robin Camp
Paul Mcguire
George Lynn
Harold Goodwin
Frank Ellis
Frank S. Hagney
Hank Patterson
Ewing Brown
Larry Williams
John Savage
John Goddard
Joseph C. Morrisey
Robert Winans
Lee Aaker
Scott Lee
Crew
Gene Anderson
D. D. Beauchamp
Robert Boyle
Leslie I. Carey
Bill Cody
Ray Craddock
Edward Curtiss
Richard Deweese
Fred Frank
William Fritzsche
Russell A. Gausman
Joseph Gershenson
Irving Glassberg
Harold Goodwin
Frank Gorbach
Ben Hendricks
Frederick Herbert
Julia Heron
Bernard Herzbrun
Arnold Hughes
Corson Jowett
John Kemp
Maria Teresa Lara
Ellis Marcus
Harry Moran
Rosemary Odell
John W. Rogers
Luanna Sherman
Joan St. Oegger
Bud Westmore
George Zuckerman
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Film Details
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Quotes
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Notes
The working title of this film was The Breckenridge Story. According to press materials, the exterior footage was shot on location in California. August 1953 Hollywood Reporter news items add Charlotte Lander and Wayne Van Horn to the cast, but their appearance in the final film has not been determined. Modern sources add Carol Henry to the cast.
