Sun Valley Cyclone
Cast & Crew
R. G. Springsteen
Wild Bill Elliott
Bobby Blake
Alice Fleming
Roy Barcroft
Kenne Duncan
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
When Red Ryder and his Indian ward, Little Beaver, arrive in Los Palos, Arizona, in search of an outlaw, they ask the local U. S. marshal for help. As Red is talking to the marshal, an Hispanic man aims a gun at him through an open window. The man is prevented from shooting, however, by Red's horse Thunder, who attacks him. The man protests his innocence and declares that Thunder must be destroyed. The marshal also insists that Thunder be killed, but Red demands that his horse be given a "trial," and describes how they met: Six months earlier, Red rides to a recruiting station to join Col. Theodore Roosevelt's Rough Riders. The station's sergeant has rounded up a herd of wild horses, but thinks that one of them, a magnificent black stallion, will never be tamed. Red succeeds in riding the bucking animal, and his prowess is admired by Roosevelt. The colonel, who is an old friend of Red's, asks him to return to his home in Sun Valley, Wyoming, and investigate a gang of horse thieves that have been stealing herds intended for army use. After swapping his horse for the stallion, whom he names Thunder because he is as black as a thundercloud, Red returns to Sun Valley, where he finds his aunt, The Duchess, in a feud with her new neighbor, fellow horse rancher Major Harding. The neighbors are arguing about the position of a line fence, and the Duchess suspects Harding of being behind a recent rash of horse rustlings. When one of her stolen horses returns home with an altered brand, Red and Little Beaver go to town to talk to the sheriff. In town, Red notices a distinctive saddle, the owner of which is conversing with Harding's tough foreman, Blackie Blake. Unknown to Harding, Blake and his men, including Dow, the saddle's owner, are the rustlers, and are stirring up the feud as a distraction. When Red asks Blake about the returned horse, Blake starts a fistfight, which Red quickly finishes. Red insists that the warring factions meet at the Duchess' house for a peace talk, and while the meeting is being held, Blake's men rustle Harding's horses. Harding accuses the Duchess of organizing the raid and their feud is renewed. Red becomes concerned when he notices that Thunder is also missing and sets out to find him. The stallion, who had pursued one of Harding's mares, is captured by the gang, but after Dow saddles him, Blake attempts to ride him and is bucked off. Blake viciously beats the animal, who escapes while still wearing Dow's saddle. Recognizing the saddle, Red realizes that Dow and Blake must be involved in the rustling, and later that night, Dow attempts to retrieve his saddle. Thunder almost tramples the culprit to death, but Red reaches him in time and takes him to the sheriff. Worried that Dow will talk, Blake and his men storm the jail to release him. Meanwhile, Thunder has gone back to the mare and released Harding's herd, which he leads through the town's streets as Red is engaged in a shootout with Blake's men. The gang is rounded up with the exception of Blake, who escapes. Back in Los Altos, Red concludes his story by pointing out that Thunder has a particular enmity toward the man he just attacked, and when the man's disguise is removed, he is revealed to be Blake. Thunder then rewards Red and Little Beaver with a nuzzle.
Director
R. G. Springsteen
Cast
Wild Bill Elliott
Bobby Blake
Alice Fleming
Roy Barcroft
Kenne Duncan
Eddy Waller
Tom London
Edmund Cobb
Edward Cassidy
Monte Hale
George Chesebro
Rex Lease
Thunder
Jack Kirk
Frank O'connor
Jack Sparks
Hal Price
Crew
Victor Appel
Marie Arthur
Yakima Canutt
Thomas A. Carman
Richard Cherwin
Charles Craft
Helen Griffith
Harry Keller
Howard Lydecker
Theodore Lydecker
Bob Mark
Enzo Martinelli
John Mccarthy Jr.
Lewis Physioc
Sidney Picker
Gordon Schaefer
Earle Snell
Edward Stein
John Stransky Jr.
James Sullivan
Bud Thackery
Howard Wilson
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
For more information on the "Red Ryder" series, please consult the Series Index and the entry below for Tucson Raiders.
