Tim Holt's place in film history is assured by his fine performances in Orson Welles' The Magnificent Ambersons and John Huston's The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, not to mention smaller parts in John Ford's Stagecoach and My Darling Clementine. The son of matinee idol Jack Holt, Tim became an actor straight from military school. When actor George O'Brien quit his series of westerns at RKO, young Holt was promoted as his replacement, but at one third of the established star's salary. Holt's inexperience was evident in the first series entry (Wagon Train, 1940) but audiences soon responded to his fresh, youthful appeal. The simple plots invariably arranged for Holt and his Irish-Mexican comic sidekick 'Chito' Rafferty (Richard Martin) to encounter a local dispute, make friends and help justice prevail, all in about sixty minutes. The formula worked: Holt spent the next twelve years making 46 of these series westerns. The penultimate entry Target (1952) sees Holt and Chito hiring on as cowboys, only to find that crook Walter Reed's gang of outlaws is forcing local ranchers to sell out, so that he can profit when the railroad arrives. Holt wires for the U.S. Marshall, who is too sick to travel and sends his daughter (Linda Douglas) in his place. She wastes no time appointing the pair as deputies. Our heroes rout the bad guys on schedule, but not before the feisty Linda escapes Reed's thugs and rides to the rescue just like one of the boys. More than one reviewer noted this positive development: series western heroines were usually given just long enough screen time to be introduced, threatened and then kissed by the hero at the fade-out. Target's advertising tagline? 'Dealing out Frontier Justice with Swinging Fists... and Smoking Six-Guns!'
By Glenn Erickson
Target
Brief Synopsis
Two cowhands join forces with a lady Marshall to fight a land-grabbing scheme.
Cast & Crew
Read More
Stuart Gilmore
Director
Tim Holt
Tim Holt
Linda Douglas
Marshal Terry Moran
Walter Reed
Martin Conroy
Harry Harvey
Carson
John Hamilton
Bailey
Film Details
Also Known As
Marshal of Pecos
Genre
Western
Crime
Release Date
Apr
1952
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.
Distribution Company
RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.
Country
United States
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 1m
Sound
Mono (RCA Sound System)
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Film Length
5,486ft
Synopsis
In Pecos, Texas, newspaperman Carson is painting a sign outside his office, alerting citizens to the land-grabbing tactics of Martin Conroy, when he is attacked by three of Conroy's thugs, Garrett, Foster and Higgins. As the thugs rough up Carson and wreck his printing press, cowboys Tim Holt and Chito Rafferty ride into town and hear his screams. Tim and Chito stop the fight with their fists and guns, then send the henchmen on their way. After a grateful Carson explains that Conroy has been using extortion and theft to acquire land for the railroad and controls all communications in Pecos, Tim and Chito offer to go to nearby Red Bluff and send a telegram to Terry Moran, the marshal who cleaned up El Paso. On the way, Garrett, Foster and Higgins attempt to ambush the cowboys, but Tim has anticipated the attack and eludes them. Tim and Chito then stop at a ranch owned by Bailey, the man who originally summoned them to Pecos. Bailey reveals that he rejected Conroy's low bid for his ranch and now fears that Conroy will resort to strongarm tactics to get what he wants. After Tim and Chito promise to protect their old friend, they resume their journey to Red Bluff, but soon are waylaid by Conroy's men. As Tim has memorized Carson's wire, the thugs find no evidence that he and Chito are anything but out-of-work cowboys and release them. Later, word comes that Moran is about to arrive in Pecos, and Conroy and his men set off to ambush the stage. Carson alerts Tim and Chito to Conroy's plot, and the cowboys race to intercept the thugs. While hiding among some rocks, Conroy and his men shoot one of the stage's drivers before Tim and Chito ride up and chase them off. To Tim and Chito's surprise, the coach's only passenger is a woman. After delivering the woman, who identifies herself as Terry Moran, the lawman's daughter, Tim returns to investigate the scene of the ambush and there finds shell casings and a piece of a gun handle. Back in Pecos, Terry explains to an irate Carson that her father has been hospitalized and she needs the marshal job to earn money to pay his medical expenses. Carson refuses to hire a "petticoat marshal" until the determined Terry shows off her shooting skills and asks Tim and Chito to be her deputies. Now anxious to finish his business in Pecos, Conroy instructs Garrett to offer Bailey $15,000 for his land but only give him $1,500 in cash. Bailey falls for Conroy's trick, not realizing until he has already signed the bill of sale that he has been cheated out of $13,500. Later, after they have searched Conroy's office for a gun with a broken handle, Tim and Chito arrive at Bailey's and learn about the land sale. Bailey is furious at the cowboys for not protecting him and dismisses them. Seeing no other recourse, Tim sets off for El Paso to see Latimer, the unsuspecting railroad man with whom Conroy is dealing. Five days later, Conroy and his henchmen go to Bailey's to take possession of his ranch, but Bailey refuses to leave and starts a gunfight. Conroy sends Garrett for the marshal, just as Tim returns to town with news that an angry Latimer is on his way to Pecos. Tim, Chito and Terry then disarm Bailey and jail him for his own protection. Later, at Conroy's office, Tim and Chito catch Garrett cleaning his gun and discover that he has just replaced the handle. Matching the discarded handle with the piece he found among the rocks, Tim concludes that Garrett is the sniper and arrests him. Conroy, however, breaks Garrett out, knocking Chito unconscious and locking Terry in the cell. Terry manages to free herself and locates Tim. Together they rescue Bailey and Carson, who were on their way to meet Latimer, from an attack by Conroy and his men. Tim shoots and kills Conroy, then nabs the fleeing Garrett. After Terry secures all of Conroy's illegally obtained land deeds, she and Tim return to the jail and revive the still-unconscious Chito.
Director
Stuart Gilmore
Director
Cast
Tim Holt
Tim Holt
Linda Douglas
Marshal Terry Moran
Walter Reed
Martin Conroy
Harry Harvey
Carson
John Hamilton
Bailey
Lane Bradford
Garrett
Riley Hill
Foster
Mike Ragan
Higgins
Richard Martin
Chito Rafferty
Perry Ivans
Dr. Warren
Crew
C. Bakaleinikoff
Music Director
Albert S. D'agostino
Art Director
Feild Gray
Art Director
Norman Houston
Writer
J. Roy Hunt
Director of Photography
Harley Miller
Set Decoration
John Pommer
Assistant Director
Clem Portman
Sound
Frank Sarver
Sound
Paul Sawtell
Music
Herman Schlom
Producer
George Shrader
Film Editor
Darrell Silvera
Set Decoration
Film Details
Also Known As
Marshal of Pecos
Genre
Western
Crime
Release Date
Apr
1952
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.
Distribution Company
RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.
Country
United States
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 1m
Sound
Mono (RCA Sound System)
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Film Length
5,486ft
Articles
Target -
By Glenn Erickson
Target -
Tim Holt's place in film history is assured by his fine performances in Orson Welles' The Magnificent Ambersons and John Huston's The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, not to mention smaller parts in John Ford's Stagecoach and My Darling Clementine. The son of matinee idol Jack Holt, Tim became an actor straight from military school. When actor George O'Brien quit his series of westerns at RKO, young Holt was promoted as his replacement, but at one third of the established star's salary. Holt's inexperience was evident in the first series entry (Wagon Train, 1940) but audiences soon responded to his fresh, youthful appeal. The simple plots invariably arranged for Holt and his Irish-Mexican comic sidekick 'Chito' Rafferty (Richard Martin) to encounter a local dispute, make friends and help justice prevail, all in about sixty minutes. The formula worked: Holt spent the next twelve years making 46 of these series westerns. The penultimate entry Target (1952) sees Holt and Chito hiring on as cowboys, only to find that crook Walter Reed's gang of outlaws is forcing local ranchers to sell out, so that he can profit when the railroad arrives. Holt wires for the U.S. Marshall, who is too sick to travel and sends his daughter (Linda Douglas) in his place. She wastes no time appointing the pair as deputies. Our heroes rout the bad guys on schedule, but not before the feisty Linda escapes Reed's thugs and rides to the rescue just like one of the boys. More than one reviewer noted this positive development: series western heroines were usually given just long enough screen time to be introduced, threatened and then kissed by the hero at the fade-out. Target's advertising tagline? 'Dealing out Frontier Justice with Swinging Fists... and Smoking Six-Guns!' By Glenn Erickson
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The working title of this film was Marshal of Pecos.