Blazing the Western Trail
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Vernon Keays
Charles Starrett
Tex Harding
Dub Taylor
Carole Mathews
Bob Wills
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Forrest Brent, the owner of the Western Stage Line, hires gunslinger Jim McMasters to force Brent's competitor, the Halliday stage line, out of business. Frightened by the campaign of terror waged by McMasters and his men, Bob and the other employees of the Halliday line quit and go to work for Brent. Only Cannonball remains behind to help Bob Halliday and his daughter Mary drive their stagecoaches. One day, Jeff Waring and his sidekick, Tex Harding, are riding to Quanto Basin to visit Jeff's uncle, Dan Waring, the manager of Brent's line, when they see Halliday's stage attacked. Tex and Jeff ride to the rescue and are thanked by Halliday. After the raid, Waring overhears McMasters discussing the incident with Brent and threatens to tell Halliday the truth. Waring goes to Halliday's office and is about to denounce Brent went McMasters shoots him in the back. Halliday is arrested and jailed for Waring's murder, thus threatening his chances to win the mail contract. Brent then offers Jeff the job of managing his line and he accepts. Later, in private, Jeff confides to Tex that he thinks that Brent is behind the attacks on Halliday and has decided to investigate as The Durango Kid, a masked outlaw. With the postal inspector due in one week to award the mail contract, the raids against the Halliday line intensify. After a band of outlaws steal the mail from the Halliday stage, Jeff as The Durango Kid, confronts them and reclaims the mailbags. Later, when Mary returns to the stage office, she finds the mail waiting for her, with a note from The Durango Kid attached to the bag. Still dressed as The Durango Kid, Jeff follows the outlaws to Brent's hotel, and after they leave the room, he searches it and finds a letter proving that Brent hired McMasters to sabotage the Halliday line. Deciding that the Hallidays need help, Tex and Jeff stage an argument, after which Tex quits to work for Mary and Jeff, as The Durango Kid, begins to wage his own campaign against the Brent line. Knowing that The Durango Kid only rides on the side of justice, Bob and the other men quit Brent's company and go back to work for Halliday. During one of his attacks against the Brent stage, Jeff is wounded, causing Brent to become suspicious when Jeff suddenly appears with a sore arm. To force The Durango Kid into action, Brent tells Jeff that he has purchased Halliday's note from the bank and plans to attach his property. The next day, Jeff robs the Brent stage, and Brent and his men pursue the masked figure to a shack. When Jeff steps out of the building, Brent accuses him of being The Durango Kid. Brent's suspicions about Jeff are allayed, however, when Tex, dressed as The Durango Kid, gallops away on the masked rider's white steed. Soon after, the postal inspector arrives in town, and Brent proposes that the mail contract be awarded to the winner of the stagecoach race. On the day of the race, Brent drives his stage while Jeff rides shotgun, and Tex drives the Halliday stage with Mary riding shotgun. As the coaches speed along, Jeff jumps to the ground, dons the mask of The Durango Kid and joins Cannonball and the others to prevent Brent's thugs from sabotaging the Halliday stage. After Bob is wounded by Brent's men, Jeff boards the stage, takes the reigns and reveals his identity to Mary. Just outside town, Jeff hands the reigns to Mary and jumps from the coach. After Mary wins the race and the postal contract, Jeff tricks McMasters into admitting that Brent killed Waring. Jeff then strolls into Brent's office, pulls off his mask, and after accusing Brent of his uncle's murder, marches him to the sheriff's office. With Halliday released from jail and justice served, Tex decides to stay with Mary while Jeff rides to Nevada to complete some business.
Director
Vernon Keays
Cast
Charles Starrett
Tex Harding
Dub Taylor
Carole Mathews
Bob Wills
His Texas Playboys
Alan Bridge
Nolan Leary
Virginia Sale
Steve Clark
Mauritz Hugo
Ethan Laidlaw
Edmund Cobb
Frank Larue
Glenn Strange
Edward Howard
James T. "bud" Nelson
Budd Buster
John Tyrrell
Robert Williams
Crew
Charles Althouse
Henry Batista
Irvin Berwick
Paul Borofsky
J. Benton Cheney
Charles Clague
Colbert Clark
Tommy Duncan
Juanita Lopez
Wilbur Mcgaugh
George Meehan
John W. Pascoe
William Randall
Wava White
Guy Wilky
Bob Wills
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The working title of this film was Raiders of Quanto Basin. A Hollywood Reporter production chart lists Paul Borofsky as editor, but Henry Batista receives credit on the film. Modern sources add Forrest Taylor and Francis Walker to the cast. For additional information on "The Durango Kid" series, please consult the Series Index and see the entry below for The Return of the Durango Kid.
