The Oil Raider
Cast & Crew
Spencer Gordon Bennet
Buster Crabbe
Gloria Shea
George Irving
Max Wagner
Emmett Vogan
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
After oil prospector Dave Warren fires and then fights with troublesome worker Simmons, he receives a telegram from his financial backer, J. T. Varley. At Varley's office, Dave finds Alice, the investor's niece, manning the telephone switchboard and, assuming that she is an employee, flirts with her. As hoped, Varley agrees to invest $25,000 in Dave's well and also lends him an additional $25,000, payable in three months. After Dave signs his contract, Varley receives news that he has lost $100,000 on the stock market and is nearly bankrupt. With Alice in tow, Varley visits Dave's operation near Porterville and is given a tour by foreman Jim Walker. While Dave resumes his flirtation with Alice, Varley questions Jim about the well's prospects and Dave's confrontations with Simmons. Unknown to Dave, Varley added an option to his contract that stipulates that if Dave, who is unable to borrow money from any other source, fails to make his repayment deadline, Varley will gain complete control of the well. Informed that the operation will soon strike oil, Varley leaves suddenly for town, while Dave gives Alice his own guided tour. In town, Varley finds Simmons in his hotel room and offers him money to sabotage Dave's well and prevent it from "coming in" before the three-month loan period has expired. Simmons, anxious for revenge and money, agrees to Varley's deal and leaves the hotel with him just as Dave drives up with Alice. Later, at a supply house, Simmons tampers with the brakes on Dave's truck, and Dave is nearly killed when the truck crashes on a steep road. Simmons then learns that the well is "showing gas," indicating that it is very near oil, and contacts Varley. Short on funds because of the truck accident, Dave asks Varley for another loan, but is turned down by the investor, who slips out of his office and heads for Porterville. An angry Dave then shows up at Varley's home, where he tells Alice about her uncle's underhanded dealings. Sure that her uncle is honest, Alice accompanies Dave to Porterville and confronts Varley in Simmons' hotel room. Although a remorseful Varley tells Simmons that he is backing out of the deal, Simmons flees to wreck the well before it strikes oil. Pursued by Dave, Simmons is stopped just as the well hits. Under a shower of oil, Dave and Alice happily embrace.
Director
Spencer Gordon Bennet
Cast
Buster Crabbe
Gloria Shea
George Irving
Max Wagner
Emmett Vogan
Harold Minjir
Crew
Fred Bain
Spencer Gordon Bennet
C. S. Franklin
Homer King Gordon
Harry Knight
George Morgan
George Morgan
Paul Palmentola
Lester F. Scott Jr.
Lester F. Scott Jr.
Edward Snyder
Rex Taylor
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
As indicated in the onscreen credits, Mayfair Pictures borrowed Buster Crabbe from Paramount for this production. According to publicity items in the copyright records, Buster Crabbe insisted on performing his own stunt during the truck crash sequence.
