The Tonto Kid
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Harry Fraser
Rex Bell
Ruth Mix
Buzz Barton
Theodore Lorch
Joseph Girard
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Arizona rancher Rance Cartwright, who is dying, dictates his will to lawyer Sam Creech. The will leaves most of Cartwright's ranch to Edna Mae, his dead son's daughter, whose whereabouts are unknown. Creech is about to begin his search for Edna Mae when he is visited by Peter Slawson, known as "The Tonto Kid," whom he recently defended on murder charges. The Kid informs Creech that he has discovered platinum in Devil's Pocket, a ravine on Cartwright's land. Because the ore is on private property, it cannot be staked as a mining claim, so the Kid suggests that Creech look for a way to gain control of the area. Creech then locates the circus where Edna Mae was last employed. When he is told that the destitute Edna Mae has killed herself, Creech convinces her equally impoverished friend, Nancy Cahill, to impersonate the girl and split the inheritance with him. Nancy and Creech arrive at the ranch just as Cartwright dies, and her assumed identity is accepted. Creech is not satisfied with his share of the inheritance, however, and plots to acquire the Devil's Pocket for himself. Creech frames the Kid for the murder of Harry Peck, and the sheriff arrests him, but the Kid escapes and hides out with Nancy at the ranch. When Nancy receives a note from Edna Mae, who is still alive, she shows it to Creech and refuses to continue her deception. Creech then forces Wesley Fritch, another of his clients, to kidnap Edna Mae on the road. Creech's plans backfire when Fritch becomes convinced that Edna Mae is the real heiress and defends her from the lawyer. The Kid arrives just in time to help Wes overcome Creech, who is revealed to be Peck's murderer. The mine is then divided between Edna Mae and Nancy, which enables Nancy and the Kid to be married.
Director
Harry Fraser
Cast
Rex Bell
Ruth Mix
Buzz Barton
Theodore Lorch
Joseph Girard
Barbara Roberts
Jack Rockwell
Murdock Mcquarrie
Bert Lindley
Jane Keckley
Stella Adams
Crew
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
In onscreen credits, Joseph Girard's name was misspelled as "Gerrard." According to publicity for the film, this was the first film of Resolute Pictures, and was to be the first of a proposed series of six films to star Rex Bell, Ruth Mix and Buzz Barton but only four were made. Modern sources include Bud Pope in the role of "Cowboy."
