Last Days of Boot Hill
Cast & Crew
Ray Nazarro
Charles Starrett
Virginia Hunter
Paul Campbell
Mary Newton
The Cass County Boys
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Unknown to the townspeople of Sunset Pass, Texas, visiting U.S. Treasury Department investigator Steve Duncan is actually The Durango Kid, the famous masked enemy of all outlaws who was reportedly killed in a shootout. Sunset Pass resident Clara Brent, widow of Forrest "Lucky" Thorpe, blames The Durango Kid for her husband's recent hanging, and finds it odd that he was killed on her husband's ranch, where she knows that he may have hidden his fortune. In the hopes of finding her husband's gold coins, Clara questions Dan McCoy, Lucky's ranch manager. McCoy is reluctant to help Clara, knowing that Lucky had a daughter, Paula Thorpe, who may be the rightful heir to the money. Later, at the town saloon, Steve picks a fight with outlaw Bronc Peters, knowing that it will land him in jail, where he hopes to have a private conversation with his pal, Smiley Burnette, the deputy sheriff. In his jail cell, Steve tells Smiley that he is searching for $100,000 in gold pieces that Lucky stole from the U.S. government. Steve then tells Smiley the story of what he found some time after the robbery when he followed Lucky to the town of Long Bend, New Mexico: After hiding the gold coins in a nearby mine, Lucky hires an innocent man named Grubstake to help him exchange the gold for cash. One day, Grubstake is intercepted by The Durango Kid, who tells him the truth about Lucky's scheme. Angered by what he learns, Grubstake agrees to work with The Durango Kid to help him trap Lucky. The plan goes awry, however, and when one of Lucky's men kills Grubstake, a gun battle between The Durango Kid and Lucky's men ensues. Steve concludes his story by telling Smiley that Lucky escaped with the gold and was later hanged for killing a man. Believing that Clara and her brother Reed Brokaw are now after the gold, Steve decides to beat them to it by getting a job with McCoy. Meanwhile, Paula and her boy friend, Frank Rayburn, arrive in Boot Hill to take over Lucky's ranch. At the ranch, Paula tells Clara that she has papers to prove that she is the rightful heir to the ranch. A short time later, one of Clara's men tries to kill Paula, but Steve, dressed in his Durango Kid disguise, intervenes and saves her. Steve then changes back into his regular clothes and, after introducing himself to Rayburn and Paula as a special agent for the U.S. Treasury Department, explains that Lucky used some of the stolen money to build a stagecoach line. Following a series of misadventures, Steve arrives at Lucky's ranch right after Clara has found the hidden money and just as she is about to kill Paula. Clara and her brother are arrested, and with the gold safely returned to the government, Paula and Frank resume their marriage plans.
Director
Ray Nazarro
Cast
Charles Starrett
Virginia Hunter
Paul Campbell
Mary Newton
The Cass County Boys
Smiley Burnette
Bill Free
J. Courtland Lytton
Bob Wilke
Syd Saylor
Alan Bridge
Crew
Paul Borofsky
Smiley Burnette
Howard Burroughs
Charles Clague
Colbert Clark
Lambert Day
Milton Drake
James M. Goss
Norman S. Hall
Helen Hunt
John Jenkins
George F. Kelley
Henry Meerson
David Montrose
Wyonna O'brien
William O'connor
Belmont Parker
Harry Zimmer
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
A comparison viewing of Last Days of Boot Hill and the 1945 Columbia film Both Barrels Blazing showed that approximately eight minutes of "flashback" footage at the beginning of this film was taken from the 1945 picture, the plot of which serves as a prequel to some of the action in Last Days of Boot Hill. Modern sources list actor Tex Harding in 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.
