The Lone Star Vigilantes
Cast & Crew
Wallace W. Fox
Bill Elliott
Tex Ritter
Frank Mitchell
Virginia Carpenter
Luana Walters
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
At the end of the Civil War, former Rebel soldiers Wild Bill Hickock, Tex Martin and Cannonball are riding home to Texas when they are shot at by Colonel Sam Monroe, a Confederate firebrand who mistakes them for Yankees. After greeting their former comrade, Bill, Tex and Cannonball accompany him to his ranch in Winchester, Texas, and there meet the old man's daughter Shary. When the trio discovers that rustlers have driven the Monroes' horses across the border, they accompany the colonel to Mexico to reclaim his property. In Mexico, the four confront horse thieves Charlie Cobb and Benson, and in the ensuing shootout, the rustlers escape and the colonel is wounded. The colonel needs medical assistance, and when Bill, Tex and Cannonball learn that the nearest doctor is Doc Banning, a Yankee driven out of Texas by the colonel, Bill convinces Banning and his daughter Marcia to return to Texas with them. Back in Winchester, they discover that armed men, calling themselves State Police, have placed the town under martial law and ordered the confiscation of all firearms. The three become suspicious when they recognize Cobb and Benson among the troopers commanded by a man named Major Harland Clark. When the troopers levy heavy taxes on the impoverished ranchers, Clark orders their cattle impounded to pay their assessments. One day, Clark dispatches a wagon load of guns and ammunition owned by the townspeople to be destroyed. When the wagon returns to town empty, its driver bound and gagged, Marcia, still thirsting for revenge for the injustice done to her father, offers to help Clark apprehend the dissidents in exchange for gold. While Tex and the other townsfolk convene a secret meeting to form a vigilante committee, Bill, who has discovered that Clark is really a horse thief posing as a Union officer, races to Fort Grande to report him to the Union army. With Marcia's help, the troopers learn about the meeting and arrest Tex and the others and fatally wound the colonel. When the commanding officer at Fort Grande demands additional proof of Clark's deception, Bill returns to Winchester and discovers that Tex has been arrested. Suspecting that Marcia betrayed Tex and the others, Bill sets a trap for her and confides that he has arranged a meeting at noon to rescue the prisoners. Bill's suspicions about Marcia are confirmed when he observes her heading for Clark's office. As the troopers ride to the designated meeting place, Bill slips into the jailhouse, overpowers the guard and frees the prisoners. After Bill forces Peabody, a carpetbagger, to confess that Clark is a murderer and a thief, he and Tex gallop to Fort Grande with the evidence. Meanwhile, Marcia notifies the troopers about the jailbreak and is killed in the crossfire when Clark and his men charge the jail. As the gun battle blazes, the U.S. Cavalry arrives to bring Clark and his thugs to justice. With peace restored, Bill, Tex and Cannonball leave Winchester to join the Texas Rangers.
Director
Wallace W. Fox
Cast
Bill Elliott
Tex Ritter
Frank Mitchell
Virginia Carpenter
Luana Walters
Budd Buster
Forrest Taylor
Gavin Gordon
Lowell Drew
Edmund Cobb
Ethan Laidlaw
Rick Anderson
Eddie Laughton
John Tyrrell
Buel Bryant
Francis Walker
Steve Clark
Charles Hamilton
Dick Botiller
Paul Mcvey
Crew
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The working title of this film was Law of the Winchester. A Hollywood Reporter production chart lists George Chesebro in the cast, but his appearance in the released film has not been confirmed. Modern sources add Al Haskell to the cast. For additional information on the "Wild Bill Hickok" series, please consult the Series Index and see the entry above for Across the Sierras.
