The Night Riders
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
George Sherman
John Wayne
Ray Corrigan
Max Terhune
Doreen Mckay
Ruth Rogers
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
In the early 1880's, when a gambler posing as a Spaniard presents a phony land grant dating from the Spanish occupation, which deeds him 13,000,000 acres of ranchland in the Western United States, the government upholds his claim. Setting himself up as a virtual dictator, the phony land baron demands excessive rents for his land and evicts all those unable to pay. Among those evicted are the Three Mesquiteers, Stony Brooke, Tucson Smith and Lullaby Joslin, who appeal to President James Garfield for justice. When Garfield declares that he is powerless to aid the ranchers because the baron's claim has been validated by the court, the Three Mesquiteers become Night Riders to smash the cruel dictatorship of the tyrant. Riding furiously in mask and cape, the Night Riders rob the messengers of the land baron and return the money to the ranchers. Arrested for their crimes, the trio awaits a sentence of death when their friend, Soledad, unearths evidence that the land grant is a forgery. Unfortunately, the evidence reaches Garfield a moment after he is killed by an assassin's bullet. The trio nevertheless is rescued by a friendly sheriff who, realizing that their crimes were committed for the good of the people, loads his firing squad's guns with blanks.
Director
George Sherman
Cast
John Wayne
Ray Corrigan
Max Terhune
Doreen Mckay
Ruth Rogers
George Douglas
Tom Tyler
Kermit Maynard
Sammy Mckim
Walter Wills
Ethan Laidlaw
Edward Peil Sr.
Tom London
Jack Ingram
William Nestell
Crew
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The working title of this film was Heroes of the Desert. Modern sources add Cactus Mack, Lee Shumway, Hal Price, Hank Worden, Roger Williams, Olin Francis, Francis Walker, Hugh Prosser, Jack Kirk, Yakima Canutt, Glenn Strange, David Sharpe, Bud Osborne and Georgia Summer to the cast. For additional information on the series, consult the Series Index and see entry for The Three Mesquiteers.
Miscellaneous Notes
Released in United States 1939
Released in United States 1939
