Pirates of the Prairie
Brief Synopsis
A cowboy pretends to be a vigilante.
Cast & Crew
Read More
Howard Bretherton
Director
Tim Holt
Larry Durant
Cliff "ukulele Ike" Edwards
Ike
Nell O'day
Helen Spencer
John H. Elliott
John Spencer
Roy Barcroft
Lou Harmon
Film Details
Genre
Western
Release Date
Nov
20,
1942
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.
Distribution Company
RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.
Country
United States
Technical Specs
Duration
57m
Sound
Mono (RCA Sound System)
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Film Length
5,167ft
Synopsis
Deputy marshal Larry Durant is sent to the town of Spencerville to investigate a vigilante committee operating there. Posing as a gunsmith, Larry rides into town, where he hires Ike, a dispossessed rancher, to be his assistant. Ike, who has lost his ranch in a fire set by the vigilantes, tells Larry that John Spencer, the head of the committee, is an honest man, but Spencer's brother- in-law, Lou Harmon, is the mastermind behind the renegade branch of the committee. Unknown to the honest members of the vigilantes, Harmon and his renegades are using underhanded tactics to drive the ranchers from their lands, which they then buy cheaply at auction, hoping to sell them to the railroad when it builds its line through town. Soon after Larry sets up his shop, he is visited by Harmon and Spencer, who give him twenty-four hours to leave town. Questioning the legality of the vigilantes, Larry ignores their orders. When Spencer's niece, Helen Spencer, and Ike echo Larry's concerns and representatives from the railroad come to survey the town, Spencer decides that the time has come to disband the committee in favor of an organized law force. Harmon, who has been awaiting the arrival of the railroad to sell his ill-gotten land, persuades Spencer to change his mind. When the vigilantes smash his store and order him out of town again, Larry takes Ike to the neighboring town of East Spencerville to question town leader and storekeeper Rufe Jackson about an alleged feud between the towns of Spencerville and East Spencerville. According to the charter of the vigilante committee, the organization was established to keep the peace between the towns, but Rufe claims the feud is just a subterfuge for the illegal activities of the vigilantes. Back in Spencerville, Larry is visited by Bob Allen, a representative of the railroad who is aware of the marshal's mission. After Allen informs Larry that the railroad plans to bypass Spencerville and build its lines through East Spencerville, one of Harmon's men tricks Ike into revealing the information. When Allen's desk is rifled, Ike and Larry trail the vigilantes to the town of East Spencerville, where they demand that Rufe sign over his store to them. A fight ensues when Rufe and his wife resist, and Ike and Larry come to their rescue. Although all but one of the renegades escape, a search of the prisoner reveals the bills of sale to every property in East Spencerville. After revealing his mission to Rufe, Larry wins the support of the townspeople. Larry then presents his evidence of the gang's illegal activities to Spencer, who calls a meeting to disband the group that afternoon. Before he can reach town, however, Spencer is shot in the back by one of Harmon's men. Larry discovers Spencer's body alongside the trail and brings it into town, where Harmon accuses him of murder. Instructing Ike to wait for the outcome of the meeting, Larry rides to tell Helen of her uncle's death. When Harmon incites an attack on East Spencerville, Ike warns Larry, who then rides to East Spencerville to rally the citizens to defend their town. After a blazing shootout between the townsfolk and the vigilantes, Larry apprehends and jails Harmon. When Harmon's men break him out of jail, Larry follows them back to Spencerville, where Larry shoots Harmon after he pulls a gun on him. With peace restored, Larry leaves town, and Ike, who plans to settle down with a mail order bride, is appointed sheriff. When his bride appears with a flock of children in tow, however, Ike changes his mind and scurries after Larry.
Director
Howard Bretherton
Director
Cast
Tim Holt
Larry Durant
Cliff "ukulele Ike" Edwards
Ike
Nell O'day
Helen Spencer
John H. Elliott
John Spencer
Roy Barcroft
Lou Harmon
Karl Hackett
Rufe Jackson
Edward Cassidy
Bob Allen
Charles King
Leighton
Bessie Wade
Jackson's wife
Bud Geary
Drake
Reed Howes
Borden
Dick Rush
Rancher
Marte Faust
Rancher
Dick Cramer
Bartender
Lee Shumway
Marshal
Eddie Dew
Stableman
Merlyn Nelson
Stagedriver
Sedal Bennett
Genevieve
Russell Wade
Crew
James Casey
Assistant Director
J. Benton Cheney
Screenwriter
Albert S. D'agostino
Art Director
Berne Giler
Story
Bert Gilroy
Producer
Morton Grant
Contr to Screenplay constr
Walter E. Keller
Art Director
Theron O. Kellum
Recording
John Lockert
Editing
Nicholas Musuraca
Director of Photography
Michael Orenbach
Set Decoration
Fred Rose
Composer
Paul Sawtell
Music Director
Doris Schroeder
Screenwriter
Darrell Silvera
Set Decoration
Ray Whitley
Composer
Film Details
Genre
Western
Release Date
Nov
20,
1942
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.
Distribution Company
RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.
Country
United States
Technical Specs
Duration
57m
Sound
Mono (RCA Sound System)
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Film Length
5,167ft
Articles
Pirates of the Prairie
A cowboy pretends to be a vigilante.
Pirates of the Prairie
A cowboy pretends to be a vigilante.
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
Although a Hollywood Reporter production chart lists Lucius O. Croxton as art director, he is not credited in any other source. Modern sources add Merrill McCormack, Ben Corbett, Frank McCarroll, Artie Ortego and George Morrell to the cast.
