Desperadoes of the West (1950)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

Fred C. Brannon

Writer:

Ronald Davidson (written by)

Release Date:

2 August 1950 (USA)

Genre:

Western

Tagline:

Six-Guns Roar...and the west blazes with action as fearless ranchers hurl a challenge that rocks the frontier! (original poster)

Plot:

A group of ranchers, led by Colonel Arnold (Cliff Clark) and Ward Gordon (Tom Keene as Richard Powers)...

Plot Keywords:

Gang | Driller | Outlaw | Colonel | Oil Well

Cast

Tom Keene	...	Ward Gordon (as Richard Powers)
Judy Clark	...	Sally Arnold
Roy Barcroft	...	Henchman Hacker
I. Stanford Jolley	...	J.B. 'Dude' Dawson
Lee Phelps	...	Rusty Steele
Lee Roberts	...	Henchman Larson
Cliff Clark	...	Colonel Arnold
Edmund Cobb	...	Bowers [Ch. 1, 10]
Hank Patterson	...	Hardrock Haggerty [Ch. 4, 5]
Dale Van Sickel	...	Reed, Henchman [Chs. 1-3, 5, 7]
Tom Steele	...	Henchman [Chs. 5, 9]
Sandy Sanders	...	Kern (Agitator) [Ch.3]
John L. Cason	...	Casey Cason (Foreman) [Chs.1, 8, 11, 12] (as John Cason)
Guy Teague	...	Rider worried about Sally [Ch. 6]
Bud Osborne	...	Joe (Stage Driver) [Chs. 1, 12]

Also Known As:

Bandit King of Oklahoma (USA) (working title)
Desperado Kings of the West (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

167 min (12 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved

Company:

Republic Pictures

Trivia:

Chapter Titles: 1. Tower of Jeopardy 2. Perilous Barrier 3. Flaming Cargo 4. Trail of Terror 5. Plunder Cave 6. Six-Gun Hijacker 7. The Powder Keg 8. Desperate Venture 9. Stagecoach to Eternity 10.Hidden Desperado 11.Open Warfare 12.Desperate Gamble

Competent Serial from the Republic Thrill Factory

This serial, like so many others from Republic contains all of the Saturday afternoon requisites - saloon brawls, gunfights, explosions, wagons over the cliff, split second escapes etc. The stuntwork, as always, is state of the art.

The plot matter little as all of the western serials of the period had basically the same plot - hero/heroine in distress, evil (trying to take over the territory) villains, secret hideouts etc.

This serial benefits from the inclusion in the cast of Richard Powers (aka Tom Keene) as the hero and I. Stanford Jolly and the ever-present Roy Barcroft as the villains.

Like so many serials of this period, Desperadoes of the West employed the use of extensive stock footage from earlier productions. Hence you will see the hero and villains often for no reason, change costumes many times throughout the serial,in order for them to match the earlier footage.

A competent serial from the Republic thrill factory.