Quantrill's Raiders (1958)

Director:

Edward Bernds

Writer:

Polly James (written by)

Release Date:

27 April 1958 (USA)

Genre:

Western

Tagline:

...rode like hellions, hid like ghosts, killed like wolves!

Plot:

A Civil War guerilla gang plans an attack on a Kansas arsenal. |

Plot Keywords:

Civil War

Cast

Steve Cochran	...	Wes
Diane Brewster	...	Sue Walters
Leo Gordon	...	William Clarke Quantrill
Gale Robbins	...	Kate
Will Wright	...	Judge Wood
Kim Charney	...	Joel
Myron Healey	...	Jarrett
Robert Foulk	...	Hager
Glenn Strange	...	Todd
Lane Chandler	...	Sheriff
Guy Prescott	...	Major Mathews
Thomas Browne Henry	...	Griggs (as Thomas B. Henry)
Dan White	...	Fred Thomas

Runtime:

68 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:U | Finland:K-16

Company:

Allied Artists Pictures

Goofs:

Anachronisms: At several times during the film, characters are seen carrying the Colt Single Action Army Revolver (better known as the "Peacemaker"). This weapon was not manufactured until the 1870s, years after the end of the American Civil War.

Very average western that revises history

This film struck a chord because when I was a child in the 1950s the local newspaper billed it as "Quantrilla Raider". I tried to see as many Westerns as possible, but missed out because of school. Little did I know that decades later it, and many other 1950s films, would be shown on TV.

Leo Gordon is one of my favourite "character actors" and as Quantrill he adds a nervous edge to his usual tough-guy acting. Steve Cochran makes a bland hero, and it seems strange that in civilian clothes he wears distinctive striped trousers, almost military, even when he's masked his face for a hold-up.

The biggest letdown is the raid on Lawrence, which is depicted as an ineffectual charge or two. Even by Hollywood's usual standards when it comes to revising history, especially that of the West, the audacity in changing the facts is astonishing.