James Brown is Wayne Santley, a cavalryman who survived the Battle of the Little Big Horn — he was with Benteen — and is now heading to Laramie for a reunion with his brother Brad (Gregg Palmer).
Once on the wrong side of the law, that brother has gone straight and invited Wayne to join him in running a 2,000 head cattle ranch. Only problem is, no one in Laramie knows of a cattle ranch run by a Brad Santley.
And it soon becomes clear that Brad hasn’t gone straight at all. In fact, he’s leader of a band of outlaws known as the Nighthawks — the same band that robbed the stagecoach Wayne road into town on. Joan Staley plays Nora Blaine, the saloon singer Wayne meets on the stage and immediately falls for.
Her broach, stolen by the Nighthawks, winds up being a key piece of evidence against his brother. But Wayne can’t stand the thought of turning Brad in. So he heads off to Jackson Hole to trap furs, Nora in tow. Trouble will follow.
Review:
Check out the background in the stage window in the opening scene, and you know we’re in for a low-budget affair. The hills don’t move, and there are no trees like the ones the stage is traveling between in the exterior shots.
In fact, the names have been changed, but the story is the same as the 1956 film, “Gun Brothers,” starring Buster Crabbe, Neville Brand and Ann Robinson in the lead roles. This film has been shorn of 12 minutes and some silly dialogue, but the result is still forgettable.
Joan Staley is pretty enough as the love interest; the 1966 Audie Murphy film “Gunpoint” marked her only other big-screen Western.
Directed by:
Edward L. Cahn
Cast:
James Brown … Wayne Santley
Joan Staley … Nora Blaine
Gregg Palmer … Brad Santley
Ron Soble … Pawnee
Ken Mayer … Joe Emery
Walter Coy … Sheriff
Charles Cooper … Cole Fener
James Parnell … Moose McLain
Kate Murtah … Molly
Andy Albin … Jonathan Cooley
Connie Buck … Coheela
Runtime: 67 min.
Memorable lines:
Wayne Santley: “You know, you’re the first girl I’ve been this close to in over eight months.”
Nora Blaine: “Eight months in the wild, and I pick you for a traveling companion?”
Wayne Santley to gambler Moose McLain: “How did you get so good at beating up on women? Did you practice on kids and puppy dogs?”
Wayne Santley to Nora: “What a gal. You’ll have me trying to shake hands with the first grizzly bear we meet.”
Nora to Wayne Santley: “When a man’s hands are stained with blood, he forfeits all kindship rights.”
Nora to Wayne Santley: “Brad, I want a home. I want children. I want to put down roots somewhere. As soon as you cherish this blind devotion to (outlaw brother) Brad, I’m afraid he’d come along and tear out the roots.”
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