On the night of his assassination, President Lincoln gives two former Union officers — James Kingston (Bill Williams) and Sergeant O’Rorke (Ray Teal) a special mission, find a way to get Texas beef to the North, even if it means driving them through Apache territory.
Only the wagon train they head West on includes one wagon loaded with repeating rifles. And those rifles are going to cause more problems than any mission involving a herd of cattle.
Mexican bandits (led by Alex Montoya as Jironza) want those rifles. So do the Apaches. And so do Confederate sympathizers who haven’t given up the cause, including young Lee Parker (Richard Jaeckel), who lost an arm in the war.
Review:
Anonymous B Western, made all the more so by the extensive use of stock footage.
Over-the-top performances by Montoya as the Mexican bandit and Movita as his conniving and flirtatious lady love don’t help. Movita would later become Mrs. Marlon Brando.
Western singing star Tex Ritter has a small part. The best role falls to Richard Jaeckel as the bitter former Confederate. Adelle August plays Ann Parker, his sister. She finds herself torn between her love for her brother and Kingston. This marked her biggest film role.
Directed by:
Fred Sears
Cast:
Bill Williams … James Kingston
Ray Teal … Sergeant O’Rorke
Richard Jaeckel … Lee Parker
Adelle August … Ann Parker
Alex Montoya … Jironza
Movita … Rosita
Tex Ritter … Treager
Ray Corrigan … Mark Calvin
James Griffith … President Lincoln
James Flavin … Col. Marshall
Forrest Lewis … Sheriff Silas Parker
Don C. Harvey … Maj. Donald “Tex” McGuire
Runtime: 68 min.
Memorable lines:
President Lincoln: “I believe he can move around Texas with more freedom than either of you.”
Sgt. O’Rorke: “Well, I’m from Texas, sir.”
Lincoln: “You’re from Texas as of four years ago. Your name is only Timothy. But they tell me they call the major’s name is Tex. … That makes a difference.”
Sgt. O’Rorke, referring to the end of the Civil War: “It’s amazing. You’re willing to kill a man in March. In April, you’re ready to play games with him.”
Col. Marshall: “I can’t disobey orders.”
Kingston: “But you already have orders. In Mr. Lincoln’s own handwriting.”
Col. Marshall: “Orders from the Secretary of War, Mr. Kingston. I can’t fight a live Secretary of War with a dead president’s letter.”
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