Joel McCrea is Del Rockwell; Race Gentry is Ti, an orphan he helped grow into a man. They’re trying to start their own horse ranch when they’re accused of rustling.
Turns out the real rustler is a black stallion named Outlaw who’s been roaming the area opening fence gates and stealing mares.
It’s a trick he was taught as a colt by lovely Aldis Spain (Mari Blanchard), who now wants Outlaw back to breed her own line of horses.
She enlists the help of Rockwell and Ti. The younger Ti immediately falls for Aldis, while she and Rockwell lock horns at every turn.
Guess who she’s most interested in?
The villain of the piece is a neighboring rancher named Jennings, who either wants Outlaw for his own or dead, depending on his mood of the moment.
Joel McCrea as Del Rockwell, reluctantly agreeing to help catch, then break Aldis Spain’s black stallion in Black Horse Canyon (1954)
Mari Blanchard as Aldis Spain, turning Ti’s head, but not his partners in Black Horse Canyon (1954)
Review:
About as non-violent a Western as you’ll find and the premise of an Outlaw stallion opening horse gates to steal mares and expand his “harem” certainly sounds far-fetched, doesn’t it?
But the film is salvaged by the fact that it focuses less on the horse than the three main characters. Ti is so smitten with Aldis, he’ll do anything to win her favor.
Rockwell knows he’s headed for heartbreak; Aldis knows the power of her looks and her smile.
Except they don’t seem to work so well on Rockwell, who’s clearly wary of a woman who wants to prove she’s “better than any man.” It seems she might need as much taming as that wild stallion.
Race Gentry as Ti, Del’s partner and a young man smitten with Aldis Spain in Black Horse Canyon (1954)
Murvyn Vye as Jennings, the rancher who wants the black stallion for his own in Black Horse Canyon (1954)
Directed by:
Jesse Hibbs
Cast:
Joel McCrea … Del Rockwell
Mari Blanchard .. Aldis Spain
Race Gentry … Ti
Murvyn Vye … Jennings
Irving Bacon … Doc
John Pickard … Duke
Ewing Mitchell … Sheriff
Pilar Del Rey … Juanita
Runtime: 81 min.
Irving Bacon as Doc, aka Uncle Ben, trying to keep Aldis Spain from scaring off two potential helpful men in Black Horse Canyon (1954)
Pilar Del Rey as Juanita, the young girl who finds Ti ‘beautiful’ in Black Horse Canyon (1954)
Memorable lines:
Aldis to Del, about Ti’s affections: “I wonder what would happen if I tried real hard too.”
Del Rockwell, to Aldis: “Well, it if ever came to a showdown, you’ve sorta got me tapped for equipment. But I could always lock him up somewhere.”
Del to Aldis: “Crazy kid. Making a fool of himself over a woman.”
Aldis: “Something you’ve never done?”
Del: “Well, hardly ever.”
Aldis: “Goes on all the time. You don’t know what you’re missing.”
Del: “People get hung all the time, too. I never missed that.”
Aldis: “Do you find it easy to be disagreeable, or do you have to work at it?”
Del: “You know, I got kind of a talent for it.”
Aldis, after escaping a stampede: “You should have kept on after him (the black stallion Outlaw). What did you stop for?”
Del: “To bury you?”
Aldis: “You’d enjoy that, wouldn’t you?”
Del: “Well, not right here. Looks like the diggin’ would be pretty hard.”
Ewing Mitchell as the sheriff, giving Aldis Spain (Mari Blanchard) a week to catch her renegade stallion in Black Horse Canyon (1954)
Joel McCrea as Del Rockwell with Aldis Spain’s black stallion in Black Horse Canyon (1954)
Irving Bacon as Doc, aka Uncle Ben, with Aldis Spain (Mari Blanchard), the spirited niece he raised in Black Horse Canyon (1954)
Mari Blanchard as Aldis Spain falls into the arms of Del Rockwell (Joel McCrea) in Black Horse Canyon (1954)
){kind=link}