Born to the Saddle (1953)

Chuck Courtney is Bill Walton, a young man who arrives in a Western town looking for his uncle and unwittingly steps into the middle of a gunfight.

He takes a bullet in the back that was meant for gambler Matt Daggett (Donald Woods), who thereafter considers the kid a good luck charm.

Nursed back to health in Daggett’s saloon, Bill soons develops a mother-son relationship with Daggett’s wife Kate (Karen Morley).

But Daggett fixes it so that she can’t adopt the boy. Instead, he’s put in the guardianship of cowboy John Grant and assigned the job of training Daggett’s prize stallion, Blue Chip, for an upcoming race.

Blue Chip has a history of his own, having previously been owned by Bob Marshall (Leif Erickson) and niece Jerri (Dolores Prest) before being lost in a crooked card game.

In fact, Marshall winds up helping Bill prepare for his first horse race.

Marshall expects dirty tricks from the other rider in the race. Neither he or Bill anticipate Matt Daggett’s plans to fix the race so he can make a small fortune by having bets placed against his own horse.

Chuck Courtney as Bill Walton, stopping Jerri Marshall when she tries to ride off with Blue Chip in Born to the Saddle (1953)

Dolores Prest as Jerri Marshall, the young girl who spars with fellow teen Bill Walton in Born to the Saddle (1953)

Review:

Wow, for a 77-minute film, this one has all sorts of subplots. In fact, it’s a bit more convulted that it needed to be. Among them:

Matt Daggett is an abusive, cheating husband. Young Bill has threatened to kill him if he ever hurt Kate.

Matt Daggett plans a stage robbery that John Grant is involved in. Grant and the other man are caught and charged with murder.

Afraid they’ll spill about his role in the robbery, Daggett plans to have the two men broken out of prison and lynched.

Sometime in the past, Matt’s wife and Bob Marshall had some sort of relationship.

And Marshall’s niece still considers Blue Chip her horse, threatens to take a stick to Bill when they first meet, but eventually warms to the lad.

All in a 77-minute runtime.

Young Courtney went on the play small roles in a number of other Westerns and TV Western episodes. His other major role, as Billy the Kid in “Billy the Kid Versus Dracula” (1966).

Donald Woods as Matt Daggett, gambler, scoundrel and man being the trouble in Born to the Saddle (1953)

Karen Morley as Kate Daggett, helping nurse Bill Walton back to health in Born to the Saddle (1953)

Directed by:
William Beaudine

Cast:
Leif Erickson … Bob Marshall
Donald Woods … Matt Daggett
Rand Brooks … John Grant
Chuck Courtney … Bill Walton
Karen Morley … Kate Daggett
Glenn Strange … Tom Roper
Robert J. Anderson … Ricky Summers
Milton Kibbee … Dr. Granden
Boyd Davis … Judge Trumbell
Lucille Thompson … Doris
Dolores Prest … Jerri Marshall
Fred Kohler Jr. … Jeff Sanger
Dan White … Sheriff

Runtime: 77 min.

Leif Erickson as Bob Marshall, providing Bill tips on how to care for Blue Chip in Born to the Saddle (1953)

Rand Brooks as John Grant, helping Bill Walton cover a bet in Born to the Saddle (1953)

Memorable lines:

Bill Walton: “They all stare at me. Like I was a two-headed calf or something.”
John Grant: “That’s what comes from gettin’ the best of a guy like Roper. You’re famous, Bill.”
Walton: “Well, I don’t like it.”

Jeff Sager of Bill Walton: “He’s a regular young fire-eater, that boy.”

Matt Daggett, suggesting the elimination of two men who might talk to the sheriff: “When a man’s being hung he doesn’t talk much, John. What he says isn’t heard.”

Matt Daggett: “We have to please the ladies, don’t we, Bill?”
Bill Walton, not yet stricken by a first love: “Do we?”

Chuck Courtney as Bill Walton, in bed after accidentally stepping into a gunfight in Born to the Saddle (1953)

Lucille Thompson as Doris and Karen Morley as Kate Daggett objecting to Tom Roper’s rude behavior in Born to the Saddle (1953)

Leif Erickson as Bob Marshall, at odds with Matt Daggett (Donald Woods) again in Born to the Saddle (1953)

Chuck Courtney as Bill Walton with Rand Brooks as John Grant in Born to the Saddle (1953)