Gold of the Seven Saints (1961)

Clint Walker is Jim Rainbolt; Roger Moore is Shawn Garrett. They are partners and fur traders who happen upon a fortune in gold.

But misfortune strikes when Shawn tries to steal a horse to carry the gold and gets caught. He has no option but to pay for it with a gold nugget.

Now everyone knows they’ve struck it rich. Within hours, a gang of would-be bandits led by a man named McCracken are on their trail.

Weighed down, the men are forced to bury the gold and flee without it.

Along the way they get help from a gunman-turned-doctor (Chill Wills) and a Mexican bandido (Robert Middleton).

Naturally, they, too, have ulterior motives. And McCracken isn’t about to give up his quest for a fortune either.

And he’s not above using some trickery to get it.

Clint Walker as Jim Rainbolt, a man who can’t stand to part ways with his partner in Gold of the Seven Saints (1961)

Roger Moore as Shaun Garrett, tired of hauling gold everyone else wants in Gold of the Seven Saints (1961)

Review:

Neat little film, helped immensely by two likeable stars and their good-natured verbal sparring. Though there’s a fair share of action, this is a film that doesn’t take itself too seriously and serves up a couple of plot twists for good measure. As for the name, Seven Saints is the town our heroes are trying to reach.

Part of the sparring between Rainbolt and Garrett involves their attempts to capture and hold the attention of a lovely Mexican girl named Tita (Leticia Roman), who the bandit Gondora is willing to auction off to the highest bidder.

This marked just the second film for Roman, who made her debut as one of the female leads in the 1960 Elvis Presley film “G.I. Blues.” She would later play the lead in Russ Meyer’s naughty “Fanny Hill: Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure.”

As for Roger Moore, he was 13 years away from his first appearance as James Bond (in “Live and Let Die”) but had already been given starring roles in a pair of short-lived TV series — “Ivanhoe” and “The Alaskans.”

Leticia Roman as Tita, Gondora’s girl, trying her best to temp Shawn Garrett in Gold of the Seven Saints (1961)

Robert Middleton as Amos Gondora, presenting Jim Rainbolt with a key to a room where he can hide his bounty in Gold of the Seven Saints (1961)

Directed by:
Gordon Douglas

Cast:
Clint Walker … Jim Rainbolt
Roger Moore … Shawn Garrett
Leticia Roman … Tita
Robert Middleton … Amos Gondora
Chill Wills … Doc Wilson
Gene Evans … McCracken
Roberto Contreras … Armenderez
Jack Williams … Ames
Arthur Stewart … Ricca

Runtime: 88 min.

Gene Evans as McCracken, desperation to get a share of gold that isn’t his in Gold of the Seven Saints (1961)

Chill Wills as Doc Wilson, looking for gold, but called on to deliver a baby in Gold of the Seven Saints (1961)

Memorable lines:

Jim Rainbolt: “That the best (horse) you could steal?”
Shawn Garrett: “Well, I didn’t steal him exactly. I ran into a little trouble and had to pay.”
Rainbolt: “Had to pay? With what?”
Garrett: “You know that prize nugget I was saving …”
Rainbolt: “You paid with gold?”
Garrett: “If was pay or get shot, and you wouldn’t want me shot, would you? Well, would you?”

Garrett, loading a saddlebag filled with gold: “You know, it was a darn sight easier picking this stuff up piece by piece than all in one chunk.”

Garrett: “Now what do you keep looking back for? I tell you, you’re just looking for trouble. There’s no one back there.”
Rainbolt: “Maybe not. But I sure got a powerful itch between my shoulder blades.”
Garrett: “So do I. But it’s only sweat rolling down. Scratch it.”

Doc Wilson: “You seem a little heated up.”
Garrett, watching Tita’s behind wiggle as she washes Rainbolt’s back: “If I wasn’t, I’d call for a doctor.”

Shawn to Jim: “Something’s been making me nervous. If you die, I’m broke. If I die, you’re twice as rich.”
Jim: “And that’s making you nervous.”

Leticia Roman as Tita, about to show how much she’s grown since Rainbolt last saw her in Gold of the Seven Saints (1961)

Roberto Contreras as Armendarez, about to be scolded by Juanita for watching Tita too intently in Gold of the Seven Saints (1961)

Clint Walker as Jim Rainbolt, wondering how to escape with the gold in Gold of the Seven Saints (1961)

Roger Moore as Shaun Garrett, trying to protect himself from bandits in Gold of the Seven Saints (1961)