Retired cavalry officer Chad Santee (Buster Crabbe) heads to Laramie for a reunion with his brother Jubal (Neville Brand). He figures they’ll be partners on a 2,000-head cattle ranch.
But he soon learns the truth: Any cattle his brother has were likely stolen by him and the rest of the Nighthawk gang. T
hey’ve been operating in the area around Laramie. Heck, they even rob the stage on which he’s riding to Laramie with new acquaintance Rose Fargo (Ann Robinson).
Chad isn’t about to go along with such thievery. But he also refuses to turn his brother in, instead opting to head to the high country for work as a trapper with Rose in tow.
But when the sheriff’s posses shows up looking or the Nighthawk gang, Shawnee Jack convinces Jubal that his brother turned on him.
So they head off in pursuit of the couple.
Not bad early on, but then the silliness starts to pile up. There’s a jealous Indian girl (Lita Milan) who offers to tell the sheriff where the bandit hideout is, if he’ll lock Rose up for a long time. And there’s a sheriff who likes to hide horses in a cabin!
My, my. And Buster Crabbe and Neville Brand aren’t the actors to elevate subpar material.
This marked one of just a handful of film roles for Ann Robinson, who did most of her work on TV. She’s best know for playing Sylvia Van Burn in the 1953 sci-fi classic “War of the Worlds.” She also appeared in Steven Spielberg’s 2005 remake of the film, playing the role of a grandmother.
Directed by:
Sidney Salkow
Cast:
Buster Crabbe … Chad Santee
Ann Robinson … Rose Fargo
Neville Brand … Jubal Santee
Michael Ansara … Shawnee Jack
Walter Sande … Yellowstone Kelly
Lita Milan … Meeteetse
James Seay … Blackjack Silk
Roy Barcroft … Sheriff Jorgen
Slim Pickens … Moose MacLain
Dorothy Ford … Molly MacLain
Runtime: 79 min.
Memorable lines:
Rose Fargo, talking about future plans: “(You’re going to) settle down and look for a wife, I suppose.”
Chad Santee: “No.” He looks at his sergeant stripes. “I just did six years of love, honor and obey. I plan to do a little free rangin’ and roamin’.”
Shawnee Jack, after Chad offers pretty Meeteetse a drink of water: “You better stop spoiling her. First thing you know, she’ll be following you around like a shadow.”
Chad Santee: “Well, if we’d have done a little Indian spoiling in the past, it’d have saved a heap of fighting, and a heap of dying.”
Meeteetse, offering a deal to the sheriff: “White woman, Rose. You take. Lock up long time.”
Sheriff: “So that’s it. Jealous of Rose Fargo.”
Meeteetse: “Chad Santee my man. I take him to Jackson Hole.”
Sheriff: “All right. Lock up long time.”
Meeteetse: “We go catch Nighthawks.”
Shawnee Jack: “Well, we have rifles and ammunition now.”
Jubal Santee: “Horses, too. In the bedroom.”