Gunfight at Black Horse Canyon (1961)

Dale Robertson is Jim Hardie, Wells Fargo agent, ranch owner and black stallion chaser.

And if that isn’t enough, life’s about to get more complicated.

Squire (Philip Carey), a man Hardie sent to prison for 10 years, has just been released. He wants revenge and has put a $5,000 price tag on Hardie’s head.

Of course, he’d rather get revenge himself. And he’d rather that revenge be doled out nice and slow.

Meanwhile, a female writer (Patricia Owens as Katherine) has arrived from New England to record her experiences out West.

Wells Fargo is hoping her journal will lead more Easterners to invest in the area. But given her attitude — she blames the West for her mother’s early death — that’s unlikely.

She also has a knack for needing to be rescued, which is where Hardie comes in.

Nor is she the only damsel in distress. Young Mary Gee (Mary Jane Saunders) wants to get Jim’s attention, and figures the best way to do that is single-handedly capturing the wild black stallion he’s been trying to get a rope around for so long.

Dale Robertson as Jim Hardie in Gunfight at Black Horse Canyon (1961)

Patricia Owens as Katherine in Gunfight at Black Horse Canyon (1961)

Review:

Pleasant enough Western cobbled together from two episodes of the Tales of Wells Fargo TV series.

Lots of familiar faces show up, including Rob Cameron as an ex-con looking for his next score, George Kennedy as his more mean-spirited partner, and William Demarest as Hardie’s ranch foreman.

But the story is wrapped around Katherine’s experience and there are too many subplots serving as distractions to make her growing acceptance of the West — and her sudden love interest in outlaw Nathan Chance — seem the least bit plausible.

The TV series aired for more than 200 episodes from 1957 to 1962 and had a matching comic book series featuring Dale Robertson, its star.

Philip Carey as Squire in Gunfight at Black Horse Canyon (1961)

Rod Cameron as Nathan Chance in Gunfight at Black Horse Canyon (1961)

Directed by:
R.G. Springsteen

Cast:
Dale Robertson … Jim Hardie
Jack Ging … Beau
William Demarest … Jeb
George Kennedy … Hawk
Rob Cameron … Nathan Chance
Patricia Owens … Katherine
Philip Carey … Squire
Claude Akins … Rake
Mary Jane Saunders … Mary Gee
Lory Patrick … Tina
Steve Darnell … Sheriff
Stanford Rep … Major Shankford

Runtime: 100 min.

George Kennedy as Hawk in Gunfight at Black Horse Canyon (1961)

Claude Akins as Rake in Gunfight at Black Horse Canyon (1961)

Memorable lines:

Nathan Chance, about Katherine’s chances in the wild: “If some short-legged Comanche didn’t lift that pretty rolled-up hair of yours, that desert sun would sure cook the salt out of you.”
Katherine: “What a quaint way you have of putting it.”

Squire to Jim Hardie: “I just want to see you sweat. Every time a door knob turns or a boot kicks dirt behind you.”
Jim Hardie: “Well, I get paid to sweat, so that’s gonna be nothing new.”

Jack Ging as Beau in Gunfight at Black Horse Canyon (1961)

William Demarest as Jeb in Gunfight at Black Horse Canyon (1961)

Jim Hardie: “What makes you so bitter?”
Katherine: “I’m not bitter, Mr. Hardie. I’m cynical. Can’t you tell the difference?”

Jeb of Katherine: “Make a good woman if someone put a firm iron on her. But I guess she ain’t no branding calf.”

Rake to Hardie: “Squire’s got a fancy plan. Me? I ain’t so particular. I’d just as soon kill you with a plain bullet.”

Mary Jane Saunders as Mary Gee in Gunfight at Black Horse Canyon (1961)

Lory Patrick as Tina in Gunfight at Black Horse Canyon (1961)

Stanford Rep as Major Shankford in Gunfight at Black Horse Canyon (1961)

Dale Robertson as Jim Hardie in Gunfight at Black Horse Canyon (1961)