John Barrymore Jr. is Cooncat, a confused young man who flees two pursuers, convinced he’s killed someone.
Taken in by the Davis family, he describes the two men he encountered — one with a rope and a foreign accent; one with a dark, gaunt face. The men at the Davis ranch recognize the descriptions.
Fifteen years earlier, they’d been involved in a bitter range war with the Jessup family. The men Cooncat is describing died in that range war on the Jessup side.
From that point on, Cooncat seems haunted by the two men. And the men at the Davis ranch become more and more convinced that he’s more than a little touched in the head.
Then, when the parents of neighboring rancher Pat Farrell turn up dead, he suspects Cooncat is a murderer. Horse Davis (Basil Rysdeal) at first protects the young man, wanting more proof. That just sparks a new range war.
Meanwhile, Cooncat sets out to prove his innocence with Horse’s daughter Meagan (Lois Butler) at his side. Turns out those two men aren’t ghosts at all, but members of the Jessup family looking for revenge.
Review:
Strange little film that could have benefitted from a firmer hand in the director’s chair. Instead, it marked the only film directed by Alan LeMay, the man who wrote the novels on which “The Searchers” and “The Unforgiven” (1960) were based.
Barrymore’s hysterical performance doesn’t help. Nor does Butler’s annoying high-pitched voice. It was one of only three films in which she appeared.
As for the rest of the cast, Chill Wills plays a stalwart on the Davis ranch and gets to sing a song at a barn dance. Kristine Miller plays Horse’s other daughter, who splits with boyfriend Pat Farrell in the dispute over Cooncat, then nearly sets off a range war. And Jack Elam, in one of his first credited roles, plays one of the two men “haunting” Cooncat.
As for John Barrymore Jr., he was the son of screen legend John Barrymore, whom he had little contact with. His own film career was interrupted by scrapes with the law, often over drugs. He’s also the father of Drew Barrymore.
Directed by:
Alan LeMay
Cast:
John Barrymore … Cooncat
Chill Wills … Boatwhistle
John Archer … Pat Farrell
Lois Butler … Meagan Davis
Kristine Miller … Abby Davis
Basil Rysdeal … Horse Davis
Jack Elam … Smiling Man
Dave Kashner … Roper
Frank Cordell … Frank
Clem Fuller … Dixie
Hugh Aiken … Art Simms
Howard Joslin … Jim Shell
Song at barn dance:
“20 Mles from Carson”
by Chill Wills
Memorable lines:
Boatwhistle, about Cooncat: “Abby, there’s something hangin’ on this kid’s shirttail like grim death to a tax lien. And do you think he’ll switch from his one same lie.”
Meagan Davis to her sister Abby: “I don’t want to hear another ding-dang thing about Cooncat trouble or any other kind. I’m going to a party!”
Horse Davis: “Even a thing is right or wrong. There ain’t no half way.”
Horse Davis to daughter Meagan: “I’ve had all the contention I can stomach without your sass spread on top.”
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