In 1859, Saint Joseph, Missouri, was split into a rowdy portion of town and an upper crust portion of town. This is the fanciful tale of how they merged to create what became known as the Pony Express.
Businessman Michael Arnesen, his young wife Cathy and his lovely daughter Ann (Vera Ralston) represent the upper-class side of St. Joe. Sam Cotton (William Elliott) runs a saloon and gambling house on the rowdy side of town. But he’s immediately smitten by Ann, not to mentioned intrigued by idea of the Pony Express.
So Arnesen and Cotton decide to join forces to make their venture a reality. Little do they know that Cathy Arnesen has been spending time on the “wrong” side of town as well, in the arms of Peter Marquette, who stands to lose the mail contract for his stage line if the Pony Express idea takes off.
Using her inside information and charming ways, they set out to derail the new business venture. When political means of stopping it fail, Marquette and his hired gun Feisty resort to violence, and set out to make their attacks look like Indian raids.
Review:
A spirited William Elliott film, though the action doesn’t begin in earnest until the political intrigue ends. But that’s OK; it’s the roles played by the ladies that make this something more than just another action-packed Western.
Vera Ralston turns in a fine performance as a lovely young woman determined not to fall so easily into the arms of the charming Sam Cotton. Gail Patrick plays cold-as-ice Cathy Arnesen, who isn’t above shocking her husband with tales of her indiscretions with Marquett, if that means getting her what she wants.
Andy Clyde plays Sam Cotton’s right-hand man, Durango; he’s better known as William Boyd’s sidekick in the Hopalong Cassidy B Westerns.
Directed by:
Joseph Kane
Cast:
William Elliott … Sam Cotton
Vera Ralston … Ann Arnesen
Gail Patrick … Cathy Arnesen
Joseph Schildkraut … Peter Marquette
Andy Clyde … Durango
Don ‘Red’ Barry … Feisty
Raymond Walburn … Judge Winters
Reinhold Schunzel … Michael Arnesen
Russell Hicks … Sen. Twin
William B. Davidson … Mr. Russell
Charles Judels …Manuel Lopez
Jack Lambert … Sival
Hal Taliafero … Pete
Runtime: 87 min.
Memorable lines:
Sam Cotton, walking back into his bar after being shot from ambush: “Here, Durango, take this. I just got shot in the tally book.”
Judge Walburn: “Are you familiar with the ethics guiding the behavior of an attorney?”
Ann Arnesen: “I suppose they have to feel sorry when they rob their own clients.”
Peter Marquette, urging Cathy Arnesen to hurry along her husband’s ailing health by confessing to her affair: “What do you think the price of power is, Cathy? You want your freedom and a bank thrown in, just for smiling at a senator?”
Cathy Arnesen: “My husband was a sick old man. While he was alive, I indulged this hobby, this Pony Express plaything to keep him happy. Surely, you don’t expect me to throw good money after bad now.”
Sam Cotton: “I wish you’d hush your pretty mouth. You didn’t love your husband. You didn’t indulge him or anything but your own slick self.”
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