James Millican is Tom Harvey and Reed Hadley is the Abilene Kid, two men who foil a stage holdup en route to Springtown, New Mexico.
The Kid is a gambler planning to set up shop in the Blue Moon Saloon, owned by Barney Bernard.
The two men are old acquaintances. And when the stage holdup unfolds, the Kid immediately suspects Barney is behind the thievery in these here parts.
Harvey, meanwhile, is an undercover agent for the government, trying to locate a fortune in gold stolen in the aftermath of the Civil War.
Fearing the Kid knows too much, Barney has him framed for cheating at cards.
The ploy works. After a trial where the Kid insists he’s innocent, the Kid is hanged.
But then the people responsible for his death start getting gunned down. And each body is found with a playing card lying nearby.
Before long, the local newspaper echoes residents’ worst fears with a headline that reads: Ghost Killer on Rampage.
James Millican as Capt. Tom Harvey, trying to find gold stolen from the government in Rimfire (1948)
Mary Beth Hughes as Polly, the sheriff’s niece who comes to visit in Rimfire (1949)
Review:
Western fans are likely to note that this is a Lippert Productions film with a scant 63-minute runtime.
Both facts will lower expections. Then the film will exceed them thanks to an unpredictable plot, decent performances and excellent camera work.
This was the last film directed by B. Reeves Eason, credited with using 42 cameras to film the chariot race in a 1925 version of “Ben Hur” and filming the burning of Atlanta in “Gone with the Wind” (1939).
Meanwhile, this marked a rare lead role for James Millican, a supporting player in lots of Westerns. Two of those, “Top Gun” and “Red Sundown,” were released after his death in November 1955 at age 44.
Reed Hadley as The Abilene Kid, professing his innocence while facing a hangman’s noose in Rimfire (1949)
Margia Dean as Lolita, pulling her derringer to protect the Abilene Kid in Rimfire (1949)
Directed by:
B. Reeves Eason
Cast:
James Millican … Capt. Tom Harvey
Mary Beth Hughes … Polly
Reed Hadley … The Abilene Kid
Henry Hull … Nathaniel Greeley
Victor Kilian … Sheriff Jim Jordan
Fuzzy Knight … Porky Hodges
Chris-Pin-Martin … Chico
George Cleveland … Judge Gardner
Margia Dean … Lolita
Ray Bennett .. Barney Bernard
Glenn Strange … Curt Calvin
John Cason … Blazer
Jason Robards … Elkins, banker
I. Stanford Jolley … Toad Tyler
Ben Erway … Deputy Harry Wilson
Runtime: 63 min.
Victor Kilian as Sheriff Jim Jordan, finding himself with a string of murders to solve in Rimfire (1949)
Ray Bennett as Barney Bernard, on the witness stand at the Abilene Kid’s trial in Rimfire (1949)
Memorable lines:
Barney Bernard: “What brings you up to these parts.”
The Abilene Kid: “Gold.”
Bernard: “Gold? Doin’ some prospectin’?”
The Kid: “Not exactly. My hands weren’t cut out for dirt tools.”
Judge Gardner, about to start a trial: “The dignity of this court has got to be respected.” He reaches for a six-gun. “And little Betsy’s here to see that it is.”
Judge Gardner: “Those who caculate him (The Abilene Kid) guilty will raise their right hand?”
Porky Hodges, appointed the Kid’s lawyer, raises his left.
Judge Gardner: “What in thunder does the attorney for the defense got his left hand in the air for?”
Porky: “It ain’t right.”
Fuzzy Knight as Porky Hodges, the man appointed to represent the Abilene Kid at his trial in Rimfire (1949)
Reed Hadley as the Abilene Kid, trying to foil a stage holdup in Rimfire (1949)
The Abilene Kid: “God and greed, is seems, go together. And so do gold and death.”
Capt. Tom Harvey: “You sure you don’t own a .45?”
Lolita: “Oh, what would I want with heavier artillery? This (her derringer) is good enough. And, if it ain’t, I have other weapons, handsome.”
Capt. Tom Harvey: “I’d like to see your gun.”
Newspaperman Nathaniel Greeley: “Gun? My dear man, I don’t own a gun. I do my killings with a pen.”
George Cleveland as Judge Gardner, using his six-gun Betsy to make sure folks respect the court in Rimfire (1949)
John Cason as Blazer and I. Stanford Jolley as Toad Tyler, about to frame the Abilene Kid in Rimfire (1949)
Margia Dean as Lolita with Reed Hadley as the Abilene Kid in Rimfire (1949)
Mary Beth Hughes as Polly with James Millican as Capt. Tom Harvey in Rimfire (1948)
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