The Guardsmen — Heck Thomas (Thom Hallum), Chris Madsen (Blaine Hall) and Bill Tilghman (Tom Zembrod) — have decided it’s time to clean up Oklahoma once and for all. Their next target: The Wild Bunch.
In fact, they’ve taken down most of the gang. Only Bill Doolin, one of the leaders, remains.
But Doolin realizes he’s the next target for the lawmen and hires the Dunn brothers to intercept them.
They do so, quite successfully. In fact, all three Guardsmen are shot down in the gun battle that results. Only Chris Madsen survives.
He’s found badly wounded by nursed back to health by small-time outlaws Cattle Annie (Emma Lord) and Little Britches (Colleen Elizabeth Miller).
Once he’s back on his feet, he’s ready to finish the mission and avenge his friends’ deaths in the process.
And that new Guardsmen policy of bringing the outlaws back alive … well, Madsen decides he’d rather see them dead.
Blaine Hall as Chris Madsen, wondering what’s bothering buddy Heck Thomas in The Guardsmen III (2024)
Thom Hallum as Heck Thomas, leader of The Guardsmen, on the hunt for Bill Doolin in The Guardsmen III (2024)
Review:
Low-budget for sure, but the best of three Guardsmen films from Brett Bentman thanks to the absence of non-sensical scenes and dialogue.
Of course, horses are still in short supply. Action scenes are quite crudely filmed. Towns are deserted. And sets are used over and over for different locations, hoping the viewer doesn’t notice.
The films are based on the real-life adventures of a trio of lawmen credited for ending the Wild Bunch. That’s a point pressed home when Madsen’s post-film biography pops up before the closing credits.
Interestingly, though they’re killed off here, Thomas and Tilghman also survived their days cleaning up the Indian Territory. In fact, in 1909, Thomas appeared as a lawman in the silent film “The Bank Robbery,” directed by Tilghman.
Tom Zemrod as Bill Tilghman, knowing partner Heck Thomas is going through a tough time in The Guardsmen III (2024)
Carl Rhonin as Bill Doolin, realizing the law is likely on his trail in The Guardsmen III (2024)
Directed by:
Brett Bentman
Cast:
Blaine Hall … Chris Madsen
Thom Hallum … Heck Thomas
Tom Zembrod … Bill Tilghman
Colleen Elizabeth Miller … Little Britches
Emma Lord … Cattle Annie
Carl Rhonin … Bill Doolin
Luke Wyckoff … Oliver Yantis
Corey Cannon … Levi Helm
Stephen Brodie … Bill Dunn
Ronnie Wright … George Dunn
Tiffany McDonald … Artemina Celler
Bay Bentman … young Bill Doolin
Runtime: 70 min.
Emma Lord as Cattle Annie, the woman who nurses Chris Masden back to health in The Guardsmen III (2024)
Colleen Elizabeth Miller as Little Britches, wondering if Chris Masden can be trusted in The Guardsmen III (2024)
Memorable lines:
Bill Tilghman: “I hear Richard West met his demise day before last.”
Chris Madsen: “How?”
Tilghman: “Some sort of bug infection. They say it’s a painful way to go, too.”
Chris Madsen: “Where’s the cemetery? I want to rebury my friends.”
Chris Madsen: “You’re criminals?”
Little Britches of herself and Cattle Annie: “We’re survivors. There’s a big difference.”
Cattle Annie: “Nice draw.”
Chris Madsen: “No it wasn’t.”
Cattle Annie: “You’re right. I was just being kind. You shoot like a blind dog.”
Chris Madsen: “Rumor is, The Guardsmen aren’t killin’ folks no more. You can’t believe everything you hear.”
Chris Madsen: “Out West, everything longs for what it can’t have.”
Luke Wyckoff as Oliver Yantis, a man who has the misfortune of knowing Bill Doolin’s whereabouts in The Guardsmen III (2024)
Blaine Hall as Chris Masden and Emma Lord as Cattle Annie during shooting practice in The Guardsmen III (2024)
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