The Marauders (1955)

Jeff Richards plays Corey Everett, a man who has homesteaded a small farm in a box canyon and isn’t about to be scared out, even though local cattle king John Rutherford (Harry Shannon) thinks the land belongs to him.

Rutherford and his more sympathetic son, Roy, have at their disposal a small squad of hired guns whose job is to rid the land of such squatters.

Their outfit includes bookkeeper Avery (Dan Duryea), a man dying of disease who wears his brother’s Confederate officer’s uniform.

The first attempt to take the land by force fails dismally. Rutherford is mortally wounded; his son less seriously wounded.

It’s at that point that Avery snaps. He assumes command of the “mission,” forces his men to call him general and guns one down when he doesn’t obey orders.

He spends the rest of the film trying to “take” the small farm, convinced Everett has his own band of troops.

What Everett has for help is one family, Louis and Albie Ferber and their young son, Albie. Louis flees the canyon at first chance, leaving his wife and son behind.

The wife (Jarma Lewis) is convinced Everett is wrong, at first. Then she comes to comprehend the madman he’s up against and does her best to help his cause.

And Everett is no normal farmer. If he doesn’t have a troop of men at his disposal, he’s certainly armed to the teeth. He buries dynamite to form land mines to protect his land and, at one point, uses part of an old wagon to create a catapult.

Jeff Richards as Corey Everett, determined to hold onto his homestead in The Marauders (1955)

Dan Duryea as Gen. Avery, taking over the expedition for John Rutherford in The Marauders (1955)

Review:

Different enough to be entertaining. Heck, it’s likely to remind you of Spaghetti Westerns that would follow like “The Tramplers” and “The Hellbenders.”

But it’s also a flawed film. Duryea’s decent into madness seems awfully sudden, the men under his “command” seem awfully inept and the ending comes off as trite.

This was one of just seven films directed by Gerald Mayer, who did most of his work with TV series like “Mannix.”

Richards appeared in several films, including “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” (1954) before winding up on TV as well, starring as a newspaper man in the Western series “Jefferson Drum” (1958).

Jarma Lewis as Hannah Ferber, helping Corey Everett hold onto his land in The Marauders (1955)

David Kasday as Albie Ferber, determine to show more bravery than his dad in The Marauders (1955)

Directed by:
Gerald Mayer

Cast:
Jeff Richards … Corey Everett
Dan Duryea … Gen. Avery
James Anderson … Louis Ferber
Jarma Lewis … Hannah Ferber
David Kasday … Albie Ferber
Keenan Wynn … Hook
John Hudson … Roy Rutherford
Harry Shannon … John Rutherford
Richard Lupino … Perc Kettering
Pete Mamakos … Ramos
Mort Mills .. Carmack
John Damler … Cooper
Michael Dugan … Sal
Ken Carlton … Thumbo

Runtime: 81 min.

Harry Shannon as rancher John Rutherford, urging Avery to end the violence in The Marauders (1955)

James Anderson as Louis Ferber, unwilling to die for a piece of land in The Marauders (1955)

Memorable lines:

Roy Rutherford, wondering about the folly of taking up arms against Everett: “Rocks. Rocks What do we need them for?”
A marauder: “For a man like your father, every rock counts.”

Avery: “You gentleman can take my word for it: I’m just as handy with a gun as I am with a pencil. I can make the same decimal point with either. Also, I don’t like being laughed at.”

Hannah Ferber to Corey Everett, after he trusts her husband: “You’re pretty good with a gun, Mr. Everett. But you’re a rotten judge of character.”

Corey Everet about Hannah’s reluctance to let her young son handle a gun: “Your taste seems to run to quitters. What do you want to make the boy one for?”

Corey Everett about his former lover: “Love me; love my land. Seems simple enough to me. You can’t compromise on some things.”

Pete Makakos as Ramos and Keenan Wynn as Hook, two of Avery’s hired guns in The Marauders (1955)

Jeff Richards as Corey Everett, suspicious of everyone who wanders in his valley in The Marauders (1955)