The Outlaw's Son (1957) - Once Upon a Time in a Western

Jeff Blaine was raised by his Aunt Ruthie (Ellen Drew) and grew to age 12 thinking he was an orphan.

Then, one day, gunman Nate Blaine (Dane Clark) shows up, looking for a reunion with the son he abandoned as an infant.

The reunion goes better than Ruthie would like. She loves the boy and hates to see him fall under the influence of his dad, who teaches him to ride and, most of all, to shoot.

Nate threatens to take young Jeff away with him. So when a bank is robbed and a man killed in Plainview, Ruthie tells authorities Nate was responsible.

Years later, a grown Jeff Blaine (Ben Cooper) hasn’t escaped his dad’s reputation. Many townsfolk still look down at him because of his outlaw father.

So while he’s a carefree young man, Jeff Blaine is also reckless and hot-headed.

Then he finds out the truth about the long-ago bank robbery. It’s a revelation that just might send him down the same path his father took.

Dane Clark as Nate Blaine, returning home for a reunion with his young son in The Outlaw’s Son (1957)

Ben Cooper as Jeff Blaine, ignoring the advice of Marshal Blessingham (Charles Watts) in The Outlaw’s Son (1957)

Review:

Neat little film. Certainly miles better than what a fan of Western will expect from a film with Lesley Selander as director.

Ben Cooper turns in a fine performance as the mixed-up young man. Dane Clark has one of his better roles as an outlaw who learns the errors of his way. Lori Nelson and Cecile Rogers play the young ladies in Jeff’s life.

This marked the final film for Ellen Drew, who had starred in a number of Westerns earlier in her career, including “The Man from Colorado” (1948) and “Stars in My Crown” (1950). It marked the only feature film for Joseph Stafford, who plays the young Jeff Blaine.

Lori Nelson as Lila Costain, the rancher’s daughter who wants to make Jeff Blaine her own in The Outlaw’s Son (1957)

Cecile Rogers as Amy Wentworth, one of the girls Jeff Blaine (Ben Cooper) romanes in The Outlaw’s Son (1957)

Directed by:
Lesley Selander

Cast:
Dane Clark … Nate Blaine
Ben Cooper … Jeff Blaine
Ellen Drew … Aunt Ruthie
Lori Nelson … Lila Costain
Cecile Rogers …Amy Wentworth
Charles Watts … Marshall Blessingham
Robert Knapp … Deputy Striker
EddieFoy III … Tod Wentworth
George Pembroke … Paul Wentworth
Joseph Stafford … Young Jeff Blaine
Wendy Stuart … Young Lila Costain
Les Mitchel … Bill Somerson
Guy Prescott … Phil Costain
Jeff Daley … Ridley

Runtime: 88 min.

Ellen Drew as Aunt Ruthie, the woman who raised Jeff Blaine after the death of his mother in The Outlaw’s Son (1957)

Joseph Stafford as young Jeff Blaine, meeting his father, a gunman with a reputation in The Outlaw’s Son (1957)

Memorable lines:

Nate Blaine to son Jeff: “You heard about the rolling stone. It’s no good. It gets dirty and chipped. It’s a bad life, son.”

Nate to Ruthie: “You’re a real woman, Ruth. I always said you had the guts of the devil.”

Jeff Blaine: “Let me tell you something, Aunt Ruth, when I was just a kid, growing up, I was learning a trade and minding my own business and people liked me. Then my father came back, robbed a bank and killed Al Harper. And everybody hated me for it. I was Nate Blaine’s boy. Well, I’m not Nate Blaine’s boy anymore. I’m Jeff Blaine, just the way I used to be. And I mean to prove that, if I have to stuff it down their faces with a ramrod.”

Lila to Jeff Blaine: “Oh, go on and hold me. Isn’t that why you came here? For somebody to put her arms around you and say, ‘That’s alright, you go ahead and shoot up the world.'”

Les Mitchel as Bill Somerson, tempting Jeff Blaine to pull a payroll holdup with him in The Outlaw’s Son (1956)

Charles Watts as Marshal Blessingham, about to take Nate Blaine into custody in The Outlaw’s Son (1957)

Dane Clark as Nate Blaine, about to be arrested for a killing and bank robbery he didn’t commit in The Outlaw’s Son (1957)