Law of the Badlands
- December 27, 1950 (1950-12-27) (US)[1]
Law of the Badlands is a 1951 American western film starring Tim Holt. Although the cheapest Holt vehicle since the war years, it still recorded a loss of $20,000.[2]
Plot
In 1890, Captain McVey of the Texas Rangers is dispatched by the United States Secret Service in Washington, D.C. to assist in breaking up a counterfeiting ring in the Texas Badlands. McVey orders two of his Rangers, Dave and sidekick, Chito Rafferty, to infiltrate the ring posing as criminals. Chito bids farewell to his girlfriend, Velvet. En route, they steal gold from a gang that held up a stagecoach. Arriving in Badland, Texas, Dave and Chito enter Cash Carlton's bar and stop a man named Madigan from robbing Carlton. Durkin and Benson, two of the gang from the stagecoach robbery, enter the bar to wrest the gold from Dave and Chito. Carlton intervenes and offers Dave and Chito an opportunity to work for him in his counterfeiting ring. Carlton's engraver, Simms, who also owns a feed store, is suspicious of Dave and Chito who are strangers. Carlton pays Dave and Chito for their stolen gold in counterfeit money.
Leaving Carlton's ranch house, Dave and Chito see a man lurking in Carlton's barn. The man escapes after knocking Chito to the ground. In town, Dave and Chito recognize the blacksmith as the man in Carlton's barn. When confronted, the blacksmith says his name is Burt Conroy and he is a secret service agent working undercover. He apologizes for hitting Chito and briefs the two on the gang's counterfeiting activities. Dave and Chito return to Carlton's bar where they are dispatched by Carlton and the rest of the gang to raid a newspaper office for supplies. Conroy uses a carrier pigeon to reveal the raid to Captain McVey. McVey and his rangers intercept the gang and kill two of its members in the ensuing gunfight. The gang suspect Dave and Chito of being informants, but Carlton disagrees and believes someone else in town is acting undercover. Dave and Chito warn Conroy that Carlton suspects only a carrier pigeon could deliver a message fast enough to have thwarted the raid. As Conroy rides out of town, Carlton kills him.
Dave and Chito return to Carlton's barn where they see Simms hauling blank paper. They break into Simms' feed store where they discover counterfeit cash stored in grain sacks. However, Simms returns before Dave and Chito can find the printing plates. Chito returns to the bar where Velvet, who has been hired as a showgirl by Carlton, recognizes Chito and unwittingly reveals his true identity. A gunfight ensues as Dave and Chito escape. Dave and Chito evade the gang and double back to town. They return to Simms' store and draw Carlton and Simms there under the ruse of a fire, where Carlton reveals the location of the printing plates. The gang arrives and Carlton escapes. A gunfight ensues. Carlton attempts to persuade Velvet to force Dave and Chito to surrender, but Velvet sends a message from Dave via carrier pigeon to Captain McVey. McVey and his rangers arrive to arrest the gang just as Dave and Chito run out of ammunition. Velvet, miffed that Chito posed as a criminal, storms off. Chito says he is through with women, but then pursues another one walking down the street.
Cast
- Tim Holt as Dave
- Richard Martin as Chito Rafferty
- Joan Dixon as Velvet
- Leonard Penn as Cash Carlton
- Robert Livingston as Durkin
- Robert Bray as Benson
- Larry Johns as Lafe Simms
- Harry Woods as Burt Conroy
- John Cliff as Madigan
- Kenneth MacDonald as Captain McVey
References
- ^ "Law of the Badlands: Detail View". American Film Institute. Retrieved May 19, 2014.
- ^ a b Richard Jewell & Vernon Harbin, The RKO Story. New Rochelle, New York: Arlington House, 1982. p255
External links
- Law of the Badlands at IMDb
- v
- t
- e
- Ride 'Em Cowboy (1936)
- The Boss Rider of Gun Creek (1936)
- Empty Saddles (1936)
- Sandflow (1937)
- Left-Handed Law (1937)
- Smoke Tree Range (1937)
- Hopalong Rides Again (1937)
- The Barrier (1937)
- Partners of the Plains (1938)
- Heart of Arizona (1938)
- Bar 20 Justice (1938)
- Pride of the West (1938)
- Cassidy of Bar 20 (1938)
- The Mysterious Rider (1938)
- The Frontiersmen (1938)
- Sunset Trail (1939)
- Silver on the Sage (1939)
- Heritage of the Desert (1939)
- Renegade Trail (1939)
- Range War (1939)
- Santa Fe Marshal (1940)
- Knights of the Range (1940)
- Hidden Gold (1940)
- Stagecoach War (1940)
- Cherokee Strip (1940)
- Three Men from Texas (1940)
- Doomed Caravan (1941)
- The Round Up (1941)
- Pirates on Horseback (1941)
- Wide Open Town (1941)
- Stick to Your Guns (1941)
- Riders of the Timberline (1941)
- Undercover Man (1942)
- Lost Canyon (1942)
- Red River Robin Hood (1942)
- Thundering Hoofs (1942)
- Bandit Ranger (1942)
- Border Patrol (1943)
- Bar 20 (1943)
- Colt Comrades (1943)
- Buckskin Frontier (1943)
- Riders of the Deadline (1943)
- Forty Thieves (1944)
- Call of the Rockies (1944)
- Bordertown Trail (1944)
- Stagecoach to Monterey (1944)
- Firebrands of Arizona (1944)
- The Vampire's Ghost (1945)
- Three's a Crowd (1945)
- Trail of Kit Carson (1945)
- The Fatal Witness (1945)
- Jungle Raiders (1945)
- The Catman of Paris (1946)
- Passkey to Danger (1946)
- Traffic in Crime (1946)
- Night Train to Memphis (1946)
- The Pilgrim Lady (1947)
- Saddle Pals (1947)
- Last Frontier Uprising (1947)
- Robin Hood of Texas (1947)
- The Red Stallion (1947)
- Blackmail (1947)
- Panhandle (1948)
- Guns of Hate (1948)
- Strike It Rich (1948)
- Belle Starr's Daughter (1948)
- Stampede (1949)
- Sky Dragon (1949)
- Rustlers (1949)
- Dakota Lil (1950)
- Rio Grande Patrol (1950)
- Short Grass (1950)
- Storm over Wyoming (1950)
- The Kangaroo Kid (1950)
- Riders of the Range (1950)
- Overland Telegraph (1951)
- Cavalry Scout (1951)
- I Was an American Spy (1951)
- Flight to Mars (1951)
- Pistol Harvest (1951)
- The Highwayman (1951)
- Law of the Badlands (1951)
- Road Agent (1952)
- The Raiders (1952)
- Fort Osage (1952)
- Battle Zone (1952)
- Flat Top (1952)
- Trail Guide (1952)
- Cow Country (1953)
- Fighter Attack (1953)
- Fort Algiers (1953)
- The Royal African Rifles (1953)
- War Paint (1953)
- Fort Vengeance (1953)
- Arrow in the Dust (1954)
- The Yellow Tomahawk (1954)
- Dragonfly Squadron (1954)
- Fort Yuma (1955)
- Desert Sands (1955)
- Shotgun (1955)
- Tall Man Riding (1955)
- The Lone Ranger (1956)
- The Broken Star (1956)
- Quincannon, Frontier Scout (1956)
- Tomahawk Trail (1957)
- Revolt at Fort Laramie (1957)
- Outlaw's Son (1957)
- Taming Sutton's Gal (1957)
- The Wayward Girl (1957)
- The Lone Ranger and the Lost City of Gold (1958)
- War Party (1965)
- Fort Courageous (1965)
- Convict Stage (1965)
- Town Tamer (1965)
- The Texican (1966)
- Fort Utah (1967)
- Arizona Bushwhackers (1968)