"The Persuader" is an offbeat, town-taming western with a spiritual angle that takes place in 1904. An affluent but arrogant rancher with considerable clout, Bick Justin (James Craig of "Northwest Stampede"), dictates the law in the somnolent Oklahoma town of Canogee. Justin's two hired gunmen, Clint (John Milford of "The Last Challenge") and Steve (Frank Richards of "Running Target"), never lets residents forget that Justin in the boss. Anybody foolhardy enough to challenge Justin's dominance lands in a pine box on Boot Hill. The citizens of Canogee smoulder with rage and indignation over Justin's dictatorial hand. This modest, black & white film unfolds with two adolescent girls roaming in the woods, searching for a tree for their dolls to rest under. Suddenly, they encounter a dead man with a noose around his throat dangling from a tree. Clearly, the unfortunate fellow was lynched in an act of cold-blooded murder. Alarmingly, the dead man turns out to be the father of one of the little girls! Naturally, she shrieks in horror. Not only is this a provocative way to start a movie, but it also captures the audience's attention. Imagine a sweet, innocent child who discovers her dad hovering overhead from a tree branch like a side of beef. Eventually, another fool comes forward to battle Justin, but he never has it out with Justin, because Clint and Steve bushwhack the guy when they try to rustle his livestock after dark.
Now, the premise of "The Persuader" reveals this is no ordinary, run-of-the-mill horse opera. Sick and fed up with injustice in Canogee, one small rancher, Mark Bonham (William Talman of "Hell on Devil's Island"), creates more trouble for himself than he can handle and brings the wrath of Justin down on his family. Rustlers spook his livestock late one night. Matt rushes outside with a repeating rifle to drive off the rabble-rousers. Instead, Mark is gunned down and dies. Not long afterward, Mark's identical twin brother, Matt (William Talman), arrives in Canogee by train and surprises everybody. Nobody knew Mark had a twin brother! Moreover, Matt is a minister from Georgia who doesn't condone violence. He has ambitious plans to rebuilt the local church and enlists the aid of the local blacksmith, Jim Cleery (Gregory Walcott of "Joe Kidd"), to help him. Meanwhile, Mark's oldest son, Toby (Darryl Hickman of "The Human Comedy"), decides to take matters into his own hands. Strapping on a six-gun, he rides out to Justin's ranch to confront the dastard. Mind you, Justin is no fool. When Toby pulls a gun on him, the rancher disarms the youth with ease and knocks him unconscious. Nevertheless, Justin is impressed by the young man's audacity. Later, after Matt learns Toby has gone to Justin's ranch, the well-meaning preacher saddles up and rides out himself to rescue his nephew. As it turns out, Toby refuses to be rescued! Matt warns Justin about the consequences if anything should happen to his nephew. Justin's right hand thug Steve assaults Matt and knocks him down. These two brawl like tigers. Surprisingly, the preacher proves himself to be part pugilist, and he whips Steve!
By this time, Matt has rebuilt the church. Justin's men kill the bartender, Willy Williams (Alvy Moore of "Green Acres"), who used to perform sleight of hand magic tricks. Now, Matt demands that the town leaders send a delegation to the governor to send troops to deal with Justin. The evil rancher strikes again at night and tries to burn down the town, but the citizens extinguish the fire. Finally, Reverend Matt christens the newly built church, but Justin cannot resist the opportunity to show up and throw fear into their hearts. His men and he threaten to torch the church, but Toby changes sides and guns down Steve. Realizing he has lost his paralyzing grip on Canogee, Justin and his last surviving gunman ride away, beaten and shamed by the townspeople. Writer & director Dick Ross doesn't let "The Persuader" wear out its welcome. Talman is believable in the dual role of two brothers. Ironically, the actor would make a greater impression as Perry Mason chief courtroom adversary for years on the venerable Raymond Burr legal melodrama.
Now, the premise of "The Persuader" reveals this is no ordinary, run-of-the-mill horse opera. Sick and fed up with injustice in Canogee, one small rancher, Mark Bonham (William Talman of "Hell on Devil's Island"), creates more trouble for himself than he can handle and brings the wrath of Justin down on his family. Rustlers spook his livestock late one night. Matt rushes outside with a repeating rifle to drive off the rabble-rousers. Instead, Mark is gunned down and dies. Not long afterward, Mark's identical twin brother, Matt (William Talman), arrives in Canogee by train and surprises everybody. Nobody knew Mark had a twin brother! Moreover, Matt is a minister from Georgia who doesn't condone violence. He has ambitious plans to rebuilt the local church and enlists the aid of the local blacksmith, Jim Cleery (Gregory Walcott of "Joe Kidd"), to help him. Meanwhile, Mark's oldest son, Toby (Darryl Hickman of "The Human Comedy"), decides to take matters into his own hands. Strapping on a six-gun, he rides out to Justin's ranch to confront the dastard. Mind you, Justin is no fool. When Toby pulls a gun on him, the rancher disarms the youth with ease and knocks him unconscious. Nevertheless, Justin is impressed by the young man's audacity. Later, after Matt learns Toby has gone to Justin's ranch, the well-meaning preacher saddles up and rides out himself to rescue his nephew. As it turns out, Toby refuses to be rescued! Matt warns Justin about the consequences if anything should happen to his nephew. Justin's right hand thug Steve assaults Matt and knocks him down. These two brawl like tigers. Surprisingly, the preacher proves himself to be part pugilist, and he whips Steve!
By this time, Matt has rebuilt the church. Justin's men kill the bartender, Willy Williams (Alvy Moore of "Green Acres"), who used to perform sleight of hand magic tricks. Now, Matt demands that the town leaders send a delegation to the governor to send troops to deal with Justin. The evil rancher strikes again at night and tries to burn down the town, but the citizens extinguish the fire. Finally, Reverend Matt christens the newly built church, but Justin cannot resist the opportunity to show up and throw fear into their hearts. His men and he threaten to torch the church, but Toby changes sides and guns down Steve. Realizing he has lost his paralyzing grip on Canogee, Justin and his last surviving gunman ride away, beaten and shamed by the townspeople. Writer & director Dick Ross doesn't let "The Persuader" wear out its welcome. Talman is believable in the dual role of two brothers. Ironically, the actor would make a greater impression as Perry Mason chief courtroom adversary for years on the venerable Raymond Burr legal melodrama.
