Quantrill's Raiders (1958)

A Civil War guerilla gang plans an attack on a Kansas arsenal.

Director:

Edward Bernds

Writer:

Polly James (story)

Stars:

Steve Cochran, Diane Brewster, Leo Gordon

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Steve Cochran	...	Captain Alan 'Wes' Westcott
Diane Brewster	...	Sue Walters
Leo Gordon	...	William Clarke Quantrill
Gale Robbins	...	Kate
Will Wright	...	Judge Wood
Kim Charney	...	Joel
Myron Healey	...	Jarrett
Robert Foulk	...	Hager
Glenn Strange	...	Todd
Lane Chandler	...	Sheriff
Guy Prescott	...	Major Mathews
Thomas Browne Henry	...	Griggs (as Thomas B. Henry)
Dan White	...	Fred Thomas

Storyline

Confederate Captain Alan Westcott, posing as a horse supplier for the army, is ordered to infiltrate the Union lines and contact William Quantrill to arrange a raid on the arsenal at Lawrence, Kansas. Westcott meets and falls in love with Sue Walters. Westcott's activities and associations begin to cause the Union vigilante committee to become suspicious of him, and he moves quickly in utilizing the Quantrill raiders. After laying their plans to attack Lawrence, Westcott learns that the arsenal is being moved out by wagon trail. He calls off the attack on Lawrence in favor of attacking the wagon train, but Quantrill pulls a treacherous double-cross and rides into Lawrence on a personal mission of bloodshed, murder and looting.

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Plot Keywords:

arsenal | kansas | wagon train | lawrence kansas | murder | 

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Taglines:

The West's infamous wolf-pack raiders... a hundred renegades who scorched the land with a thousand crimes!

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Genres:

Action | War | Western

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 April 1958 (USA)

Also Known As:

Die Kanaille von Kansas

Company Credits

Production Co:

Allied Artists Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

68 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

At several times during the film, characters are seen carrying the Colt Single Action Army Revolver (better known as the "Peacemaker"). This weapon was not manufactured until the 1870s, years after the end of the American Civil War.

User Reviews

Very average western that revises history

This film struck a chord because when I was a child in the 1950s the local newspaper billed it as "Quantrilla Raider". I tried to see as many Westerns as possible, but missed out because of school. Little did I know that decades later it, and many other 1950s films, would be shown on TV.

Leo Gordon is one of my favourite "character actors" and as Quantrill he adds a nervous edge to his usual tough-guy acting. Steve Cochran makes a bland hero, and it seems strange that in civilian clothes he wears distinctive striped trousers, almost military, even when he's masked his face for a hold-up.

The biggest letdown is the raid on Lawrence, which is depicted as an ineffectual charge or two. Even by Hollywood's usual standards when it comes to revising history, especially that of the West, the audacity in changing the facts is astonishing.