The Raiders (1963)

Wild Bill Hickok, Buffalo Bill and Calamity Jane help a Texas rancher against the railroad. , against the railroad.

Director:

Herschel Daugherty

Writer:

Gene L. Coon

Stars:

Brian Keith, Robert Culp, Judi Meredith

Cast

Cast overview:
Brian Keith	...	John G. McElroy / Narrator
Robert Culp	...	James Butler 'Wild Bill' Hickok
Judi Meredith	...	Martha 'Calamity Jane' Canary
Jim McMullan	...	William F. 'Buffalo Bill' Cody
Alfred Ryder	...	Capt. Benton
Simon Oakland	...	Sgt. Austin Tremaine
Ben Cooper	...	Tom King
Trevor Bardette	...	'Uncle Otto' Strassner
Harry Carey Jr.	...	Jellicoe
Richard H. Cutting	...	Jack Goodnight (as Dick Cutting)
Addison Richards	...	Huntington Lawford
Cliff Osmond	...	Private Jean Duchamps
Paul Birch	...	Paul King
Richard Deacon	...	Commissioner Mailer
Michael Burns	...	Jimmy McElroy

Storyline

A group of seven West Texas ranchers, poverty-stricken by the just-concluded war-between-the-states, headed by John G. McElroy (Brian Keith' ), a former colonel in the Confederate army, attempt to drive their cattle herds from Texas to the rail-head at Hays City, Kansas. They encounter trouble at the borders of the Six Nations Indian country in the Territory of Oklahoma. Convinced that they must have an extension of the rail-line into Texas, they continue to Hays City to demand it. The manager of the Kansas & Pacific Railroad is behind schedule in building tracks to Puueblo, Colorado and refuses to do anything for the Texans. The irritated Texans start a war of attrition against the railroad which bring them into conflict with Wild Bill Hickok (Robert Culp) and "Buffalo Bill" Cody (Jim McMillan), who are employed by both the railroad and the U.S.Army, and "Calamity Jane" Canary, who has an equipment-freighting contract for the railroad's construction work.

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Plot Keywords:

railroad | texas | rancher | texan | calamity jane | 

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Taglines:

SEVEN MEN DETERMINED TO SAVE TEXAS...THEIR MISSION...WIN OR DIE! (original print ad-all caps)

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Western

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

December 1963 (USA)

Also Known As:

Bandoleiros do Oeste

Filming Locations:

Denver Street, Backlot, Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Revue Studios, Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

75 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Referenced in Chappaqua (1966)

User Reviews

Budget western with an unsuccessful gimmick...

In the tension-filled post-Civil War years, a former Confederate General-turned-Texas rancher is desperate for the Army and the railroad to lay their tracks south to help his economically-bedraggled state, aided and abetted in his mission by old friend 'Wild Bill' Hickok, a sympathetic 'Buffalo Bill' Cody, and a whip-wiedling, flame-haired Calamity Jane. Universal western mixes outdoor locations and backlot scenes with stock shots and a multitude of close-ups (which often don't match the long-shots), not unlike the popular television westerns of the era. Too-modern overall, with laughable scenes such as when Cody advises Jane to wear some makeup once in a while to attract men (she's already sporting more makeup--including lipstick and false eyelashes--than most saloon girls). Brian Keith has to play the lead as both goodhearted family man and guerrilla fighter on horseback, which is an intriguing combination that the filmmakers just fritter away. *1/2 from ****