Black Spurs (1965)

A man becomes a bounty hunter to earn enough to marry the woman he loves, but when he returns to their Kansas town, she has married the sheriff instead which prompts him to scheme revenge by ruining the town's reputation.

Director:

R.G. Springsteen

Writer:

Steve Fisher

Stars:

Rory Calhoun, Linda Darnell, Terry Moore

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Rory Calhoun	...	Santee
Linda Darnell	...	Sadie
Terry Moore	...	Anna Elkins
Scott Brady	...	Rev. Tanner
Lon Chaney Jr.	...	Gus Kile (as Lon Chaney)
Richard Arlen	...	Pete Muchin
Bruce Cabot	...	Bill Henderson
Patricia Owens	...	Clare Grubbs
James Best	...	Sheriff Ralph Elkins
Jerome Courtland	...	Sam Grubbs
DeForest Kelley	...	Sheriff Dal Nemo
Joseph Hoover	...	Swifty
James Brown	...	Sheriff
Robert Carricart	...	El Pescadore
Barbara Wilkin	...	Mrs. Rourke

Storyline

A dissatisfied ranch hand becomes a bounty hunter. He conspires with a crooked town boss to dirty up a neighboring village where a valuable railroad franchise is headed, in order to divert it to the town the boss owns. Then, he finds that his former fiancée is married to the sheriff of the town he seeks to destroy.

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Plot Keywords:

bounty hunter | last film role for actress | 

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Taglines:

Bounty Hunter-Law Abiding Killer!

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Genres:

Western

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

The movie were released some months after Linda Darnell's death.

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Goofs

Very obvious use of stunt doubles in the fight between Santee (Rory Calhoun (I)) and Rev. Tanner (Scott Brady (I)).

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Quotes

Manuel Reese: Ay, chihuahua!

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Connections

Featured in Biography: Linda Darnell: Hollywood's Fallen Angel (1999)

User Reviews

Career Change

Rory Calhoun is a young cowboy who is seeking a career change with upward mobility and big money. His fiancé Terry Moore does not like the fact he wants to be a bounty hunter and leaves him and marries someone else. Years later Calhoun and Moore get reunited sort of when he comes to her town to take it over on behalf of Lon Chaney, Jr. who wants it wild and lawless so the railroad won't use it as a route.

The title of the film comes from the first outlaw that Calhoun does in, a gentlemen from Mexico named El Pescador played by Robert Carricart who has a trademark of Black Spurs. When Calhoun shoots Carricart down in a gun duel, he takes the spurs and wears them for himself now.

This A.C. Lyles western was the farewell film for Linda Darnell who is second billed though this is distinctly a supporting role. Darnell plays the head of a troupe of saloon girls imported to bring down the town's morals. They look like they know their business. Black Spurs was released posthumously after Darnell died in that tragic house fire.

Such A.C. Lyles regulars as Richard Arlen, Bruce Cabot, Scott Brady and DeForest Kelley are in the cast as well. Not the best or the worst of A.C. Lyles geezer westerns, but western fans should be pleased.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 June 1965 (USA)

Also Known As:

Black Spurs

Filming Locations:

Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

A.C. Lyles Productions

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1