Rory Calhoun and Linda Darnell |
In Texas in 1885 Santee (Rory Calhoun of Night of the Lepus) is engaged to pretty Anna (Terry Moore) but he wants to wait to marry until he's made his fortune. He bids adieu to Anna and sets off to capture or kill the notorious bandit, El Pescadore (Robert Carricart), something he succeeds at. After this Santee becomes a full-time bounty hunter with many kills to his credit. Many. many months later he returns to his lady love only to learn that she has understandably married another, Sheriff Ralph Elkins (James Best) of Lash, Kansas. An embittered Santee decides to help a certain entrepreneur named Gus Kile (Lon Chaney Jr.) bring gambling and loose ladies to Lash no matter who gets hurt, but does the man have a chance at redemption?
Lon Chaney Jr. and Rory Calhoun |
Black Spurs is by no means a great western but it features a basically sound storyline (albeit probably one that has been used in different variations many, many times over) and has some flavorful performances. Courtland and Owens each had one more theatrical film before doing some TV work; Courtland became a director. Calhoun and Moore had a great many more credits, and the latter is still acting today. Director R. G. Springsteen amassed nearly 100 film and TV credits, mostly working on westerns.
Verdict: Okay western for devotees. **1/2.
2 comments:
Starting to warm to the western oeuvre after a lifetime of "not liking them." They are packed with well-plotted archetypal situations, great scenery and more good-looking men than you can shake a stick at! (Rosy Calhoun is case in point.) What was I thinking? A new genre to discover!!
-C
LOL, Chris! Like you, westerns were never my favorite genre, but, as you say, they have their special delights and I've got a few in my video file waiting for me to check out. As a kid I was never a big fan of period pieces in general (something set in the 19th century or before would not appeal to me at all), but as I got older I got over that prejudice.
Of course, hunky leading men always help no matter what the genre or time period!
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