Santa Fe Uprising
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
R. G. Springsteen
Allan Lane
Bobby Blake
Martha Wentworth
Barton Maclane
Jack La Rue
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
The ranchers of Bitter Springs, in the New Mexico territory, are outraged when yet another marshal is killed trying to protect goods being transported along the free government road to Santa Fe. At a town meeting, Lafe Dibble bitterly proclaims that the only person not affected by the series of attacks is Madison Pike, who charges exorbitant amounts on his private toll road. Unknown to the townspeople, the secret leader of the rustlers and thieves is newspaper publisher Crawford, who is in league with Pike. Their henchmen, Bruce Jackson and Luke Case, run the gang that attacks the government road, then act as "protection" for Pike's toll road. Lafe declares that he is driving his cattle over the government road, and his eager son Sonny accompanies him. Jackson and his men lie in wait, and during their night raid on the camp, both Lafe and Pike are mortally wounded. Crawford fails to get Pike's signature on the toll road deed before he dies, and the road must be put up for auction. In another city, rancher The Duchess reads about Pike's death, which has been declared accidental. She shows the article to her nephew, Red Ryder, and comments that as Pike's fourth cousin, she is his only surviving relative. Red sends a telegram to Bitter Springs announcing that the Duchess is Pike's legal heir and then sends her ahead while he finishes the cattle roundup. Anxious to keep the Duchess from interfering with their plans, Crawford and Jackson order Luke to dispose of her. He attempts to do so by wildly driving the stage in which she is riding, but Red and his Indian ward, Little Beaver, arrive in time to rescue her. After Red wins a fierce fistfight with Luke, the townsfolk decide that he should be their new marshal, and he sends for the Duchess' ranch hands, including old Hank, to act as his deputies. Crawford asks the Duchess to sell him the road, but she after refuses, he and Jackson concoct a scheme to ruin her. Saying that he wishes to drive a small herd to Santa Fe, Jackson pays to use the toll road, and the Duchess' men act as guards. Red is suspicious, however, and by following one of Jackson's henchmen, discovers that the gang is preparing an ambush. Red sends the herd to the government road, but they are spotted by Sonny, who recognizes the cattle as his even though Jackson has altered the Dibble brand. The impetuous young man shoots at the deputies, and in the confusion, Jackson attempts to shoot Red. When Hank stops him, Jackson kills the old man. Red captures Sonny, who explains that the cattle are really his. Red is forced to arrest Sonny until he can prove his claim, however, and when they return to town, circumstantial evidence points to Sonny as Hank's killer. Jackson and Crawford attempt to stir up a lynch mob so that Sonny will not be alive to prove that Jackson's cattle are his, but Red disperses them. Jackson then kidnaps Little Beaver, and after a distraught Red spends frantic days searching for him, the gang sends a note that the boy will be freed if Sonny is turned over to them. Wishing to print his answer in the newspaper, Red goes to Crawford's office, and there sees that the note came from Crawford's writing tablet. Needing more evidence, Red pretends to fall out with his men and then enlists Crawford's help to go to the gang's cave hideout. Not knowing that Red has filled his gun with blanks, Crawford shoots Red, who falls as if hit. Crawford soon discovers Red's ruse when he tries to kill Little Beaver. With the help of his men, Red rescues Little Beaver and defeats the gang. Later, the Duchess decides to turn the toll road over to the citizens of Bitter Springs, and Sonny thanks Red for his help.
Director
R. G. Springsteen
Cast
Allan Lane
Bobby Blake
Martha Wentworth
Barton Maclane
Jack La Rue
Tom London
Dick Curtis
Forrest Taylor
Emmett Lynn
Hank Patterson
Pat Michaels
Edmund Cobb
Kenne Duncan
Edythe Elliott
George Chesebro
Britt Wood
Crew
Victor Appel
Yakima Canutt
Thomas A. Carman
Mort Glickman
Howard Lydecker
Theodore Lydecker
Bob Mark
Enzo Martinelli
John Mccarthy Jr.
Lewis Physioc
Sidney Picker
Fred A. Ritter
Gordon Schaefer
Earle Snell
John Stransky Jr.
Bud Thackery
Wm. P. Thompson
Don Verk
Howard Wilson
Earl Wooden
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
Santa Fe Uprising marked Allan Lane's debut as "Red Ryder" and was also the first in the series featuring Martha Wentworth as "The Duchess." According to a January 31, 1946 Hollywood Reporter news item, Republic substituted this film for another, less expensive entry in the series in order to make "Lane's debut in the former Wild Bill Elliott role more impressive." Lane went on to star in six more pictures in Republic's series, as well as in the television series, which began in 1956. Modern sources include Frank Ellis, Art Dillard, Lee Reynolds and Forrest Burns in the cast. For more information about the "Red Ryder" series, please consult the Series Index and see the entry below for Tucson Raiders.
