Trail of Vengeance
Cast & Crew
Sam Newfield
Johnny Mack Brown
Iris Meredith
Warner Richmond
Karl Hacket
Earl Hodgins
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Outlaw Dude Ramsey, who is wanted for murder, finds Steve Warner after Warner has received a fatal gunshot wound. Warner hands Dude a will, written by Carl Early and leaving Carl's gold mine to his brother Kenneth and Warner's daughter Jean, and instructs him to give it to Jean. After Warner dies, Dude finds a bullet shell belonging to a .41 Derringer, a gun that Dude declares is "carried by gamblers and cowards." Dude is found by Red Cassidy and Bill O'Donnell, who suspect him of murdering Warner, and is taken to their boss, casino owner Link Carson. Carson realizes that Dude is not responsible for Warner's death and offers him a job as a gunslinger in an ongoing range war. After Dude says he will look around and leaves, Carson is visited by Burt Pierson, Warner's killer. Burt killed Warner to get the location notice for the gold mine, but because he could not find it, Carson tells him to concentrate on romancing Jean and obtaining the papers through her. Burt then goes to Jean's ranch and tells her that Dude is her father's murderer, but when Dude himself arrives, he convinces Jean and ranch foreman Buck Andrews that he is innocent. Jean explains to Dude that she and the other honest ranchers are in a range war with Carson and his cattle rustlers, and Dude agrees to work for her. At a meeting that night, the ranchers decide to raid Carson's ranch, retrieve their stolen cattle and drive Carson out of town. Later, Dude overhears Burt and Carson plan an ambush on the raiding party and is able to warn the others before they are attacked in the morning. Dude is wounded, however, and is barely able to reach Jean's ranch, where he tells Buck that Burt is Carson's spy. Later that night when Dude catches Burt trying to steal the mine location papers, he discovers that Burt carries a gun matching the one that killed Warner. Dude realizes that Carson is the mastermind behind the murder, and he sends Burt back to Carson with a challenge for a gun battle the next day. When Dude rides to the fight, however, he is captured by the sheriff, who was alerted by Burt that Dude is wanted for murder. Before Dude can get out of jail, Burt kidnaps Jean and takes her to Carson's ranch. Once released, Dude goes to Carson's and, after a battle with Carson's gang, rescues Jean and guns down Carson, who is revealed as Carl's killer. Dude then tells Jean that his real name is Kenneth Early, and that he had his hometown sheriff send out the wanted posters of him as a cover while he investigated the death of his brother. The two new partners in the gold mine then share a kiss to celebrate their future together.
Director
Sam Newfield
Cast
Johnny Mack Brown
Iris Meredith
Warner Richmond
Karl Hacket
Earl Hodgins
Frank Larue
Frank Ellis
Lew Meehan
Frank Ball
Dick Curtis
Budd Buster
Crew
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
Although Karl Hacket's character is listed as "Mart Pierson" in the onscreen credits and reviews, he is called "Burt Pierson" in the film. S. Roy Luby and Tom Neff are credited by contemporary sources as the film editors, but Robert Jahns is credited on screen. Modern sources add the following cast members: Jim Corey (Henchman Joe), Dick Cramer (Rancher Joe), Steve Clark (Bill), Merrill McCormack (Deputy), Tex Palmer and Ray Henderson (Henchmen), and Horace Murphy, Jack C. Smith, Jack Kirk, Francis Walker, Clyde McClary, Wally West, Herman Hack and Horace B. Carpenter (Ranchers).
