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.
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Wuchak
7
By Wuchak
_**How to turn a good Western town into a wicked one**_
In the late 1880s, a former ranch hand becomes a bounty hunter after developing as a gunman (Rory Calhoun). While his former-fiancé settles down with a good sheriff (Terry Moore & James Best), the now notorious bounty hunter is hired to tarnish the town’s reputation by operating a saloon and bringing in gambling & prostitution. The cast also includes the likes of Scott Brady, Lon Chaney Jr., Richard Arlen, Bruce Cabot and DeForest Kelley.
“Black Spurs” (1965) tends to be dismissed because it’s an A.C. Lyles production; he was known for B Westerns that featured over-the-hill actors. TV vibe or not, Calhoun towers in the role of the masculine protagonist, there’s a lot of Western action and the adult-oriented, soap operatic story is compelling. On the feminine front you have the likes of redhead Rusty Allen and blonde Sandra Giles. This was Linda Darnell’s final movie, released posthumously after tragically dying in a house fire at the age of 41.
While lacking the production sheen of notable 60’s Westerns like “One-Eyed Jacks,” “Nevada Smith,” “Hombre” and “Bandolero,” I’d watch this any day over overrated ones like “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance,” “A Fistful of Dollars” and “For a Few Dollars More.”
The movie runs 1 hour, 21 minutes, and was shot at Iverson Ranch, Ray Corrigan Ranch and Paramount Studios, California.
GRADE: B
