''Billy the Kid's Fighting Pals'' (also known as ''Trigger Men'') is a 1941 American
Western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
directed by
Sam Newfield
Sam Newfield, born Samuel Neufeld, (December 6, 1899 - November 10, 1964), also known as Sherman Scott or Peter Stewart, was an American B-movie Film director, director, one of the most prolific in American film history—he is credited with d ...
for
Producers Releasing Corporation
Producers Releasing Corporation was the smallest and least prestigious of the Hollywood film studios of the 1940s. It was considered a prime example of what was called "Poverty Row": a low-rent stretch of Gower Street in Hollywood where shoest ...
(PRC), and the fifth in PRC's
Billy the Kid film series.
Plot
Billy the Kid
Billy the Kid (born Henry McCarty; September 17 or November 23, 1859July 14, 1881), also known by the pseudonym William H. Bonney, was an outlaw and gunfighter of the American Old West, who killed eight men before he was shot and killed at t ...
(
Bob Steele) and his friends Jeff (
Carleton Young
Captain Carleton Scott Young (October 21, 1905 – November 7, 1994) was an American character actor who was known for his deep voice.
Early years
Born in Fulton, Oswego, New York, Young was the second and only surviving child of St ...
) and Fuzzy (
Al St. John
Al St. John (also credited as Al Saint John and "Fuzzy" St. John; September 10, 1892 – January 21, 1963) was an early American motion-picture comedian. He was a nephew of silent film star Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, with whom he often performed on ...
) are on the run. They make it to Paradise Town, where the trio witnesses the murder of Marshal Mason (
Stanley Price
Stanley Price (December 31, 1892July 13, 1955) was an American film supporting actor who appeared in over 200 films between 1922 and 1956. He was a charter member of the Screen Actors Guild.
Career
Price was an actor whose artistic career sp ...
). Fuzzy poses as the marshal and rides into the town, which is now ruled by a gang led by Burke (Curley Dresden) under orders from a prominent businessman in Paradise. Setting out to put an end to the gang's lawless rule over the town, the trio face another problem—the ward of the town banker Hardy (
Edward Peil, Sr.
Edward J. Peil Sr. (January 18, 1883 – December 29, 1958) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 370 films between 1913 and 1951.
Biography
Peil was born in Racine, Wisconsin, one of 10 children of Mr. and Mrs. John H. Pell ...
), Ann (Phyllis Adair), who is out to set obstacles for them for unknown reasons. Along the journey they befriend Mexican secret agent Lopez (
Julian Rivero
Julian Rivero (July 25, 1890 – February 24, 1976) was an American actor whose career spanned seven decades. He made his film debut in the 1923 silent melodrama, ''The Bright Shawl'', which starred Richard Barthelmess, Dorothy Gish, William Powe ...
), who is posing as a bartender. As the plot thickens, it is revealed that the true mastermind is Hardy, who plans on buying up all the local property to dig a smuggling tunnel to Mexico.
Cast
![Billy the Kid's Fighting Pals 1941 poster](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c8/Billy_the_Kid%27s_Fighting_Pals_1941_poster.jpg)
*
Bob Steele as
Billy the Kid
Billy the Kid (born Henry McCarty; September 17 or November 23, 1859July 14, 1881), also known by the pseudonym William H. Bonney, was an outlaw and gunfighter of the American Old West, who killed eight men before he was shot and killed at t ...
*
Carleton Young
Captain Carleton Scott Young (October 21, 1905 – November 7, 1994) was an American character actor who was known for his deep voice.
Early years
Born in Fulton, Oswego, New York, Young was the second and only surviving child of St ...
as Jeff
*
Al St. John
Al St. John (also credited as Al Saint John and "Fuzzy" St. John; September 10, 1892 – January 21, 1963) was an early American motion-picture comedian. He was a nephew of silent film star Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, with whom he often performed on ...
as Fuzzy
*
Edward Peil, Sr.
Edward J. Peil Sr. (January 18, 1883 – December 29, 1958) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 370 films between 1913 and 1951.
Biography
Peil was born in Racine, Wisconsin, one of 10 children of Mr. and Mrs. John H. Pell ...
as Hardy
* Phyllis Adair as Ann
*
Stanley Price
Stanley Price (December 31, 1892July 13, 1955) was an American film supporting actor who appeared in over 200 films between 1922 and 1956. He was a charter member of the Screen Actors Guild.
Career
Price was an actor whose artistic career sp ...
as Marshall Mason
*
Julian Rivero
Julian Rivero (July 25, 1890 – February 24, 1976) was an American actor whose career spanned seven decades. He made his film debut in the 1923 silent melodrama, ''The Bright Shawl'', which starred Richard Barthelmess, Dorothy Gish, William Powe ...
as Lopez
* Curley Dresden as Burke
*
Budd Buster
Budd Leland Buster (June 14, 1891 – December 22, 1965), usually credited as Budd Buster (and sometimes Bud Buster), was an American actor known for B western films. He sometimes was credited as George Selk in his later work.
Early life
Bus ...
as Editor Mason
Release
''Billy the Kid's Fighting Pals'' was commercially released on 18 April 1941 in the U.S. through
Producers Releasing Corporation
Producers Releasing Corporation was the smallest and least prestigious of the Hollywood film studios of the 1940s. It was considered a prime example of what was called "Poverty Row": a low-rent stretch of Gower Street in Hollywood where shoest ...
.
See also
The "Billy the Kid" films starring Bob Steele:
* ''
Billy the Kid Outlawed
''Billy the Kid Outlawed'' is a 1940 American Western film directed by Sam Newfield and written by Oliver Drake. It stars Bob Steele as gunfighter "Billy the Kid", Al St. John as his sidekick "Fuzzy" Jones and Carleton Young as Jeff Travis, w ...
'' (1940)
* ''
Billy the Kid in Texas
''Billy the Kid in Texas'' is a 1940 American Western film directed by Sam Newfield. It's the second in the "Billy the Kid" film series, produced by PRC from 1940 to 1946.
Plot
Billy the Kid runs into his old friend Fuzzy in a wide-open Texas t ...
'' (1940)
* ''
Billy the Kid's Gun Justice
''Billy the Kid's Gun Justice'' is a 1940 American Western film directed by Sam Newfield for Producers Releasing Corporation, and 3rd in PRC's Billy the Kid series. Hal Erickson, Rovi.Billy the Kid's Gun Justice (1940), ''The New York Times''. ...
'' (1940)
* ''
Billy the Kid's Range War
''Billy the Kid's Range War'' is a 1941 American Western film directed by Sam Newfield that was the fourth of Producers Releasing Corporation's Billy the Kid film series. Despite the film's title and mention of Lincoln County, there is neithe ...
'' (1941)
* ''Billy the Kid's Fighting Pals'' (1941)
* ''
Billy the Kid in Santa Fe
''Billy the Kid in Santa Fe'' is a 1941 American Western film directed by Sam Newfield. This film is the sixth in the "Billy the Kid" film series, produced by PRC from 1940 to 1946, and the last to star Bob Steele. In the next film, ''Billy th ...
'' (1941)
References
External links
*
{{Billy the Kid
1941 films
1941 Western (genre) films
American Western (genre) films
American black-and-white films
Films directed by Sam Newfield
Billy the Kid (film series)
Films with screenplays by George H. Plympton
1940s American films