''Raiders of Old California'' is a 1957 American

black-and-white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...

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 ...

film produced and directed by Albert C. Gannaway and starring Jim Davis,

Arleen Whelan Arleen Whelan (September 1, 1916 – April 7, 1993) was an American film actress. Early years Whelan was a native of Salt Lake City, Utah. Before she became an actress, she worked in Southern California as a manicurist, contributing her ea ...

, and

Faron Young Faron Young (February 25, 1932 – December 10, 1996) was an American country music producer, musician, and songwriter from the early 1950s into the mid-1980s. Hits including "If You Ain't Lovin' (You Ain't Livin')" and " Live Fast, Love Hard, D ...

. This film is now in the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work A creative work is a manifestation of creative effort including fine artwork (sculpture, paintings, drawing, sketching, performance art), dance, writing (literature), filmmaking, ...

. It was the final film appearance of Arleen Whelan, who retired from acting in 1957; she died on April 7, 1993.

Plot

The film begins with the surrender of Capt. Miguel Sebastian ( Dobkin) to Capt. McKane (Davis) from the U.S. Army at the end of

Mexican-American War Mexican Americans ( es, mexicano-estadounidenses, , or ) are Americans of full or partial Mexicans, Mexican heritage. In 2019, Mexican Americans comprised 11.3% of the US population and 61.5% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% ...

. Three years later, McKane was taking lands from their owners by intimidation and treachery. Words reach Judge Ward Young ( Heydt) and his son Marshal Faron Young (Young). After a talk with Pardee ( Van Cleef), they investigate with Diego (Colmans), a farmer and an old veteran with Sebastian, and then they investigate with McKane, and learn about a witness in the deal named Johnson (

Lauter Lauter may refer to: People * Lauter (surname) Places *Lauter, Saxony, town in the district of Aue-Schwarzenberg, Saxony, Germany * Lauter, Bavaria, village in the district of Bamberg, Bavaria, Germany Rivers * Lauter (Baunach), tributary to th ...

). Pardee tries to threaten Johnson to keep him from saying anything. Johnson tells Judge Young about the deal and agrees to testify in court. McKane's men ambush the lawmen and Johnson receives a dangerous wound, but tells them to look for Sebastian, who is still alive. They are overheard by Pardee, who goes to interrogate Diego and then kills him. McKane's men follow Marshal Young and watch him survive an attack from the

Comanches The Comanche or Nʉmʉnʉʉ ( com, Nʉmʉnʉʉ, "the people") are a Native American tribe from the Southern Plains of the present-day United States. Comanche people today belong to the federally recognized Comanche Nation, headquartered in La ...

. They try to kill him, but he manages to shoot them first. He mortally wounds Boyle and takes him to the town priest. Dying Boyle identifies the priest as Miguel Sebastian himself. Pardee arrives in town and inquires about Sebastian from a drunk named Pepe (

Diamond Diamond is a Allotropes of carbon, solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the Chemical stability, chemically stable form of car ...

). He tries to kill Sebastian, but is gunned down by Young. Upon this new finding, McKane is ordered to be in court. He sends his men to kill Sebastian, but he dodges them through underground passage. McKane plans a cattle stampede through town. In the trial, Sebastian testifies that he was forced to give his land to McKane under death threat, and that Johnson refused to sign as a witness because it was extortion and collaboration with the enemy, but he was forced to sign. Sebastian testifies that although he was permitted by McKane to then leave for Mexico, Pardee had tracked him and pushed him off a cliff, thinking he had left him for dead. Judge Young rules that the grant was illegal because McKane bargained with the enemy at war time, and that McKane will be sent to be court-martialed. The court is interrupted by the coming of the stampede, and McKane is caught in the stampede and killed, along with the sheriff. Father Sebastian agrees to give the lands to the farmers.

Cast

* Jim Davis as Captain Angus Clyde McKane *

as Julie Johnson *

as Marshal Faron Young *

Marty Robbins Martin David Robinson (September 26, 1925 – December 8, 1982), known professionally as Marty Robbins, was an American singer, songwriter, actor, multi-instrumentalist, and NASCAR racing driver. Robbins was one of the most popular and suc ...

as Cpl. Timothy Boyle *

Lee Van Cleef Clarence LeRoy Van Cleef Jr. (January 9, 1925 – December 16, 1989) was an American actor. He appeared in over 170 film and television roles in a career spanning nearly 40 years, but is best known as a star of Italian Spaghetti Westerns, partic ...

as Sgt. Damon Pardee *

Louis Jean Heydt Louis Jean Heydt (April 17, 1903 – January 29, 1960) was an American character actor in film, television and theatre, most frequently seen in hapless, ineffectual, or fall guy roles. Early life Heydt was born in 1903 (not 1905, as many sour ...

as Judge Ward Young *

Harry Lauter Herman Arthur "Harry" Lauter (June 19, 1914 – October 30, 1990) was an American character actor. Early years Lauter was born in White Plains, New York. He worked as a model for a professional photographer and was a rodeo rider before m ...

as Lt. Scott Johnson *

Douglas Fowley Douglas Fowley (born Daniel Vincent Fowley, May 30, 1911 – May 21, 1998) was an American movie and television actor in more than 240 films and dozens of television programs, He is probably best remembered for his role as the frustrated m ...

as Sheriff *

Larry Dobkin Lawrence Dobkin (September 16, 1919 – October 28, 2002) was an American television director, character actor and screenwriter whose career spanned seven decades. Dobkin was a prolific performer during the Golden Age of Radio. He narrat ...

as Don Miguel Sebastian *

Bill Coontz Willard B. Koontz (August 28, 1917 – April 7, 1978), also known as Bill Foster, was an American actor and stuntman. Coontz was born in Iowa. His film career started in 1949, when he worked as a stuntman on the film ''Apache Chief'', and he sp ...

as Turk *

Don Diamond Donald Alan Diamond (June 4, 1921 – June 19, 2011) was an American radio, film, and television actor who portrayed "Crazy Cat", the sidekick and heir apparent to Chief Wild Eagle on the popular 1960s television sitcom, ''F Troop'' (1965–19 ...

as Pepe * Ric Vallon as Burt * Tom Hubbard as Emmet

Production

Parts of the film were shot in

Kanab Kanab ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Kane County, Utah, Kane County, Utah, United States.Find a Co ...

Canyon,

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

Gallery

File:Jim Davis-RaidersofOldCalifornia.jpg, Jim Davis in a screenshot from ''Raiders of Old California''. File:Arleen Whelan-RaidersofOldCalifornia.jpg,

in a screenshot from ''Raiders of Old California''. File:Faron Young-RaidersofOldCalifornia.jpg,

in a screenshot from ''Raiders of Old California''. File:Marty Robbins-RaidersofOldCalifornia.jpg,

in a screenshot from ''Raiders of Old California''. File:Lee Van Cleef-RaidersofOldCalifornia.jpg,

in a screenshot from ''Raiders of Old California''. File:Louis Jean Heydt-RaidersofOldCalifornia.jpg,

in a screenshot from ''Raiders of Old California''. File:Louis Jean Heydt in Raiders of Old California.jpg,

in a screenshot from ''Raiders of Old California''. File:Harry Lauter-RaidersofOldCalifornia.jpg,

in a screenshot from ''Raiders of Old California''. File:Douglas Fowley-RaidersofOldCalifornia.jpg,

in a screenshot from ''Raiders of Old California''. File:Lawrence Dobkin-RaidersofOldCalifornia.jpg,

in a screenshot from ''Raiders of Old California''. File:Don diamond-RaidersofOldCalifornia.jpg,

in a screenshot from ''Raiders of Old California''. File:Rick Vallin-RaidersofOldCalifornia.jpg, Ric Vallon in a screenshot from ''Raiders of Old California''. File:Edward Colmans-RaidersofOldCalifornia.jpg,

Edward Colmans Edward Colmans (August 31, 1908 – May 25, 1977) was a Dutch American actor. Early life Colmans was born on August 31, 1908. Born Adolph Edward Colmans in London, England, he was the son of Louis Colmans (1883-1964), a Dutch violinist who had ac ...

in a screenshot from ''Raiders of Old California''.

References

External links