''Ride Clear of Diablo'' is a 1954 American

Technicolor Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...

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 directed by

Jesse Hibbs Jesse John Hibbs (January 11, 1906 – February 4, 1985) was an American film and television director and American football player. He played college football at the University of Southern California (USC), where he was an All-American tackle f ...

starring

Audie Murphy Audie Leon Murphy (20 June 1925 – 28 May 1971) was an American soldier, actor and songwriter. He was one of the most decorated American combat soldiers of World War II. He received every military combat award for valor available from t ...

Dan Duryea Dan Duryea ( , January 23, 1907 – June 7, 1968) was an American actor in film, stage, and television. Known for portraying a vast range of character roles as a villain, he nonetheless had a long career in a wide variety of leading and second ...

Susan Cabot Susan Cabot (born Harriet Pearl Shapiro; July 9, 1927 – December 10, 1986) was an American film, stage, and television actress. She rose to prominence for her roles in a variety of Western films, including '' Tomahawk'' (1951), ''The Duel at Si ...

and

Abbe Lane Abbe Lane (born Francine Lassman; December 14, 1931) is an American singer and actress. Lane was known in the 1950s and 1960s for her revealing outfits and sultry style of performing. Her first marriage was as the fourth wife of Latin bandleader ...

. made for

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...

. Cabot and Murphy had appeared in two films together previously.''Ride Clear of Diablo''
at Audie Murphy Memorial Site

Plot

Sheriff Fred Kenyon ( Paul Birch) and lawyer Tom Meredith (William Pullen) conspire to have dance hall girl Kate (

) entertain the hired hands of the O'Mara ranch whilst the Sheriff and the lawyer rustle the O'Mara's stock. Tom shoots both the father and his teenage son to leave no witnesses. Surviving son Clay (

), a railroad surveyor in

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, is informed of their deaths and comes back to his home where the identity of the murderers is unknown. Clay is talked out of revenge by the town Reverend (

Denver Pyle Denver Dell Pyle (May 11, 1920 – December 25, 1997) was an American film and television actor and director. He was well known for a number of TV roles from the 1960s through the 1980s, including his portrayal of Briscoe Darling Jr. in s ...

) but Clay makes his own inquiries to the sheriff and Tom. When Clay asks the sheriff if he can become his deputy in order to make an investigation, the sheriff at first refuses. Tom advises the sheriff that it would be a good idea with Clay sent on a false trail to arrest notorious

gunslinger Gunfighters, also called gunslingers (), or in the 19th and early 20th centuries gunmen, were individuals in the American Old West who gained a reputation of being dangerous with a gun and participated in gunfights and shootouts. Today, the t ...

Whitey Kinkaid (

) in the town of Diablo. Kinkaid has no connection with the murders, but the corrupt pair plan that Kinkaid will kill the pesky Clay. To everyone's surprise Clay out-draws Kinkaid, arrests him, thwarts Kinkaid's escape attempts, and successfully fights off an ambush from three men. Kinkaid, who spends his life by idling about, is bemused by the unstoppable Clay and watches him go after the real killers. At first, he does this for amusement, but gradually he realizes that the moral attitude of the much younger Clay is like a valuable lesson in living a worthwhile life. It is amusing to see how he accepts him finally as an exemplar. Kinkaid's identification goes so far as to sacrifice himself to save the younger hero's life in several gunfights, all in accordance with the fact, that he said that if ever he feels he's become "like a human being", he will shoot (meaning here, sacrifice) himself.

Cast

as Clay O'Mara *

as Laurie Kenyon *

as Whitey Kincade *

as Kate *

Russell Johnson Russell David Johnson (November 10, 1924 – January 16, 2014) was an American actor. He played Professor Roy Hinkley in ''Gilligan's Island'' and Marshal Gib Scott in '' Black Saddle''. Early life Johnson was born in Ashley, Pennsylvania, o ...

as Jed Ringer * Paul Birch as Sheriff Fred Kenyon *William Pullen as Tom Meredith *

Jack Elam William Scott "Jack" Elam (November 13, 1920 – October 20, 2003) was an American film and television actor best known for his numerous roles as villains in Western films and, later in his career, comedies (sometimes spoofing his villaino ...

as Tim Lowerie *

as Reverend Moorehea

References

External links

Ride Clear of Diablo at Dan Duryea Central
*
''Ride Clear of Diablo''
at

TCMDB Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie-oriented pay-TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasting campus in the Midtown business district of A ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ride Clear Of Diablo 1954 Western (genre) films 1954 films American Western (genre) films Audie Murphy Films directed by Jesse Hibbs Universal Pictures films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films