Gunsmoke / Sundown Riders

Westerns made up 25 percent of the films produced during Hollywood's Golden Age. With the studios releasing several a month, it was inevitable that not all of them would reach the high standards set by directors like John Ford and Raoul Walsh. In fact, the Western was most commonly a 'B' picture, a movie that was shown after the main, higher-budgeted attraction. What these films lacked in sophistication they more than made up for in thrills and excitement that kept many a moviegoer glued to their seat.

Gunsmoke (BW, 1947): After his father is shot by Dirk Mattson, inexperienced gunslinger Brad Marlowe challenges the outlaw to a duel. Easily outmatched, the young man is left bleeding to death in the desert. He is rescued by the beautiful Carol Henderson, who brings him back to the forced labor camp where she is held captive. Brad is shocked to discover that the camp leader is none other than his assailant's twin brother, Duke. Realizing that he must know where Dirk is, Brad joins Duke's gang to find the man who killed his father.

Gunsmoke was the last starring role for Nick Stuart, a handsome leading man of Poverty Row pictures. Born in Transylvania, he immigrated to the United States in 1913 with dreams of becoming an actor. Stuart worked odd jobs in Hollywood before becoming Howard Hawks' personal assistant. The legendary director then gave him a shot at acting in The Cradle Snatchers (1927). Though the big studios never came calling, Stuart was able to parlay his association with Hawks into a steady career as a youthful lead in "B" pictures such as The Mystery Train (1931), Secret Sinners (1933) and Secrets of Chinatown (1935). He also appeared twice with the East Side Kids in Mr. Muggs Steps Out (1943) and Pride of the Bowery (1946). Though he continued to work sporadically (usually in very small roles) after Gunsmoke, he spent most of his time working at a haberdashery in Biloxi, Missouri.

Sundown Riders (BW, 1948): Russ Wade, Jay Kirby, and Andy Clyde are "The Sundowners", vigilantes who ride from town to town righting wrongs. Arriving in Rockford, they learn of "Boss" Yeager's plan to swindle pretty Donna Fraser out of her ranch. Helping the young woman will be the greatest challenge the trio has ever faced, since Yeager has an entire slave labor camp to throw at the heroes.

Sundown Riders was meant to be the first of a series of Westerns produced by "Major 16mm Productions Inc." exclusively for home and school markets, completely bypassing theatrical distribution. It was filmed in 16mm Kodachrome (the first movie to be shot professionally in this format) in eight days for $8,000, drastically less than the cost of a monochrome "B" Western. After Major 16mm's plans fell through, the film languished on the shelf for four years. Film Enterprises Inc., a small company based in Denver, purchased the prints in 1948, blew them up to 35mm, and subsequently made Sundown Riders available for independent distribution. The film's original producers intended for "The Sundowners" to be their answer to Republic's Three Mesquiteers, but sadly this interesting grouping of Western favorites never appeared again.

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