The Global Archive Complementing the Tone of Flying Hoofs: Cult Guide

Dir: Clifford Smith

Texas Ranger Jack Keith, is instructed to track down a gang called the Border Wolves, whose brutal raids have terrorized the countryside. When several members of the gang murder a band of squatters, Black Bart, the head outlaw, has Keith arrested for the crime, but the ranger escapes and flees to a lonely cabin. There he meets Hope Waite, who has come to the Southwest to meet her father, General Waite, and look for her long lost sister. Keith takes her to a boarding-house and places her in the care of Mrs. Murphy, but Bart, having met the girl earlier, discovers her whereabouts. The crook asks her to cash a check for him without revealing that he stole it from General Waite, whom he believes he murdered with the gang of squatters. General Waite arrives in town unharmed, followed by Christie McClaire, his missing daughter. After the family is reunited, Keith rounds up the Wolves and returns the general's check to Hope.

Dir: Clifford Smith

Jim Benton has been too busy making money to learn to read and write, but he persuades Evelyn Hastings to open school on his ranch and he is her most devoted pupil. The sheepmen carry out their threat to cut off Benton's water supply and Evelyn makes him promise to shoot only in self-defense. He keeps his promise, but still he has to kill, and a packed jury of sheepmen bring in a death verdict. The cattlemen attempt a rescue, but it is Evelyn who saves the day.

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of The Learnin' of Jim Benton perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Dir: Clifford Smith

The heroine of "The She Wolf" walks into "The Last Hope" saloon in "Mad Dog" one night, and discovers the Chinese owner and a crooked sheriff cheating a stranger at a game of cards. Drawing her shooting irons she starts to take a hand in the game herself. During the fighting that follows, the stranger is wounded, and the heroine carries him off to her shack and takes care of him. Several days later, the sheriff, who is the head of a band of outlaws, robs the mail coach and leaves a number of letters scattered on the road. The two-gun young woman picks up one of the letters and learns that it was written by Sallie Bigby to her sweetheart, John Williams. It tells him that Sallie's father is in the power of the Chinese saloon keeper, and that she will be compelled to marry him unless she is rescued. "The She Wolf" goes to the place, starts a lively scrap for the second time, and carries Sallie off to her cabin. Here matters are arranged properly. Sallie and her sweetheart meet and the stranger lets it be known that he intends to make the girl who nursed him back to health his wife.

Dir: Clifford Smith

Unhappy with William "Red" Saunders, the foreman of the Chanta Seechee Ranch in Oklahoma, its Eastern owners send a Boston tenderfoot named Albert Jones to manage the ranch with "Eastern business methods." Red prevents the angry cowboys from quitting, but they insist on making Jones the butt of their jokes and tricks. Upon learning that Jones's niece, Loys Andres, is planning a visit, the boys plan a rowdy reception for the woman, whom they expect will be an old maid. Loys's beauty, however, surprises them all, and Red's bunk-mate, Kyle Lambert, falls in love with her, and he soon proposes. When Jones tries to break up the romance, Red arranges for an elopement, but as the lovers reach the ford, a rustler called "Squint-Eye" Lucas fires at them, slightly wounding Kyle. Loys returns to the ranch for help, Red shoots Lucas, and Kyle is rescued, after which Loys and Kyle marry. Beaten, Jones gives the couple his blessing.

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of The She Wolf perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Dir: Clifford Smith

Frank Borden, who is in poor health, goes West penniless. He faints from exhaustion and is found by Pete Morton, who gives him aid. In shaving off his mustache, Morton is startled to discover that he is Borden's double. He decides to use Borden in his plundering expeditions. Morton holds up a stagecoach while Borden, whom the townspeople think is Morton, stays in town. But the undoing of the bandit is brought about when the father of Nan Christy, who befriended Borden upon his arrival in the west, is shot, and Morton confesses. The picture ends with Nan and Borden plighting their troth.

Dir: Clifford Smith

On the Mexican border, Jim Jason forms a partnership with Don Felipe Arrello although he is troubled by a clause in their contract which states that if one of the partners dies, the other will inherit their ranch. When the ranch begins to prove profitable, Felipe hires an assassin to kill Jim, but the cowboy discovers the plan and gives the killer a sound beating. Jim's sweetheart, Ruth Allen, who has come to the area with her father to restore the old Spanish architecture, sees the fight and assumes that he is mistreating his men, but his concern for little Carmelita, who is suffering from typhoid fever, convinces Ruth of Jim's kindness. Felipe tries once again to kill Jim, who leads his cowboys in pursuit of the villain, but upon reaching Felipe's hideout, they learn that Dolores, his betrayed lover, has already killed him.

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of The Red-Haired Cupid perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Dir: Clifford Smith

Meg Carter is the daughter of the man who runs the "Hell's Agony" saloon. He is killed in a row, and Meg takes it upon herself to keep the business going. This requires her to mix in and put a stop to any and all fights, which she does with the assistance of her constant companions, her two revolvers. Brian McTavish, who is supposed to help maintain law and order in the town, tries to take advantage of Meg, and a man by the name of Bad Lands O'Connor prevents him. For this McTavish determines to get even. A number of murders have been committed near O'Connor's cabin, and McTavish fastens them on his rival by lying. The crowd is about to hang the innocent man when Meg effects his rescue. She gets McTavish to consent to a test of marksmanship with her and defeats him, the life of O'Connor being her prize. There is a wedding in town shortly and Meg and O'Connor are the principals.

Dir: Clifford Smith

Old-fashioned rancher Joe Warner is suspicious of the modern methods employed by his new neighbor, George Merritt, but when Joe's villainous foreman, Pete Wright, suggests that George is a thief, Joe's dislike turns to hostility. Furious over pretty Ruth Warner's love for George, the jealous Pete joins forces with a bandit named José Mardones to run cattle off of Joe's ranch while blaming George for the thefts. Finally, Pete and José stage a major raid on Joe's ranch, and Joe's cowboys, imagining that they are fighting George's men, are losing the battle until George arrives to help drive off the real bandits. During the shootout, Pete kidnaps Ruth, but George pursues them and rescues her. Joe then happily accepts George as a son-in-law and as his new partner.

A visual fragment from the archive: The thematic resonance of Paying His Debt perfectly mirrors the editorial trajectory of our deep dive.

Dir: Clifford Smith

Driven to desperation by the cattle rustlers who have nearly ruined him, ranch owner Jim Carson appeals to the Texas Rangers for help, and soon afterward he hires a cowpuncher named Bob Gordon. The handsome young rider quickly develops an attachment to Jim's pretty daughter Jean, which incurs the enmity of ranch foreman Dave Merrill, who is also in love with the girl. Shortly after Bob's arrival, he catches Dave branding a calf and hints to Jean and her father that the foreman may be one of the cattle rustlers. To save himself, Dave tries to cast suspicion on Bob, but the plan backfires. Cornered, Dave abducts Jean into the hills, but Bob, who is actually a Texas Ranger, locates the hideout, kicks in the door and kills the outlaw.

Dir: Clifford Smith

"One Shot" Ross, who has brought law and order to the town of Painted Gulch, decides to hang up his six-shooters when he sees the daughter of one of his victims sobbing over her dead father's body. While traveling East, Ross's stagecoach is held up and Ross, knocked unconscious, is taken to a nearby cabin owned by the Sheridans. After Mr. Sheridan is killed when he inadvertently stumbles upon Jim Butler and his gang dividing up the spoils from the stage robbery, Ross takes pity on Nan, the old man's daughter, and decides to bring the outlaws to justice. Feigning feeble-mindedness, Ross obtains a job on Butler's ranch and uncovers evidence which proves that Butler is the leader of the outlaws. Heading the posse, Ross captures Butler's gang and then rides off to the Sheridan cabin where, in a shootout, he rescues Nan from Butler.