Deep Archive Finds in the Vein of The Wild Horse Stampede: Cult Guide

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.

Dir: Clifford Smith

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

The story of a circuit-riding, sagebrush parson who flew in the face of providence with both guns blazing.

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

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

Bashful ranch hand Aleck is in love. To help him get his girl, Red Saunders goes to town and convinces Lindy, whom Red thinks is the object of Aleck's affections, to come to the ranch. Meanwhile, Ah Sing, "the ranch Chinaman," steals the cowboys' clothes and pawns them. Red and Lindy meet with Ah Sing and the pursuing, half-clad cowboys at a gambling hall and regain the lost clothing. Red discovers he has brought the wrong girl, but the situation brightens when she consents to his proposal.

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

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

Bob Allers, an unfortunate consumptive, and his wife are traveling to Arizona for medicinal purposes. On the way, a highwayman robs them of horse and money. Destitute, they are befriended by William "Red" Saunders, whose sympathy and innate love for his fellow man lands Allers a job in the local saloon. Soon after, when the same highwayman attempts to rob the saloon, Allers kills him with a hammer thrown in self-defense, unaware that the outlaw is the brother of the sheriff. Convicted for murder by the vengeful sheriff, Allers is defended by "Red." The corrupt jury makes its final decision based on whether a crawling fly reaches the top of a window pane. Allers is acquitted, then reunited with his happy wife and newborn child, and they all leave together.

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

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

Charles Easton returns to his ranch to find his property in a shambles and his chances of marrying politician Oscar Davison's daughter Rose extremely slim, after losing the election for sheriff of Pyramid County to Ethan Ransford. However, Rose appears and begs him to find the man who robbed and beat her father. Charles rides into the desert with Ethan but quarrels with his rival and shoots him. With a price on his head, Charles takes refuge at Hawk's Nest, a seemingly invulnerable retreat for bandits, and soon gains the outlaws' respect and confidence. Later he rides into town leading the two guilty men in handcuffs and explains that Ethan's shooting was merely a ploy to gain entrance into the outlaws' stronghold. Ethan appears, confirming the story, and turns his office over to Charles, while Rose gladly accepts the new sheriff's proposal of marriage.

Dir: Clifford Smith

After a serious argument with his father, Calumet Marston drifts around the west for several years. He returns to his home, the Lazy Y Ranch, after his parents are killed by a pair of vicious brothers, Tom and Neal Taggart. Before his death Marston's father had appointed pretty young Betty Clayton as ranch manager, and now the Taggart brothers are determined to take over the ranch, no matter who they have to kill to get it.

Dir: Clifford Smith

A ranch owner hires a young woman as foreman over a rambunctious group of cowboys.