When Bill Croft, a notorious gunfighter, is bushwhacked, innocent rancher Frank Douglas is accused of the crime on circumstantial evidence and sentenced to be hanged. Jack Douglas, Frank's son, sets out to prove his father's innocence with the help of Jean, the murdered man's daughter; Jack eventually apprehends the killer and forces him to confess, but the sheriff is unable to stop the execution without an official pardon.

Is 'Ridin' Thunder' worth watching today? Short answer: yes, but with a few significant caveats that place it firmly in the realm of historical curiosity rather than essential view...
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Comparing the cinematic DNA and archive impact of two defining moments in cult history.

Clifford Smith

Clifford Smith
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"Ridin' Thunder" plunges viewers into a stark Western landscape where the scales of justice teeter precariously. The narrative ignites with the ambush of the notorious gunfighter Bill Croft, a crime for which the unassuming rancher Frank Douglas is swiftly, if circumstantially, condemned to the gallows. His son, Jack Douglas, rejects this hasty verdict, embarking on a desperate quest to unmask the true culprit. Aided by Jean, the daughter of the slain man, Jack navigates a treacherous path, ultimately cornering the real killer and extracting a confession. However, the wheels of frontier justice turn slowly, and the sheriff finds himself powerless to halt the impending execution without a gubernatorial pardon. This sets the stage for a thrilling, high-stakes race against time as Jack gallops across the countryside, locked in a pulse-pounding chase against a speeding train, all to deliver the crucial document and snatch his father from the brink of death.

Jack Hoxie
Isadore Bernstein, Carl Krusada, Bertha Muzzy Sinclair
United States


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