Quantrill’s Raiders *½ (1958, Steve Cochran, Diane Brewster, Leo Gordon, Gale Robbins) – Classic Movie Review 10,920

Gale Robbins (1921–1980).

‘Quantrill’s Raiders rode like hellions, hid like ghosts, killed like wolves!’

Director Edward Bernds’s 1958 Western film Quantrill’s Raiders stars Leo Gordon as William Clark Quantrill, a Civil War outlaw up to no good whose guerrilla gang is infiltrated by good guy agent Wes (Steve Cochran), a Confederate army captain travelling as a spy behind Yankee lines, when they plot to raid a Kansas arms stash.

Diane Brewster with James Garner in TV’s Maverick (1957).

Diane Brewster is the gorgeous lead cowgirl Sue Walters in this solid but not very exciting Western with mundane performances, striking DeLuxe colour and CinemaScope lensing and a very plain plot, including a bog-standard shoot-out climax. But Leo Gordon is an excellent bad guy and Steve Cochran is a decent good guy. On the romance front, Cochran romances Kate (the knockout-looking hazel-eyed redhead Gale Robbins) while Sue makes a play for Wes (Cochran) even though she is Quantrill’s girl.

Also in the cast are Gale Robbins, Will Wright, Kim Charney, Myron Healey, Robert Foulk, Glenn Strange, Lane Chandler, Guy Prescott, Thomas Browne Henry and Dan White.

Quantrill’s Raiders is directed by Edward Bernds, 68 minutes, is made by Allied Artists Pictures, is released by Allied Artists Pictures (1958) (US) and Associated British-Pathé (1958) (UK), is written by Polly James, is shot in DeLuxe colour and CinemaScope by William P Whitley, is produced by Ben Schwalb, is scored by Marlin Skiles and designed by Dave Milton.

Diane Brewster (March 11, 1931 – November 12, 1991) is noted for playing gambling confidence trickster Samantha Crawford in the TV Western show Maverick.

Will Wright, who plays the judge, often played sheriffs, judges or crusty old businessmen, and appeared in six episodes of TV’s Maverick, all in different roles.

© Derek Winnert 2021 Classic Movie Review 10,920

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