Essentially a remake of 1951's 'The Texas Rangers' but here a vehicle for Audie Murphy. As such, the original screenwriting team were here joined by the husband and wife team of William and Mary Willingham. The former had appeared as both a stuntman and supporting cast member in earlier Murphy westerns, while both had written episodes of Murphy's western detective TV series, 'Whispering Smith', which had been broadcast in 1961. Though the plot was virtually identical, this time the writers equally borrowed from, and took liberties with the historical accuracy of, events surrounding Quantrill's Raiders.
Though it is factual that in the post-Civil War years members of Quatrill's men turned their hand to crime, this did not include their leader, who died in August 1865 at the tender age of 27 - so not the aged officer as portrayed by seasoned veteran actor Fred Graham. Moreover, the real Quatrill never even set foot within Arizona. Other inaccuracies surround the founding of the Arizona Raiders, who weren't actually founded until 1901, and the supposed meeting arranged by the state governor to propose the creation of the force shown here as having taken place in Tombstone, which itself was not established until 1879, a good thirteen years after the date in which the film is set.
Clint Stuart and his best friend Willie Martin are two ex-Confederate soldiers who served in the Civil War with great gallantry, but return from war to find their family have been murdered or their future denied by northern opportunists. As such, they fall in with Quantrill's raiders until the latter are cornered in an abandoned farmhouse by a Union army search party in the wake of another raid on a small town. This turn of events interrupts a stand-off between Stuart, acting as witness against the attempt of a disgruntled fellow gang member, Montana, to take over leadership from Quantrill by ensuring the latter would succumb to a bullet from a rifle aimed at him from a rooftop. As the gang now strive to breakout on horseback from their encirclement, Montana takes the opportunity to seek revenge and gun down his accuser and or prevent him escaping the law. Both Stuart and Martin are apprehended, and despite best efforts of their arresting officer, Captain Andrews, to plead their case for clemency, firstly as not having joined the gang till after the infamous and murderous raid on Lawrence, Kansas, and secondly upon their previous meritorious war record, they are sentenced to twenty years hard labour.
With Montana reappearing as leader of the ex-vigilantes as they terrorise the state on a crime spree, Captain Andrews agrees to head the force of Raiders if given sanction to fake the escape of our two protagonists from custody and 'plant them' back with their former comrades.
Audie Murphy gives an earnest, creditable performance as Stuart, who certainly is no whiter-than-white hero, and whose shame extends to wishing his idealist younger sibling would forget him. Likewise, the perennial boyish-looking Ben Cooper, who at this time was making appearances in every Western TV series that was being aired, offers great support as Martin. The plot retains some interest value in the audience wondering whether this duo will fulfil their mission or cut and run for the Mexican border. Yet, it is a shame that Buster Crabbe, giving one of his finer performances in the twilight of his career as Captain Andrews, disappears for most of the second half of this feature.
In terms of the casting of the bad guys, George Keymas, whose swarthy and rugged appearance often led to his being cast as Native American Indians, here gives a satisfactory performance as Montana, who in taking control of their pueblo and killing their priest has become the nemesis to a band of Yaqui Indians who had abandoned their savage ways for conversion to Christianity. In some ways, Murphy's character's duel to exact vengeance against Montana arrives too early, robbing the film of a more memorable climax. To be fair, Michael Dante offers greater threat in the more savvy Brady, and a further target for Stuart's revenge after shooting Martin in the back having discovered the latter's duplicity as an undercover Raider. Yet, even so, the film peters out rather than build to a crescendo.
The worst characterisation is that of our Yaqui Indians, who almost appear as a sort of indigenous native version of the Keystone Cops, especially when hilariously lobbing cacti down upon the gang attempting to flee with their horde of gold to the border. In her penultimate appearance on the big screen Gloria Talbott was cast as the chief's daughter and principal female protagonist. Refreshing to not have a typical love interest, the feature has her thank Stuart and begs him one last favour at the movie's conclusion in sending her people a new priest.
Ultimately, helmed by one of Quentin Tarantino's favourite action directors, there are flourishes of prolific William Witney's talent at choreographing action sequences, no more so than the shoot-out between Stuart and Montana around the environs of the pueblo's church. Overall, the film fails to ignite and too often the pace is languorous. Yet, at least this copy of the feature was not saddled with the incongruous and over lengthy eight-minute preamble which was inexplicably added years after the film was released in the cinemas.
