Schwarze Sporen

Black Spurs (1965)

* 1/2 (out of 4)

A ranch hand named Santee (Rory Calhoun) grows tired of being poor so he decides to turn into a bounty hunter so that he can collect some big rewards. After being successful at this he decides to move in on a local town to take it over because he knows a railroad is about to come through. BLACK SPURS has a very interesting cast but sadly that's about the only thing the movie has going for it. This is a pretty strange Western to watch and especially when you consider it was 1965. By this time most Westerns like this weren't being made anymore as the story, structure and overall feel of this makes you seem like it would have been better fit in the 1940s. I think the main reason people are going to come to this film are for the stars. Calhoun isn't very well known today but he has a strong devoted group of fans who will probably be the only ones wanting to watch this. He's pretty good in the film as he has no problem playing rough and later on more soft-hearted. The supporting cast includes some very familiar faces including Linda Darnell and Scott Brady as well as the likes of Lon Chaney, Jr. and Bruce Cabot. Those coming to this film to see Chaney and Cabot might be disappointed to see their roles so small but both actors are still good. BLACK SPURS features some rather routine gunfights that never get too exciting and we're also treated to a sidestory between Calhoun and Darnell that really doesn't add up to much and the big twist is something you'll see coming from a mile away.

I just watched Black Spurs (1965) on Grit TV. It's one of several westerns made by A. C. Lyles during the 1960s. He always employed older, veteran actors, many of whom were over the hill.

Santee is a cowhand engaged to dressmaker Anna. When the bank is robbed by El Pescadore, Santee sees a chance to get the $3,000 reward and buy that ranch he's always wanted. It takes him ten months but he finally kills El Peacadore, and takes the outlaw's unique black spurs to wear himself. But, he then learns that in his long absence Anna has married Ralph Elkins, the sheriff of Lark, Kansas. Embittered, Santee conspires with Kyle, owner of the town of Kyle, Kansas to turn Lark into a hell town so that the railroad will change its proposed route from Lark to Kyle. He imports a crooked gambler, dancehall girls, and gunslingers to accomplish the job. Sheriff Elkins is no match for the bad guys. But will Santee go through with his plan? Or will he decide to do the right thing and stand up to the bad guys?

The male actors are mostly overweight. Rory Calhoun, Bruce Cabot, Richard Arlen, Lon Chaney Jr., Scott Brady, and Jim L. Brown are past their prime. Only Joseph Hoover and Jerome Courtland appear trim and fit.

Of the actresses, Linda Darnell looks bloated. She doesn't have much to do, anyway. Ageless Terry Moore looks very good. And Patricia Owens is still youthfully trim and beautiful at 40. It's too bad her part wasn't larger.

Black Spurs (1965) has a fairly good script and character development. The fast pace keeps the viewer interested in waiting to see what Santee will finally do at the end.

"Black Spurs" was one of producer A.C. Lyles now famous series of low-budget westerns featuring onetime big names. This one starred Rory Calhoun, Linda Darnell, Terry Moore, Lon Chaney, Bruce Cabot, Scott Brady and Richard Arlen. The supporting cast included future director Jerome Courtland, in his last acting role as a small town newspaper publisher living in sin! The story followed the adventures of an ambitious ranch hand (Calhoun) who deserts his pregnant girlfriend (Moore) for the life of a bounty hunter. Eventually this career demoralizes him to such a degree, that he instigates a plot to corrupt the morals of a small town for a fat fee. Thus, a planned railroad franchise will be diverted to a neighboring town owned by crooked businessman Chaney, who is in on the scheme. Calhoun sends for bouncer Cabot, new Orleans Madam Darnell and her "girls" as well as card sharp Joe Hoover, all of whom trash the town. Not so coincidentally, the sheriff happens to be the husband of Calhoun's former love, Moore. What happens is not what one might expect. Sadly, the film was Linda Darnell's last screen appearance. She died in an accidental house fire before it was released. And for many, the sight of the once gorgeous actress looking bloated and middle aged was not a pretty one. She did, however, turn in a reliably good performance, as did her co-stars, and Black Spurs remains an enjoyable nostalgia fest, one of Lyles' best.

This film begins in Texas with a cowboy named "Santee" (Rory Calhoun) watching as a notorious bandido by the name of "El Pescadore" (Robert Carricart) robs a bank and, after killing the bank manager, quickly riding off with the sheriff and his deputies in hot pursuit. Realizing that there is nothing he can really do about the situation, he then proceeds to take his girlfriend "Anna" (Terry Moore) on a romantic picnic where he subsequently proposes to her. Although she willingly accepts his proposal, to her dismay, Santee then announces that he has decided to pursue El Pescadore in order to collect the $3000 bounty on his head to help start their new lives together. Ten months later, he finally finds the outlaw in a small town in Mexico and proceeds to gun him down in the street. Not only that, but he also dons the bandido's famous black spurs as a trophy of sorts. However, once he rides back to town to see his fiancé, he then learns that she has since married another man by the name of "Ralph Elkins" (James Best). Quite upset with this new development, Santee decides to become a permanent bounty hunter and, in the process, acquires a rather notorious reputation of his own. The scene then shifts to several years later with Santee making a deal with a wealthy businessman named "Gus Kile" (Lon Chaney Jr.) to help divert a proposed railroad line from its original destination of Lark, Kansas to the town of Kile, Kansas where the two of them can make a fortune in real estate. The problem is that Lark, Kansas has a sterling reputation and in order to divert the railroad line Santee has to stir up enough trouble there to change the minds of the railroad executives. What complicates matters, however, is the fact that Lark, Kansas has recently acquired a good sheriff who is determined to keep the town as peaceful as possible-and his name is Ralph Elkins. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that, this was a decent "old-style" Western which benefited by solid performances from both Rory Calhoun and Terry Moore. Along with that, although I would have preferred a slightly different ending, I found the overall story to be fairly enjoyable as well and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.

Santee (Rory Calhoun), a frustrated with his lot in life ranch hand, becomes a bounty hunter when he decides to go after a bank robber with a $3000.00 price on his head. Realizing he has an affinity and skill set for this type work, he sets off chasing down one bad guy after another. Soon he sets his sights even higher when he strikes up a deal with wealthy town big shot Gus Kile (Lon Chaney Jr.) to bring siege upon the neighboring town of Lark so the railroad will divert their planned path to run through Kile's land. In order to decimate the town, Santee buys the local saloon and imports his own band of thugs and saloon girls (Linda Darnell, Bruce Cabot, Richard Arlen) in the hopes of making Lark a crime ridden cesspool. However things go off-kilter when Santee runs into his former fiancee (Terry Moore) who is now married to the local sheriff (James Best).

Pretty typical A. C. Lyles 'second feature' Western. As such Black Spurs had a modest budget with television-like production quality. Much has been made of A. C. Lyles use of superannuated casting in the pursuit of name recognition and that's the case here. Rory Calhoun, even though not an 'old guy', was on the backside of his days as a leading man. Former screen siren Linda Darnell whose career for the previous decade consisted of guest appearances on episodic television, shares lead co-billing with Calhoun but her limited participation in this film amounts to little more than a cameo role in her last screen appearance. Even though past their prime and despite the fading star power, the cast was one of the film's strong points. The story line has an interesting premise but goes off track with characters that are introduced needlessly and subplots that go nowhere but partially saved by director R.G. Springsteen who had done so many of these low budget productions that they could have almost handed him a phone book for a script with passable results.

Black Spurs is a decent flick but suffers in varying degrees from the budget, script and being late in the cycle of the traditional western. By 1965 the Spaghetti Western carried the day at theaters while this type of western had been primarily assigned to network television. Even so, Lyles was able to get a last handful of these old-school westerns made. Some would say with mixed results. Nevertheless western fans may find enough to enjoy here.