Cave of Outlaws

Cave of Outlaws (1951)

** (out of 4)

Technicolor Western set in 1880 finds a gang of outlaws robbing a train full of gold and hiding it in a cave. Before they can leave the cave all are killed with the exception of teenager Pete Carver. After fifteen years in prison, Pete (MacDonald Carey) is released and heads back to the territory where the cave is located only to learn that it's now a booming town due to copper being found in the mines. The good news is that the money was never discovered but now Pete must try and outsmart a few other bad guys who have their own plans for the money. It's amazing that someone like William Castle can remain so popular yet very few of his films are actually viewed by people. It seems most either never knew he had a career before his Horror pictures or perhaps they just don't care. As I slowly go through his Westerns it's clear that he was certainly a director-for-hire as his quick shooting and under budget reputation certainly got him hired to do this film. There's nothing overly horrible about this film but at the same time there's nothing good either. I think a lot of the problem is the screenplay, which gives us a fairly interesting idea but very little is ever done with it. Once Pete arrives back to town we get the typical bad guys following him and the typical women wanting him. There' some mild comic stuff dealing with every store owner giving him an unlimited line of credit because they think he knows where the money is but not enough is done with this. Castle handles the opening robbery pretty well but the rest of the film is rather lifeless. There's not too much energy in any of the scenes and the ending seems more fashioned for a comic book than an actual film. Carey isn't the most entertaining leading men and Alexis Smith doesn't get too much to do either. Edgar Buchanan, Hugh O'Brian and Hugh Sanders aren't too bad in their supporting roles but the screenplay does them no favors. There's some decent cinematography and fans of Universal's horror films will notice that a lot of the stock music is carried over here. If you close you eyes throughout the film you'll think you're watching ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN considering the scores. In the end, it's pretty hard to recommend this movie to anyone outside of someone like me who just wants to go through the director's entire career.

Cave of Outlaws is directed by William Castle and written by Elizabeth Wilson. It stars MacDonald Carey, Alexis Smith, Edgar Buchanan, Victor Jory, Hugh O'Brian and Houseley Stevenson. A Technicolor production out of Universal International Pictures, with music scored by Joseph Gershenson and cinematography by Irving Glassberg.

1895 and Pete Carver (Carey) is released from Kansas State Prison, he is the only survivor of a gold robbery 15 years earlier that saw his father killed in caves near Cooper Bend, Arizona. The gold was never recovered, and now Carver is back in Copper Bend, and this place, its inhabitants, are about to be privy to greed, treachery and murderous secrets of the past.

William Castle was 7 years away from making his lasting mark on cinema, where his scare tactic gimmicks used to accompany his horror movies ensured him a lasting reputation as a showman producer with tactical nous. Prior to this he was a jobbing director, churning out a number of low rank and file pictures that are rarely mentioned and mostly forgotten about. The odd one, mind, is worthy of spending time with on a Sunday afternoon. One such film is Cave of Outlaws, a Western that certainly doesn't shake the earth or raise the pulse considerably, but has enough interesting locales and quality of story to render it as watchable fodder for the B Western fan.

Standard formula applies here, man has mission to accomplish, gold is the route of all evil, pretty girl offers hope of romantic redemption, but villains and the law are spoiling the broth. There's no great stand out action sequences, but they are well handled by the director and stunt men, with a couple of good old fist fights to brighten the day. The Technicolor print is nice and with Glassberg and Castle making great use of the eerie Carlsbad Caverns and the lovely exteriors at Vasquez Rocks, picture is always pleasing on the eye. Cast are modest, but nothing to annoy or hinder, though it's unusual to see Buchanan turn in an average portrayal. 6/10

I wasn't going to bother with this minor western but for the fact that it was being shown on a wet afternoon. In the event I'm glad that I did watch it as it was quite good. The caves provided a realistic and novel setting for many scenes, and the colour generally throughout the film was good. And when people got wounded they bled, unlike in many westerns of this period when a man is shot in the chest but continues to wear a spotless shirt! The spanking scene that has been mentioned in the trivia section was omitted from the version I saw, perhaps because what audiences in the 1950s thought was harmless fun has more in the way of sexual implications sixty years later.

Macdonald Carey (a cut-price Gregory Peck, with a slight facial resemblance to the more famous star) was just about adequate, and Edgar Buchanan wasn't as gruff as usual.

B-Horror Huckster Icon William Castle Directed this, aside from the Unusual Cave Scenes, Average Western Story about Hidden Treasure and the Lust for Gold.

Macdonald Carey Looks more like a "Dude" then a Man who Spent the Last 15 Years in Prison.

When He is Released, Returns to the Scene of the Crime and the Town-Folks Fawn at His Feet.

Because, Supposedly, He knows where the Gold from the Robbery that sent Him to Prison is Hidden.

You Guessed it...In the Cave.

It's all Rather Far-Fetched and Less than Engaging and is Staged Without much Flare.

The Highlights are "The Cave", of course, but Also Alexis Smith and Her Stunning Wardrobe and Edgar Buchanan Against Type as a Sober Agent.

Watchable but Unremarkable, Except for the Odd Cave Scenes.

The Rest is Ho-Hum Action with Ho-Hum Results.

I always think that this western belongs to the Columbia period of director William Castle, under of course the tyranny of the gruesome Sam Katzman; this sinister producer who oversaw many William Castle's westerns and adventure movies and so, this one could have perfectly been a Columbia one. But Castle worked for Universal studios before Columbia; however, for Universal, he mostly gave us crime thrillers instead of westerns. This explains why I thought this one was a Columbia film. Well, Macdonald Carey is not the best lead character ever for a western, though here he is OK enough to be convincing in this role. Good B western from a director whose filmography will always remains interesting to wath or re watch.