''Empty Holsters'' is a 1937 American

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

film directed by B. Reeves Eason and written by John T. Neville. The film stars

Dick Foran John Nicholas "Dick" Foran (June 18, 1910 – August 10, 1979) was an American actor and singer, known for his performances in Western musicals and for playing supporting roles in dramatic pictures. He appeared in dozens of movies of every ...

, Patricia Walthall,

Emmett Vogan Charles Emmett Vogan (September 27, 1893 – October 6, 1969) was an American actor with almost 500 film appearances from 1934 to 1954, making him, along with Bess Flowers, one of the most prolific film actors of all time. In 1913, Vogan ...

Glenn Strange George Glenn Strange (August 16, 1899 – September 20, 1973) was an American actor who appeared in hundreds of Western (genre), Western films. He played Sam Noonan, the bartender on Columbia Broadcasting System, CBS's ''Gunsmoke'' televisio ...

, Anderson Lawler and

Wilfred Lucas Wilfred Van Norman Lucas (January 30, 1871 – December 13, 1940) was a Canadian American stage actor who found success in film as an actor, director, and screenwriter. Early life Lucas was born in Norfolk County, Ontario on January 30, 1871,US ...

. The film was released by

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

on July 10, 1937.

Plot

In the

Old West The American frontier, also known as the Old West, and popularly known as the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that bega ...

, cowhands Clay Brent and Tex Roberts work for rancher Tom Raines. Raines fires Tex after mistakenly becoming the brunt of a practical joke. Clay competes with bar owner Ace Cain for the affections of Judy Ware, who has no interest in Cain. Local banker John Ware, Judy's father, turns Cain down for a loan to buy a ranch. To get Clay out of his way, Cain and his henchmen, Cutter Smith and Buck McGovern, falsely accuse Clay of a stagecoach holdup. Cain kills the driver and the guard (one of whom is the sheriff's brother) and steals its cargo of gold coins. Cutter and Buck report Clay is responsible for the murder and robbery. Clay is convicted and sentenced to ten years in state prison. A model prisoner, Clay is paroled after five years, and returns to his old job with Raines where Clay is reunited with his horse, Smokey, who had run off. Clay reports to the sheriff who seizes his guns, telling Clay "empty holsters" is a condition of his parole. Clay's father, who runs a saddle shop, tells Clay that Cain now owns "just about everything" in town and Tex has joined up with his gang. Clay notices that a saddle his father was making for Cain has a gold coin woven into the leather that matches the gold coins stolen from the stage robbery. Clay goes to Judy's house where he overhears an argument between Cain and Judy in which Cain threatens Judy and her father. Clay intervenes and kicks Cain out of the house; but, Cain learns of Clay's discovery of the stolen coins. Cain returns to his office and instructs Cutter to ambush Clay. During a skirmish, Smokey attacks Cutter, who injures his arm. Cain falsely tells the sheriff that Clay provoked the fight with Cutter and that the coins in Mr. Brent's possession are evidence of Mr. Brent's complicity in the robbery. The gang contacts U.S. Marshal Billy O'Neill and falsely accuse Clay. O'Neill arrests Clay for violating his parole. Tex, disgruntled with following Cain, arrives, knocks O'Neill unconscious, and frees Clay. Clay visits Cutter at the doctor's office and leverages Cutter's injury to force his confession that Cain committed both murders and the robbery of the gold coins. The sheriff musters a posse to find Clay. While the sheriff is away, Cain plans to steal all the money in town and skip out. Tex reports the plan to Clay who hurries to John Ware's bank. The sheriff goes to Raines' ranch searching for Clay and Tex. Tex arrives and explains to the sheriff that Clay is innocent. The sheriff's posse and Raines' hands ride off with Tex to find Cain. Cain and his gang begin their assault, starting with John Ware's bank, where Judy and her father are hiding Clay. Clay breaks cover and a gunfight ensues inside the bank. The posse arrives to subdue Cain and his men. The sheriff tells Clay he can have his guns back. Clay and Judy ride off as Clay sings "The Prairie Is My Home."

Cast

as Clay Brent * Patricia Walthall as Judy Ware *

as Ace Cain *

as Tex Roberts (billed as Glen Strange) * Anderson Lawler as Buck McGovern *

as John Ware * Tom Brower as Dad Brent *

George Chesebro George Newell Chesebro (July 29, 1888 – May 28, 1959) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 400 films between 1915 and 1954. He was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota and died in Los Angeles, California. Partial filmography * ''Mi ...

as Cutter Smith * Charles Le Moyne as Tom Raines *

Edmund Cobb Edmund Fessenden Cobb (June 23, 1892 – August 15, 1974) was an American actor who appeared in more than 620 films between 1912 and 1966. Biography Cobb was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the son of William Henry Cobb and Eddie (Edmun ...

as Sheriff Cal Hardin *

J. P. McGowan John Paterson McGowan (February 24, 1880 – March 26, 1952) was a pioneering Hollywood actor and director and occasionally a screenwriter and producer. McGowan remains the only Australian to have been made a life member of the Screen Directors ...

as U.S. Marshal Billy O'Neill *

Milton Kibbee Milton Kibbee (born Milne Bryan Kibbee;"Obituaries: Milne B. Kibbee"

as Jim Hall *

Earl Dwire Earl Dwire (October 3, 1883 – January 16, 1940), born Earl Dean Dwire, was an American character actor who appeared in more than 150 movies between 1921 and his death in 1940. Biography Dwire acted for three years in stock theater with c ...

as Dr. J.M. 'Doc' Eagan *

Henry Otho Henry Otho (February 6, 1888 – June 6, 1940) was an American actor. He has worked in ''The Big Stampede'' (1932), ''Mary Stevens'' (1933), '' Hard to Handle'' (1933), ''The Mayor of Hell'' (1933), ''Baby Face'' (1933), ''Mandalay'' (1934), '' ...

as Charlie

References

External links

* * * {{B. Reeves Eason 1937 films American Western (genre) films 1937 Western (genre) films Warner Bros. films Films directed by B. Reeves Eason American black-and-white films 1930s English-language films 1930s American films English-language Western (genre) films Films scored by Howard Jackson (composer)