''The Cimarron Kid'' is a 1952 American

western film The Western is a film genre defined by the American Film Institute as films which are "set in the American West that mbodythe spirit, the struggle, and the demise of the new frontier." Generally set in the American frontier between the Calif ...

directed by

Budd Boetticher Oscar Boetticher Jr. ( ; July 29, 1916 – November 29, 2001), known as Budd Boetticher, was an American film director. He is best remembered for a series of low-budget Westerns he made in the late 1950s starring Randolph Scott. Early life Boet ...

and starring

Audie Murphy Audie Leon Murphy (20 June 1925 – 28 May 1971) was an American soldier, actor, and songwriter. He was widely celebrated as the most decorated American combat soldier of World War II, and has been described as the most highly decorated enli ...

, Beverly Tyler and Yvette Duguay. It was produced and distributed by

Universal Pictures Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...

Plot

Bill Doolin (Audie Murphy) is released from jail and is going home on the train when it is held up by his boyhood friends, the

Dalton Gang The Dalton Gang was a group of outlaws in the American Old West during 1890–1892. It was also known as The Dalton Brothers because three of its members were brothers. The gang specialized in bank and train robberies. During an attempted doub ...

. Doolin finds himself accused of helping the crime and winds up an outlaw. Doolin rides to the Dalton gang hideout. The Daltons want him to join their gang. They are planning to rob 2 banks in Coffeyville at the same time. Doolin agrees to go with them. Doolin enters one of the banks with two of the gang members. Meanwhile, Bob Dalton enters the other bank. However someone enters the bank and runs out to warn the town. The shooting starts and most of the 6 gang members are killed. Only 2, Bill and Bitter Creek, get back to the hideaway. A manhunt ensues for the remaining gang members. The gang meet at Pat Roberts’ place. Red Buck wants to go back to Coffeyville and try to rob the banks again. Bill refuses and the rest of the gang members agree with him. Swanson and Marshall Sutton arrive at Roberts’ house and the marshall searches the barn and knows they're hiding in there. The marshall and Swanson leave. Bill decides they have to leave there. He talks with Carrie Roberts and she tells him he's headed to death on a dark road. She tells him she and her dad often go to Boonsville and maybe she'll see him there. The gang continues to rob banks. Rose gathers information in Boonsville and passes it to Bitter. Carrie arrives and greets Bill. They are followed by 2 agents. Pat Roberts arrives and covers for them so the agents think they have the wrong man. The gang is pursued by the law. They go to Stacey's home and hide there. They fall into a trap and are surrounded by the law. They escape via the entrance to the trains. Bill is shot and will recover. Carrie and Stacey arrive. Carrie and Bill are left alone. She tells him to cross the border and send for her. He refuses. Dynamite, who survived the earlier fall into the water, returns and advises he knows of a gold shipment they can steal worth $100,000. Bill wants to talk to George Weber who told Dynamite about this. Dynamite brings George to the hideout. They send Rose to Dallas to check out George's story. She talks with some people who know George. They confirm he works for the railroad. Bill and Dynamite board the train with the gold on board. They throw off the gold and Bitter grabs it but is killed by the law. As the train approaches the next drop off, they drop the gold. Will Dalton approaches it and is killed. Rose sends a telegram to George at the next train stop advising Bitter Creek was killed. He tries to hide it but Bill reads it and knows they've been betrayed by Dynamite and George. Dynamite shoots George, aiming for Bill. Bill wounds Dynamite and forces him to pick up the gold at the next stop. Dynamite is killed and Bill escapes. Bill returns for Carrie to ask her to cross the border with him. Pat objects as Carrie won't be safe. Bill and Carrie go to the barn, where the marshall is waiting. Bill is arrested and realizes Pat and Carrie turned him in. Pat tells him to serve his time and Carrie will be there for him. Bill leaves with marshall after he and Carrie embrace. Rose tells her she is lucky because Bill is still alive.

Cast

as Bill Doolin / the Cimarron Kid * Beverly Tyler as Carrie Roberts * James Best as Bitter Creek Dalton * Yvette Duguay as Rose (as Yvette Dugay) *

John Hudson John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second Ep ...

as Dynamite Dick Dalton *

Hugh O'Brian Hugh O'Brian (born Hugh Charles Krampe; April 19, 1925 – September 5, 2016) was an American actor and humanitarian, best known for his starring roles in the American Broadcasting Company, ABC Western (genre), Western television series ' ...

as Red Buck *

Roy Roberts Roy Roberts (born Roy Barnes Jones; March 19, 1906 – May 28, 1975) was an American character actor. Over his more than 40-year career, he appeared in more than nine hundred productions on stage and screen. Life and career Born in Tamp ...

as Pat Roberts * David Bauer as Sam Swanson (as David Wolfe) * Noah Beery Jr. as Bob Dalton * Leif Erickson as Marshal John Sutton * John Hubbard as George Weber * Frank Silvera as Stacey Marshall * William Reynolds as Will Dalton *

Gregg Palmer Palmer Edwin Lee (January 25, 1927 – October 31, 2015), known by his stage name Gregg Palmer, was an American film and television actor. He was known for playing Tom McLowery in the final season of the American Western (genre), western televis ...

as Grat Dalton

Production

The film was based on a story by Louis Stevens. It was assigned to producer Ted Richmond at Universal for Audie Murphy in April 1951. It was the first Western from

, who later became famous for his work in the genre.Budd Boetticher: The Last Interview Wheeler, Winston Dixon. Film Criticism; Meadville Vol. 26, Iss. 3, (Spring 2002): 52-0_3. “I became a Western director because they thought I looked like one and they thought I rode better than anyone else," said Boetticher later. "And I didn't know anything about the West.” It was also the director's first film in color and his first under a long-term contract with Universal Pictures. In the original script, Murphy's character died at the end of the movie, but the studio decided to change it to reflect the actor's rising popularity.Don Graham, ''No Name on the Bullet: The Biography of Audie Murphy'', Penguin, 1989 p 224 The railroad scenes were filmed on the

Sierra Railroad The Sierra Railroad Corporation is a privately owned common carrier. Its Sierra Northern Railway freight division handles all freight operations for all branches owned by the Sierra Railroad. The company's Mendocino Railway group operates t ...

Tuolumne County, California Tuolumne County (), officially the County of Tuolumne, is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 55,620. The county seat and only incorpora ...

References

External links

* * *
Review of film
at ''Variety'' 1952 films 1952 Western (genre) films Films directed by Budd Boetticher American Western (genre) films Universal Pictures films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films English-language Western (genre) films {{1950s-US-Western-film-stub

Plot

Cast

Production

See also

References

External links