The Outriders is a 1950 American Western film directed by Roy Rowland and starring Joel McCrea.
Plot
With the Civil War nearing an end, rebel soldiers Will Owen, Jesse Wallace, and Clint Priest escape from a Union stockade in Missouri. A bandit leader and Confederate sympathizer, Keeley, recruits them to join a wagon train run by Don Chaves that is carrying a million dollars' worth of gold bullion.
The men see it as a chance to help the South and also profit. Don Chaves is suspicious of them, but permits them to be outriders, accompanying the wagon train but staying 200 yards from the others. Apaches attack and the three men help fend them off, gaining the Don's trust.
The beautiful widow Jen Gort attracts the interest of Will and Jesse, who have a falling-out. She is escorting teenaged Roy, her young brother-in-law, who is eager to prove his courage to the older men by fighting Indians by their side. The boy ends up inadvertently causing a stampede, however, then drowns while attempting to cross a raging river.
News comes that the war is over. Because of that, plus his love for Jen and admiration for the Don, the robbery no longer interests Will, but Jesse is determined to go through with it so that he and Keeley can split the money. A gunfight ends in Jesse's death; Will and Jen can go on with their lives.
Cast
Joel McCrea as Will Owen
Arlene Dahl as Jen Gort
Barry Sullivan as Jesse Wallace
Claude Jarman, Jr. as Roy Gort
James Whitmore as Clint Priest
Ramon Novarro as Don Antonio Chaves
Jeff Corey as Keeley
Ted de Corsia as Bye
Martin Garralaga as Father Damasco
Harry Tenbrook as Prisoner (uncredited)
Production
Parts of the film were shot in Duck Creek, Aspen Mirror Lake, Strawberry Valley, Paria, Long Valley, and Asay Creek in Utah.
Reception
According to MGM records the movie earned $1,540,000 in the US and Canada and $639,000 elsewhere, making a loss to the studio of $497,000.
Dennis Schwartz gave the film a positive review and found the film "a well-acted conventional Western directed in a workmanlike way by Roy Rowland".