Quantrill's Raiders (1958)

Information from IMDb

Plot Summary
Confederate Captain Alan Westcott, posing as a horse supplier for the army,
is ordered to infiltrate the Union lines and contact William Quantrill to arrange a raid
on the arsenal at Lawrence, Kansas.
Westcott meets and falls in love with Sue Walters.
Westcott's activities and associations begin to cause the Union vigilante committee
to become suspicious of him, and he moves quickly in utilizing the Quantrill raiders.
After laying their plans to attack Lawrence,
Westcott learns that the arsenal is being moved out by wagon trail.
He calls off the attack on Lawrence in favor of attacking the wagon train,
but Quantrill pulls a treacherous double-cross and rides into
Lawrence on a personal mission of bloodshed, murder and looting.
Written by Les Adams <

Full Cast
Steve Cochran ... Captain Alan 'Wes' Westcott
Diane Brewster ... Sue Walters
Leo Gordon ... William Clarke Quantrill
Gale Robbins ... Kate
Will Wright ... Judge Wood
Kim Charney ... Joel
Myron Healey ... Jarrett
Robert Foulk ... Hager
Glenn Strange ... Todd
Lane Chandler ... Sheriff
Guy Prescott ... Major Mathews
Thomas Browne Henry ... Griggs (as Thomas B. Henry)
Dan White ... Fred Thomas
Robert Colbert ... Union Soldier (uncredited)
Jerado Decordovier ... Grey Bear (uncredited)
Paul Fierro ... Tall Deer (uncredited)
Raymond Greenleaf ... General (uncredited)
Tom Lockwood ... Young Officer (uncredited)
John Mitchum ... Sergeant (uncredited)
Al Wyatt Sr. ... Minor Role (uncredited)

Writing Credits
Polly James (story and screenplay)

Original Music
Marlin Skiles

Cinematography
William P. Whitley

Goofs
Anachronisms
At several times during the film, characters are seen
carrying the Colt Single Action Army Revolver (better known as the "Peacemaker").
This weapon was not manufactured until the 1870s, years after the end of the American Civil War.

Filming Locations
Unknown

Quantrill's Raiders is a 1958 movie, focusing on the raid on Lawrence.
Directed by Edwards Bernds, it stars
Steve Cochran, Diane Brewster and Leo Gordon

User Review

Quote

Very average western that revises history
19 September 2005 | by Marlburian (United Kingdom)

This film struck a chord because when I was a child in the 1950s
the local newspaper billed it as "Quantrilla Raider".
I tried to see as many Westerns as possible, but missed out because of school.
Little did I know that decades later it, and many other 1950s films, would be shown on TV.

Leo Gordon is one of my favourite "character actors" and as Quantrill
he adds a nervous edge to his usual tough-guy acting.
Steve Cochran makes a bland hero, and it seems strange
that in civilian clothes he wears distinctive striped trousers,
almost military, even when he's masked his face for a hold-up.

The biggest letdown is the raid on Lawrence,
which is depicted as an ineffectual charge or two.
Even by Hollywood's usual standards when it comes to revising history,
especially that of the West, the audacity in changing the facts is astonishing.

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