Review of The Night Riders

One of 51 westerns by Republic. in the late '30s and early '40s under the banner of the 3 mesquiteers: a combination of mesquite and musketeers. The identity of the 3 actors varied. John Wayne was in only 8, including this one. With a run time of only 55 min., it packs in a lot of scheming and action. It's an early example of the directing of B westerns by George Sherman. He would eventually move to Columbia, and then to Universal, always almost exclusively directing B westerns. Here, Wayne, as Stony, Ray Corrigan, as Tucson, and Max Trehune as Lullaby are the 3Ms. The latter occasionally got out his dummy, Elmer, to practice his ventriloquism........ The plot involves the forging of a fraudulent land grant issued by the Spanish crown in the 18th century, and the fraudulent claim of being a direct descendent of the grantee, by an ex-con and gambler: Talbot(George Douglas), who acts as the puppet for the forger: Hazelton(Walter Wills acts as the Baron's beautiful wife.). Soledad(Doreen McKay). This grant is said to involve 13 million acres somewhere in the West. This may sound preposterous, but it's clear that this story is based upon the historical Peralta land grant fraud, in which James Addison Reaves devised a fraudulent land claim issued by the Spanish crown This involved 12 million acres(close to the stated 13 million acres in this film) in central Arizona and New Mexico.. This story is told more accurately in the 1950 "Baron of Arizona".......Here, Talbot as 'Baron' de Serrano, soon begins evicting settlers for inability to pay his exorbitant rent or fees for use of certain internal improvements. The #Ms are booted out of the ranch house. They send a letter of complaint to President Garfield, who replies that he can do nothing unless it can be proven that the Baron has done something illegal. Thus, the 3Ms decide to become secret vigilantes, wearing white capes and hoods .(Unfortunately, they look disturbingly like the getups typically worn by the KKK: another vigilante group). They were soon referred to as Los Capequeros. They rode around looking for the Baron's rent and fee collectors, to rob and give the money to those immediately threatened with eviction. Thus, they were like a mix of Zorro and Robin Hood. During a period, they even masqueraded as henchmen for the Baron's posse looking for them. Eventually, they are found out, and sentenced to death by a firing squad organized by the sheriff. Fortunately, the sheriff in on their side, and the Baron doesn't stay to watch the proceedings. WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD! The sheriff puts blanks in the rifles and fakes their deaths. Assuming them dead, a large mob of townies heads for the Baron's hacienda, ready to string him up. The 3Ms ride out to the hacienda, and go around back to avoid the mob seeing them. They climb up from their horses and enter via a window. They stick up the frightened Baron, Soledad, and Hazleton. Hazleton confesses that he was the mastermind and maker of the fraud. Wayne tells them they won't reveal to the mob that they are alive until Hazleton and Talbot sign a paper confessing they are frauds.....Perhaps the film should have been titled "Day Riders", as they did most of their riding by day, when the rent collectors were active, and so as to distinguish them from certain other more violent vigilante groups sometimes referred to as the Night Riders. ...See it at YouTube.