A.C. Lyles produced quite a few westerns during the 1960s and they all had low budgets and featured stars who were past their primes. My assumption is that Lyles used these actors because they would work for less and yet added a bit of class to the cheap productions. Here in "Black Spurs", you have Rory Calhoun (in his mid-40s--hence YOUNG for a Lyles western), Lon Chaney Jr., Richard Arlen (who was in EVERY Lyles film--or so it seems), Linda Darnell, Bruce Cabot and Terry Moore--all who had seen better days in their careers.
The film begins with Santee (Calhoun) about to get married. However, when it's announced that a wanted criminal with a bounty on his head is nearby, Santee runs off to catch the guy. After all, the extra money would sure come in handy now that he's marrying. But, when he returns to town, he learns that his fiancée has left--apparently she did not want to be married to some bounty hunter. In reaction, he becomes a super-bounty hunter--making a fortune bringing in the roughest and toughest criminals--and becoming a very hardened man in the process.
A bit later, Santee and a corrupt boss-man (Chaney) come up with a nasty plan--to destroy a nearby town so that the railroad won't go there but instead go to the boss-man's town--thus making him a fortune. Santee's plan is to make the innocent town as unlivable as possible--bringing in gambling, prostitutes and lawlessness. The problem is that the sheriff of this town is the husband of Santee's old fiancée! Is there any decency left within him? Or is this some elaborate plot for personal revenge? This film is very unusual because the leading man is no hero. Being a mercenary man, he's morally ambiguous and not the guy you'd normally expect to see in a leading man! I liked this, as it's NOT a typical sort of western--and about 90% of all westerns are variations on only 3 or 4 plots. This one uses the greedy boss-man plot but with enough changes to make it unique. Well acted and interesting, I'd give this one a 7.
