The Plunderers

The Plunderers has Rod Cameron on detached duty pretending to be an outlaw. His mission is to get outlaw Forrest Tucker who's been causing such mayhem in the territory that the army has an interest in his capture, conviction, and execution.

To establish his credentials with Tucker, a fake killing of sheriff George Cleveland is carried out and that does put him in solid with Tucker. It also puts him in solid with Tucker's girlfriend Lorna Gray and her companion Ilona Massey. By the way Massey looks completely lost in a western. Maybe Herbert J. Yates had Vera Hruba Ralston shooting another picture at Republic.

There's a nicely staged Sioux attack as a climax where both Cameron and Tucker find out who's been selling rifles to the Sioux. Selling weaponry to the Indians is a cardinal sin in all western films.

Yates put a bit more budget into this western than normal, possibly thinking that Cameron, Tucker or both might be a breakout star from the B westerns. Of course that never happened as it did with John Wayne. It should have had a better story with better drawn characters. Paul Fix for instance when we first meet him is a back shooting rat. For no apparent reason he becomes downright noble in the end.

Not the best western Yates ever turned out of his horse opera factory.