Salt Lake Raiders (1950) Allan Lane, Black Jack, Eddy Waller, Roy Barcroft, Martha Hyer Movie Review

Salt Lake Raiders (1950)   3/53/53/53/53/5


Allan Lane in Salt Lake Raiders (1950)

Silver Lane

When Silver City was plagued with violence from Brit Condor and his gang banker John Thornton suggested to the town's folk that he buries their money in his bank and when things calm down they can get what is there's. Unfortunately Thornton ends up being murdered with Fred Mason being discovered standing next to him with a smoking gun in his hand. Years later and with Thornton's daughter living with her guardian, "Nugget" Clark the past is dug up when Mason escapes from prison. Deputy Marshal "Rocky" Lane learns of Mason's escape he heads to Silver City knowing full well he will go looking for the buried money.

Some of Allan Lane's westerns were on the jokey side, often with Eddy Waller in comic sidekick mode as Nugget but occasionally some were more serious and "Salt Lake Raiders" is a more serious one with Nugget actually a stranger to the heroic Rocky Lane. Oh there is still some comedy in this but nowhere near as much as I was expecting and instead there is as close to a dark atmosphere that I have come across in Allan Lane western. That comes from a couple of criminal brothers who are also milling around in the area.

The thing is that whilst "Salt Lake Raiders" has a stronger, darker tone to it there is the old issue that it is built upon the same sort of action and building blocks with lots of westerns were made of. As such the action, the character interactions and of course the reveals are all extremely typical and there is nothing in this to make it stand out from the crowd.

What this all boils down to is that "Salt Lake Raiders" has an interesting side to it with its darker tone but beneath it is the familiar sort of elements which many of Lane's westerns were built upon.


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