Trail of the Rustlers (1950)
Director:
Ray Nazarro
Writer:
Victor Arthur
Stars:
Charles Starrett, Gail Davis, Tommy Ivo
Charles Starrett goes up against an entire family of criminals posing as respectable citizens in this entry in Columbia's long-running Durango Kid Western series. When one of the Mahoneys is killed in a jail break, the greedy family frames the masked avenger by having Chick Mahoney (Don Harvey murder rancher Hyland while masquerading as the Kid. The head of the family, Mrs. J.C. Mahoney (Mira McKinney), pretends to comfort the murder victim's children, Mary Ellen (Gail Davis) and young Tod (Tommy Ivo), but her clan is in reality attempting to take over the Hylands' water supply and gain control of the entire valley. Aided by old friend Smiley Burnette, Steve Armitage, aka the Durango Kid (Starrett), manages to convince the Hyland kids of the Mahoney family's treachery, and when the dust settles, the valley is once again safe from Ma Mahoney and her brood.