The Purple Vigilantes

The Purple Vigilantes
The Purple Vigilantes
	Theatrical release poster
Directed by	George Sherman
Written by	William Colt MacDonald
Screenplay by	Betty Burbridge; Oliver Drake;
Produced by	Sol C. Siegel
Starring	Robert Livingston; Ray Corrigan; Max Terhune;
Cinematography	Ernest Miller
Edited by	Lester Orlebeck
Music by	Alberto Colombo
Distributed by	Republic Pictures
Release date	January 24, 1938;
Running time	58 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

The Purple Vigilantes is a 1938 American Western film directed by George Sherman and starring Robert Livingston, Ray Corrigan, and Max Terhune. Written by Betty Burbridge and Oliver Drake, the film is about a rancher who organizes other ranchers to form a vigilante group in order to rid their town of outlaws. After the outlaws are defeated, some of the men, posing as the vigilant group, go on a crime spree. The Purple Vigilantes is the 12th entry in the Three Mesquiteers series of B-movies produced by Republic Pictures.^[1] The film was released in the United Kingdom as Purple Riders because at that time the word "vigilante" was unknown in Britain.^[2]

John Denvir, in his book, Legal Reelism: Movies as Legal Texts, compared the hooded-and-robed vigilantes in the film to the Ku Klux Klan. He cited The Purple Vigilantes as being "the series western most clearly inspired by the Klan", noting that the film was "treating its hooded terrorist organization as originally serving a legitimate purpose but corrupted over time."^[3]

Cast

Robert Livingston as Stony Brooke
Ray Corrigan as Tucson Smith
Max Terhune as Lullaby Joslin
Joan Barclay as Jean McAllister
Earl Dwire as David Ross
Earle Hodgins as J. T. McAllister
Francis Sayles as Wiliam Jones
George Chesebro as Eggers
Robert Fiske as George Drake
Jack Perrin as Duncan
Ernie Adams as Blake
William Gould as Jenkins, Saloon Owner
Harry Strang as Murphy
Ed Cassidy as Sheriff Jim (as Edward Cassidy)

References

^ "The Three Mesquiteers Republic Pictures". b-westerns.com. Retrieved August 29, 2011.
^ Hardy, Phil (1997). The BFI Companion to Crime. A&C Black. p. 340. ISBN 9780304332151. Retrieved October 10, 2017.
^ Denvir, John (1996). Legal Reelism: Movies as Legal Texts. University of Illinois Press. p. 68. ISBN 9780252065354. Retrieved October 10, 2017.

External links

[b-westerns-1] "The Three Mesquiteers Republic Pictures". b-westerns.com. Retrieved August 29, 2011.

[2] Hardy, Phil (1997). The BFI Companion to Crime. A&C Black. p. 340. ISBN 9780304332151. Retrieved October 10, 2017.

[3] Denvir, John (1996). Legal Reelism: Movies as Legal Texts. University of Illinois Press. p. 68. ISBN 9780252065354. Retrieved October 10, 2017.

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v t e The Three Mesquiteers films
1936	The Three Mesquiteers Ghost-Town Gold Roarin' Lead
1937	Riders of the Whistling Skull Hit the Saddle Gunsmoke Ranch Come on, Cowboys Range Defenders Heart of the Rockies The Trigger Trio Wild Horse Rodeo
1938	The Purple Vigilantes Call the Mesquiteers Outlaws of Sonora Riders of the Black Hills Heroes of the Hills Pals of the Saddle Overland Stage Raiders Santa Fe Stampede Red River Range
1939	The Night Riders Three Texas Steers Wyoming Outlaw New Frontier The Kansas Terrors Cowboys from Texas
1940	Heroes of the Saddle Pioneers of the West Covered Wagon Days Rocky Mountain Rangers Oklahoma Renegades Under Texas Skies The Trail Blazers Lone Star Raiders
1941	Prairie Pioneers Pals of the Pecos Saddlemates Gangs of Sonora Outlaws of Cherokee Trail Gauchos of Eldorado West of Cimarron
1942	Code of the Outlaw Raiders of the Range Westward Ho The Phantom Plainsmen Shadows on the Sage Valley of Hunted Men
1943	Thundering Trails The Blocked Trail Santa Fe Scouts Riders of the Rio Grande