'NEATH THE ARIZONA SKIES (1934) John Wayne, Sheila Terry & Shirley Rickert | Western | B&W

'Neath the Arizona Skies is a 1934 Western film directed by Harry L. Fraser, produced by Lone Star Productions, released by Monogram Pictures and starring John Wayne. Wayne's character attempts to locate a little girl's father, so that she may claim a $50,000 Indian oil claim. The film co-stars Sheila Terry and Shirley Jean Rickert.

SYNOPSIS
A cowboy escorts a little girl, whose mother made her the heir of a cash-able oil company, and must protect her from an outlaw as they search for the girl's father.

Chris Morrell (Wayne) is the surrogate father of Nina, a young Indian girl who is a U.S. government ward because her father left her mother before birth and her mother died in childbirth. An oil strike makes Nina's mother's Indian oil land lease worth $50,000, which Morrell will get to take care of Nina if he can find her father and have him sign guardianship papers (or prove the father is dead).

Minions of Sam Black (Canutt), the local outlaw ringleader, hear about the oil land claim and Black determines to collect it. The gang comes to take Nina from Morrell, but Morrell escapes with her. He sends her off on horseback to his friend Bud Moore's ranch while he deals with the outlaws, eventually stampeding their horses away. He makes his getaway but collapses in exhaustion near a brook. Nina arrives at the ranch only to discover Bud Moore died the year before.

Vic goes to town and robs $6,000 from a local businessman with the help of Bud Moore's brother, Jim. During his escape, Jim happens upon Morrell collapsed from exhaustion, and swaps clothes with him to deflect suspicion. Also riding home from town, Moore's sister Clara (Terry) discovers the passed out Morrell in the clothes she had heard the local businessman describe as being worn by the robber. She revives him though she is suspicious of him and ties him up beforehand. When she learns he is Bud's friend, she frees him and takes him to her homestead, where he runs into Jim and recognizes him as the man that took his clothes, and therefore is the robber.

Vic and Jim go to retrieve the robbed money from the stump where Jim hid it and come across the stampeded horses of Sam Black and his gang. They gather the horses and when they run across a gang member, they ask to be led to Sam Black. Vic offers to turn Nina over to Black in exchange for $10,000 and Morrell's murder, to which Black readily agrees. Meanwhile, Morrell happens upon Matt, who tells him Nina is at the ranch with her father Tom, and the two ride off together. Jim leads Vic to the hidden money, where Vic shoots him and takes off with the cash. Morrell and Matt see Vic ride away and discover the bleeding Jim, who tells them Vic is going to the ranch to get Nina to turn over to Sam Black. Black's gang arrives at Clara's homestead looking for Morrell, and when she says he is not there, they force Clara to go with them.

Immediately after, Sam Black's gang arrives, and a shoot-out breaks out with Morrell, Tom and Nina taking cover in a cabin while Black and his gang retreat to the ranch house, which is close enough that they continue to shoot at each other. At a break in the shooting, Morrell and Tom realize they have only one bullet left and conspire about how to use it. Not knowing that, Black yells out to offer to trade Clara for Nina. Morrell offers himself instead, and they agree Morrell and Clara will walk past each other through the courtyard between the house and the cabin. The two start off, Morrell giving Tom a final instruction as he leaves to "be sure and use that last bullet right". After Morrell and Clara pass each other, Tom shoots the gun, and Morrell grunts and drops to the dirt.

As Black makes his escape, his horse falls (apparently with both Nina and he on top, but it is painfully obvious there is no girl actually there), and Black jumps back on (again, with no girl anywhere to be seen!) and rides off as Morrell pursues.

CAST & CREW
John Wayne as Chris Morrell
Sheila Terry as Clara Moore
Shirley Jean Rickert as Nina (credited as Shirley Jane Rickert)
Jack Rockwell as Vic Byrd
Yakima Canutt as Sam Black
Harry L. Fraser as henchman in the brush (credited as Weston Edwards)
Jay Wilsey as Jim Moore (credited as Buffalo Bill Jr.)
Philip Kieffer as Jameson Hodges (credited as Phil Keefer)
Earl Dwire as Tom
George "Gabby" Hayes as Matt Downing (uncredited)

Directed by Harry L. Fraser
Written by Burl R. Tuttle
Produced by Paul Malvern for Lone Star Productions
Cinematography Archie Stout
Edited by Charles J. Hunt
Music by Billy Barber
Distributed by Monogram Pictures Corporation
Release date December 5, 1934
Running time 52 minutes
Country United States
Language English

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