| The Vigilante | |
|---|---|
 Movie Poster | |
| Directed by | Wallace Fox |
| Written by | Lewis Clay Arthur Hoerl George H. Plympton |
| Based on | |
| Produced by | Sam Katzman |
| Starring | Ralph Byrd Ramsay Ames Lyle Talbot George Offerman Jr. |
| Cinematography | Ira H. Morgan |
| Edited by | Earl Turner |
| Color process | Black and white |
Production company | Columbia Pictures |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 285 minutes (15 chapters) |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The Vigilante, marketed asThe Vigilante: Fighting Hero of the West, is a 1947 AmericanWesternfilm serial directed byWallace Fox. The 33rd serial released byColumbia Pictures, it was based on the comic book cowboyVigilante, who first appeared inAction Comics, published byDC Comics. It starsRalph Byrd, well known for his central role in theDick Tracy serials. It was his last serial appearance.
The Vigilante, a masked government agent, is assigned to investigate the case of the "100 Tears of Blood", a cursed string of rare blood-red pearls sought by a gang led by the unknownX-1 that may have been smuggled into the country.
Greg Sanders, in his civilian guise as an actor, is filming a western on George Pierce's ranch. Pierce is a wealthy rancher and nightclub owner. When Prince Hamil arrives at the ranch, he gives a horse each to Sanders, Pierce, Captain Reilly, Tex Collier, and Betty Winslow, but an outlaw gang soon attacks, attempting to steal all five horses. It turns out that each horse has twenty of the pearls hidden in their shoes (five in each) in secret compartments. Edging closer, Sanders learns that Hamil's servant stole the diamonds from his master and smuggled them in on the horses with the intention of passing them on toX-1.
The Vigilante was originally a comic book character whose first appearance was inAction Comics (issue #42, November 1941).[1] He was a singing-cowboy radio performer who doubled as a motorcycle-riding crime-fighter along with a pre-teen Chinese boy, Stuff the Chinatown Kid.
In the serial version, Stuff became a white, draft-agesidekick played by George Offerman Jr. Ralph Byrd was cast as the Vigilante. Director Wallace Fox makes a cameo appearance as the director filming Greg Sanders' film at George Pierce's ranch.
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