dfwesley An above average western made so by the inclusion of former stars and a half way satisfactory plot. It was good to see Bruce Cabot, although in the unlikely role as a dance hall bouncer as well as Lon Chaney, Richard Arlen, and Scott Brady. I must admit I had trouble recognizing DeForrest Kelley. Linda Darnell, though having a top billing, had only a minor role.Terry Moore looked positively luscious and half her age. Rory Calhoun turned from negative to positive all too quickly after finding out he had Terry Moore's son. He also made a remarkable recovery after a tremendous brawl with Brady. Emerging without a mark, he claimed he was "beaten half to death". Seeing someone who had been tarred and feathered also was novel. Calhoun rides off into the Great West after announcing that he might become a sheriff somewhere. Black Spurs was entertaining but only because of its well known cast.

bkoganbing Rory Calhoun is a young cowboy who is seeking a career change with upward mobility and big money. His fiancé Terry Moore does not like the fact he wants to be a bounty hunter and leaves him and marries someone else. Years later Calhoun and Moore get reunited sort of when he comes to her town to take it over on behalf of Lon Chaney, Jr. who wants it wild and lawless so the railroad won't use it as a route.The title of the film comes from the first outlaw that Calhoun does in, a gentlemen from Mexico named El Pescador played by Robert Carricart who has a trademark of Black Spurs. When Calhoun shoots Carricart down in a gun duel, he takes the spurs and wears them for himself now.This A.C. Lyles western was the farewell film for Linda Darnell who is second billed though this is distinctly a supporting role. Darnell plays the head of a troupe of saloon girls imported to bring down the town's morals. They look like they know their business. Black Spurs was released posthumously after Darnell died in that tragic house fire.Such A.C. Lyles regulars as Richard Arlen, Bruce Cabot, Scott Brady and DeForest Kelley are in the cast as well. Not the best or the worst of A.C. Lyles geezer westerns, but western fans should be pleased.

alexandre michel liberman (tmwest) Black Spurs was a routine western, but the fact that so many famous veteran actors were in the cast gave it a special interest. Rory Calhoun, Terry Moore, Patricia Owens and DeForest Kelley don't even look old. Linda Darnell, Scott Brady, Lon Chaney Jr, Bruce Cabot and Richard Arlen are all perfect for their parts. The story, about Santee (Calhoun) who becomes a bounty hunter and wears black spurs is very well built up up to the end which I felt could have been better. It is good to see all these actors, the excellent final shootout, and also to enjoy this type of western that used once to be routine but nowadays has disappeared.

phillindholm "Black Spurs" was one of producer A.C. Lyles now famous series of low-budget westerns featuring onetime big names. This one starred Rory Calhoun, Linda Darnell, Terry Moore, Lon Chaney, Bruce Cabot, Scott Brady and Richard Arlen. The supporting cast included future director Jerome Courtland, in his last acting role as a small town newspaper publisher living in sin! The story followed the adventures of an ambitious ranch hand (Calhoun) who deserts his pregnant girlfriend (Moore) for the life of a bounty hunter. Eventually this career demoralizes him to such a degree, that he instigates a plot to corrupt the morals of a small town for a fat fee. Thus, a planned railroad franchise will be diverted to a neighboring town owned by crooked businessman Chaney, who is in on the scheme. Calhoun sends for bouncer Cabot, new Orleans Madam Darnell and her "girls" as well as card sharp Joe Hoover, all of whom trash the town. Not so coincidentally, the sheriff happens to be the husband of Calhoun's former love, Moore. What happens is not what one might expect. Sadly, the film was Linda Darnell's last screen appearance. She died in an accidental house fire before it was released. And for many, the sight of the once gorgeous actress looking bloated and middle aged was not a pretty one. She did, however, turn in a reliably good performance, as did her co-stars, and Black Spurs remains an enjoyable nostalgia fest, one of Lyles' best.