The Outriders

The Outriders is a 1950 American Western film directed by Roy Rowland and starring Joel McCrea. Plot With the Civil War nearing an end, rebel soldiers Will Owen, Jesse Wallace, and Clint Priest escape from a Union stockade in Missouri. A bandit leader and Confederate sympathizer, Keeley, recruits them to join a wagon train run by Don Chaves that is carrying a million dollars' worth of gold bullion. The men see it as a chance to help the South and also profit. Don Chaves is suspicious of them, but permits them to be outriders, accompanying the wagon train but staying 200 yards from the others. Apaches attack and the three men help fend them off, gaining the Don's trust. The beautiful widow Jen Gort attracts the interest of Will and Jesse, who have a falling-out. She is escorting teenaged Roy, her young brother-in-law, who is eager to prove his courage to the older men by fighting Indians by their side. The boy ends up inadvertently causing a stampede, however, then drowns while attempting to cross a raging river.