THE MARAUDERS

US, 1955, 81 minutes, Colour.
Dan Dureya, Jeff Richards, Keenan Wynn, Jarma Lewis.
Directed by Gerard Meyer.

The Marauders is a more interesting western than one might have expected. It is a small-budget western from MGM at the time that MGM studios were changing from their successes with musicals to making dramas and small supporting features. Gerard Meyer had already made the supporting feature,.

The story is rather simple. In Arizona Territory, individuals were able to lay claim to free land. However, the richer owners attacked the smaller landowners. Jeff Richards plays a man who has taken possession of a rather barren territory, although there is a well for much needed water. The rich landowner gets a posse to attack him. The central character is the accountant, an opportunity for Dan Dureya to portray yet another crazed character. He wears his brother’s Confederate uniform, controls the landowner, and takes charge after his allowing the landowner to die, wounded in an attack. Keenan Wynn is his lieutenant, a man with the hook instead of a hand, wily but not wily enough.

Into this situation comes a man with his wife and son, passing through but in need of food and water. This complicates the situation, with the man going to plead with the accountant and being killed because the accountant has in his head that there must be many men concealed within the house while there is only the landowner and the wife and son.

An attack is attempted with taking a wagon up a cliff and setting it alight to fall on the house – but it is thwarted in several ways and the mad accountant attacks alone, shooting all his bullets, still believing that there are many men in the house to defend it.

1. An interesting and entertaining western? Variation on themes? Landowners? Property owners? attacks and shootouts?

2. The title, the reference to the landowner and his thugs in their attack?

3. The Arizona scenery, the desert, the mountains, the situation for the small house and settlement? The musical score?

4. Rutherford and his men, the ambitions for the land, the artist from England drawing the portrait, his son returned from England, Avery as his accountant, talented with figures? Hook and the other men? The attack, the shooting, there are retreating?

5. Corey, his taking the land, the attack on him, the defence? Single-handed? The arrival of the family? The father and his helping with the shooting and warding off the attack? The hostility of the mother, wanting to leave the West and go East, not believing Corey? The little boy, loving his mother, obedient, helping with the guns?

6. The father, going to get things from the wagon, going to Avery, his not being believed, torture and death? The mother, her also going, not being believed,
escorted back? Her change of heart towards Corey? Telling her son that her husband had died telling the truth and only to remember the good things?

7. Corey being wounded, the boy looking after him, the mother caring for him? Their building the machine to fire the explosives? Corey and his resting, the boy and his devotion?

8. The attack, the men being wounded, the landowner being wounded, Avery and his confronting the landowner, goading him, the man coming out of the tent collapsing and dying? Then taking over, his brother’s Confederate uniform, his military way of thinking, compensating for his own life, 15 years as an accountant? His choosing Hook as his deputy? His briefings, in the tent with his guns? His state of health, coughing?

9. Hook, his character, with his offsider, the other men, their complaints, his laying down the law? Avery and his control over Hook?

10. The artist, from England, the landowner’s son, wounded, needing water, being allowed to die? Avery and his letting all the water out, keeping something himself, Hook and his associate taking the water but not realising that the canteen had a hole in it?

11. The vigil, waiting until dawn to attack, Avery and the father, interrogating him, torturing him with the hook, his death? The arrival of the mother, the interrogation, telling the truth, realising that she had to lie, saying there were 15 men, the escort back? The promise of safe conduct – but Corey not coming out?

12. The strategy, dismantling the wagon, the men’s complaints, carrying it up the mountain, the shots, the explosives, setting fire to the wagon, its coming down the mountain, Corey and the machine to set off the explosives, stopping the wagon before it came to the house?

13. The men being killed, Hook and his associate, betraying Avery, taking the horses and the gold, the water leaking? Their inevitable death?

14. Avery, shooting, running out of bullets, surrendering, collapsing, wanting to know the truth, insisting that there were more men in the house? Not just
Corey and the mother and son?

15. The happy ending in the future, Corey and the letters from the woman he loved but who could not live in the West?