Starring James Drury, Doug McClure, Neville Brand, Peter Brown, William Smith, Philip Carey, Rhonda Fleming, Fernando Llamas and Ida Lupino!  

 

The Virginian meets Laredo meets The Three Musketeers with a sprinkling of 3 Godfathers in this lighthearted Western adventure!

Meet Trampas when he first rode into Shiloh. He went on to become one of the most popular and beloved characters on The Virginian. In Backtrack! you’ll discover his not-so-humble—and somewhat bumbling—beginnings. Let’s just say, Trampas had one simple job to do, and he got it done, but not without first going on a grand and dangerous adventure with three Texas Rangers, who would soon win the hearts of fans as the stars of Laredo.

Young, rebellious, impulsive cowboy, Trampas gets run out of a western town when he’s caught gambling with loaded dice. Now, in serious need of money, he’s looking for a job. He rides up to the Shiloh Ranch and is hired on to a cattle drive. All in a day’s work for a cowboy, trying to lay low and just make some dough. But, laying low is not something Tramps does well. For his next big job, the ranch boss, the Virginian, sends Trampas off to Mexico to buy a prize bull and transport it back to Shiloh, with a warning to be careful in Laredo, a rough, lawless Texas town, on the border of Mexico. The assignment seems straightforward. But, it’s not long before Trampas displays his “talent” for getting into trouble.

In Laredo, saloon owner, Carmelita Flanagan, catches Trampas’ eye. He’s not the only one vying for Carmelita’s heart. Texas Rangers and best friends, Chad Cooper, Reese Bennett and Joe Riley also have an ongoing friendly, flirtatious banter going with the stunning barkeep. When Trampas enters the picture the banter turns to brawling! Enter Ranger boss, Captain Parmalee. It seems, Chad, Reese and Joe, like Trampas, have a tendency to find trouble, even if there is none, and Captain Parmalee keeps a close watch on them. Now, the Captain puts an end to the flying fists, not by getting in the middle of the melee, but by sending the three Rangers on a dangerous mission in Mexico to catch a ruthless gang that robbed a train and made off with a fortune in gold and guns.

As the Rangers ride out of Laredo, they find they have an uninvited and unwilling guest tagging along – Trampas! The men discover the train with all passengers killed, except for a hungry infant, saved when his mother gave her life to shield him. The men cross into Mexico to drop the baby off with Mama Dolores, a widow and cantina owner with many children of her own. Dolores is all too willing to take in another mouth to feed, especially if Reese asks her to, as she’s been trying to get him to marry her for years. Marriage is the last thing on Reese’s mind, as while they’re with Dolores, Yaqui Indians attack the village. This robbery-turned-murder soon escalates into a web of deceit and corruption, with a war waged on the Rangers and Trampas by Captain Estrada and his Mexican patrol, along with the Yaquis.

When the situation turns hopeless, and the Rangers and Trampas face certain doom, they hatch a harebrained scheme that will either end in justice served…or certain death for Chad, Reese, Joe and Trampas.