Sundown Riders Reviews

This typical story featuring Wade, Kirby and Clyde as a trio of cowpoke heros differed little in story from other program westerns. They take on a group of outlaws and, after the usual amount of fights and gun play, come out on top. What is unusual here is that the film was shot by an independent company on 16mm and in Kodachrome, which was cheaper than Technicolor. The final cost was only $30,000 and shooting took just eight days, a much leaner budget than that of most black and white westerns. The idea was to make 16mm films for domestic distribution as well as for the natural market of schools, hospitals, and the like. Good though the idea seemed, it never took off and the planned series of six by this small Denver company was eventually cancelled. Kirby and Clyde were from the "Hopalong Cassidy" series. Kirby, Wade (who came up with the 16mm distribution idea), and cinematographer Stensvold each had a profit-sharing clause in their contracts, anticipating a time when profit sharing would become a standard practice in Hollywood.