Arizona territory 1880 . A gang carries out a risked train robbing of the Wells Fargo and they are subsequently pursued by a posse, then they hide into a cave. In the stand-off kill everyone except the adolescent Pete : Russ Tamblyn who surrenders his followers. Being the only survivor of the band he is detained and beaten , but he does not tell about the stolen gold, refusing to locate the whereabout . Released after serving 15 years in Kansas state prison for the tren robbing, adult Pete: MacDonald Carey, arrives in a small town located nearly the caves to find the missing loot. Along the way he meets a beautiful wife, the local beauty and editor Elizabeth : Alexis Smith, whose husband disappeared some time ago while searching for the loot at the caverns and Pete then takes on the local land baron called Ben Cross : Victor Jory who is for her, as well .

A decent western with thrills, noisy action, crossfire, intrigue, duels and suspenseful final. The film is allegedly based on facts, upon a real robbing : The Colossal Cave Legend, whose thieves hid their loot at a caver . Stars MacDonald Carey as the ex-con who arrives in town and citizens offer him services and goods hoping to share in the loot. Alexis Smith is very good as a publisher, he is owner a Printing and Graving office called the New Clarion . While Victor Jory performs the nasty role as a poweful mine owner who wants to take the gold as well as the girl. Another important character is Edgar Buchanan who plays a Well Fargo agent, commissioned to follow Pete and retrieve the stolen loot. Here stands out the excellent art direction from Nathan Juran and Bernard Herzbrun, gorgeous cinematography by Irving Glassberg, showing spectacular frames from the spectacular caves and highly commendable musical score Joseph Gershenson. All the cave scenes in this production in this production were actually photographed at the Carlsbad caverns in New Mexico. Being shot on location in Mountain Park Vail, Colossal cave Arizona, Carisbard caverns National Park, New Mexico, Santa Clarita , California and Universal studios. As producers gratefully acknowledge the assistance of the United States Department of the Interior whose splendid cooperation made these scenes possible.

Well produced by William Alland and Leonard Goldstein for Universal Pictures. The motion picture was professionally directed by the known and prolific producer, writer and director William Castle. He was a good craftsman who in his beginings he made several westerns in low budget such as : The law rides again, Conquest of Cochise, Americano. Later on, he moved to direct terror movies, using peculiar gimmicks, that had success enough, such as : The tingler, 13 Ghosts, Mr Sardonicus, Homicidal, Zotz, Strait-jacket , Night walker, among others. Rating 6/10. Decent, acceptable, and passable Western.

This film opens with an ambush on a train in Arizona in 1880; the bandits force the train to stop, blow open the mail car and make off with bags containing gold that belongs to Wells Fargo. They are chased by the sheriff and his posse and attempt to hide in a huge cave. The sheriff's men enter the cave and, after a brief shootout, only one of the gang is left alive; a teenaged boy, Pete Carver, who claims to have no idea where the stolen gold is. Fifteen years later the Carver is released from prison and heads straight back to the area of the crime. There is now a town nearby and all the locals seem happy to let him buy what he wants on credit as they believe he knows exactly where the gold is... and he is happy for them to believe that he does. Among the locals who come to him with business propositions is Elizabeth Trent, whose husband disappeared while looking for the gold. He agrees to help her restart the town newspaper using his credit. It isn't long before troubles start; a couple of thugs attempt to rob him more than once, the wealthy owner of the local copper mine sees him as a rival for Elizabeth's attentions and a man from Wells Fargo is intent on recovering the gold. Before the film is out there will be a duel, accusations of murder and finally a confrontation in the caves.

I hadn't heard of this western when I saw it advertised in the TV guide but thought I'd give it a go; it opened well with an explosive train robbery and a brief shootout in the cave before slowing down as we are introduced to the older Carver. This was a good move as his introduction kept the character ambiguous; he was clearly taking advantage of the people's willingness to offer him credit but it was some time before we discovered whether or not he knew exactly where the gold was. It wasn't a total surprise when we learn the truth as it is rare for the protagonist of such films to be the villain! Macdonald Carey might not have the screen presence of many western heroes but he did a decent job as Carver; his understated performance giving greater tension to the action scenes as Carver didn't look like a man who could beat any opponent. Likewise Victor Jory made a good villain; he isn't a crazed psychopath desperate to get his hands on the gold but he is believable dangerous... he even challenges Carver to a duel; not the usual shootout but a traditional pistols at twenty paces duel overseen by a 'referee'! All B westerns need some love interest and here it is provided by Alexis Smith, her character is fairly standard for such films but she does a good enough job.

The locations are used well; many viewers will recognise Vasquez Rocks, famously used many times in 'Star Trek' as well as in many other films and television shows. The cave scenes, filmed in Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico, looked great even though there was no explanation as to why it was beautifully lit rather than pitch black inside!

Overall this isn't a must see western but it has a decent enough story and an interesting setting that makes it worth watching if it is on television.

Cave of Outlaws is directed by William Castle and written by Elizabeth Wilson. It stars MacDonald Carey, Alexis Smith, Edgar Buchanan, Victor Jory, Hugh O'Brian and Houseley Stevenson. A Technicolor production out of Universal International Pictures, with music scored by Joseph Gershenson and cinematography by Irving Glassberg.

1895 and Pete Carver (Carey) is released from Kansas State Prison, he is the only survivor of a gold robbery 15 years earlier that saw his father killed in caves near Cooper Bend, Arizona. The gold was never recovered, and now Carver is back in Copper Bend, and this place, its inhabitants, are about to be privy to greed, treachery and murderous secrets of the past.

William Castle was 7 years away from making his lasting mark on cinema, where his scare tactic gimmicks used to accompany his horror movies ensured him a lasting reputation as a showman producer with tactical nous. Prior to this he was a jobbing director, churning out a number of low rank and file pictures that are rarely mentioned and mostly forgotten about. The odd one, mind, is worthy of spending time with on a Sunday afternoon. One such film is Cave of Outlaws, a Western that certainly doesn't shake the earth or raise the pulse considerably, but has enough interesting locales and quality of story to render it as watchable fodder for the B Western fan.

Standard formula applies here, man has mission to accomplish, gold is the route of all evil, pretty girl offers hope of romantic redemption, but villains and the law are spoiling the broth. There's no great stand out action sequences, but they are well handled by the director and stunt men, with a couple of good old fist fights to brighten the day. The Technicolor print is nice and with Glassberg and Castle making great use of the eerie Carlsbad Caverns and the lovely exteriors at Vasquez Rocks, picture is always pleasing on the eye. Cast are modest, but nothing to annoy or hinder, though it's unusual to see Buchanan turn in an average portrayal. 6/10