Vintage original 11x14 in. US title lobby card from the 1950's western, THE PARSON AND THE OUTLAW, released in 1957 by Columbia Pictures and directed by Oliver Drake. Billed as "the true story of Billy the Kid," pretending death at the hands of his friend,
Marshal Pat Garrett, (Bob Duncan), Billy the Kid (Anthony Dexter) rides away to
live in peace under a new name in a far away frontier town, only to run afoul
of ruthless empire builder Col. Morgan (Robert Lowery) and his top gun Jack
Slade (Sonny Tufts). Billy's the only man who can stop Morgan but he turns down
the pleas of help from preacher Jericho Jones (Charles 'Buddy' Rogers), who
knows of Billy and his past, newspaper editor Elly McCloud (Madalyn Trahey) and
her romantic rival Tonya (Marie Windsor). It's only after the preacher is shot
down trying to stop Morgan's killers that Billy straps on his guns.
The image features a large shot of handsome Anthony Dexter as Billy the Kid at the right as he faces another man rendered mostly off-camera at the left as we see his gun in his right hand while a group of cowboys shoot-up the town in the center. In the lower right corner is a vignette depicting a passionate moment between Billy the Kid and Tonya (Marie Windsor). The film boasted several songs by balladeer Joe Sodja which included "Take Time to Pray," "Sunday Gospel," "Oh Susanna" and many others. This vintage original title lobby card is unrestored in near-fine condition with varying signs of wear on each corner; some smudging beneath the top border near the left corner; and a pencil mark just beneath Buddy Rogers' last night at the bottom.
The Parson and the Outlaw marked the final film appearance of actors John Davis, Bob
Duncan, Jack Lowell, Herman Pulver, Bob Reeves, Charles
'Buddy' Rogers, and balladeer Joe Sodja.
Anthony Dexter's best-known role as an actor occurred when he landed the part of Rudolph Valentino in the actor's
biopic Valentino (1951). He
was reputed to have won the role from a competitive field of 75,000 aspiring
Valentinos. The film's producer, Edward Small, claimed to have made 400
screen tests for the part until discovering Dexter--the perfect fit. So much
alike was Dexter in appearance to Valentino that Valentino fan clubs, upon
learning of Dexter, applauded the choice of him to play their star. Even the
press lauded Dexter as "incredible. The same eyes, ears, mouth--the same
grace in dancing" (according to a 1950 Los Angeles Times article
quoting George Melford, who directed Valentino in The Sheik (1921).
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