AllMovie

The only new things in Riders of Black River are the character names; otherwise, it's a by-the-numbers Charles Starrett western, right down to the usual Starrett supporting cast: Iris Meredith, Dick Curtis, Bob Nolan, Edmund Cobb et. al. Former Texas Ranger Wade Patterson (Starrett) returns to his home town, only to find that the territory is in the grip of cattle rustlers. For a while, it looks as though heroine Linda Holden (Meredith) is in cahoots with the bad guys, but Patterson quickly clears her name and takes on the crooks himself. The climax is a no-rules fistfight between Patterson and chief heavy Blaize Carewe (Dick Curtis). So often did Charles Starrett and Dick Curtis duke it out on screen that a feature film could have been made up of their battles alone.