Before I say anything else,  want to express how much I appreciate how straight-forward the title of Rustlers On Horseback is.  There are horses and there are rustlers and often the rustlers do ride the horses.  No lies detected.

Mistaken for being an outlaw, Marshal Rocky Lane (Allan Lane) becomes a member of a gang that’s led by Leo Straykin (Roy Barcroft).  Leo has taken over the Reynolds Ranch and he’s planning on cheating a land agent out of $100,000 so that he can finance his future crimes.  However, Leo isn’t working on his own and Lane and Nugget Clark (Eddy Waller) work to discover who the outlaw’s secret boss really is.  (This is a low-budget, Poverty Row western so there aren’t that many possibilities.)  However, Lane is not the only person working undercover.  George Nader plays the son of the murdered ranch owner.  Nader is looking for his own revenge.

This is a pretty standard Poverty Row western, with Lane looking convincing while riding a horse and shooting a gun.  The “secret boss” makes the film a little bit more interesting than I was expecting but not that much more interesting.  As is so often the case with these movies, how you react will depend on whether nor not you’re already a fan of the western genre when you watch it.  If you like westerns that don’t have much filler between the chases and the gunfights, a western like this will be up your alley.  If you’re not a fan of the genre, this film won’t change your mind.

This film was one of George Nader’s early roles.  Nader made a handful of B-movies, including the infamous Robot Monster, before he branched into more mainstream films.  Eventually, he found work in Europe and found fame as FBI Agent Jerry Cotton in a series of German films.  After an accident left him sensitive to light and ended his acting career, Nader found success as a writer.

As for Allan Lane, he went on to become the voice of Mr. Ed.