Greg Sanders/The Vigilante: Ralph Byrd
Betty Winslow: Ramsay Ames
George Pierce (X-1): Lyle Talbot
Stuff: George Offerman, Jr.
Prince Hamil/Hassan: Robert Barron
Capt. Reilly: Hugh Prosser
Silver (X-2): Jack Ingram
Doc (X-8): Eddie Parker
Thorne: Bill Brauer
"Based on the Vigilante adventure feature appearing in Action Comics magazine." The serial is subtitled "Fighting hero of the West".
"Prince Hassan" is referred to throughout the serial as "Prince Hamil", but is listed as "Hassan" in the credits.
Greg Saunders, the "Prairie Troubadour" of the screen, was shooting some scenes of a movie at George Pierce's ranch. Prince Hamil of Aravania arrived, presenting Greg, Pierce, Betty Winslow, Capt. Reilly and Tex Collier each with a fine Aravanian horse. Greg's alter-ego, the Vigilante, is called into action as a gang of thugs led by the mysterious and unseen X-1 strive to steal the horses from their owners. The reason for that nefarious activity was that each horse was shod with shoes containing 20 "tears of blood", rare blood red pearls of which only 100 exist in the world, and upon which there is said to be a 1000-year-old curse. The Vigilante and his sidekick Stuff eventually discover that X-1 is none other than restauranteur Pierce. Pierce is eventually killed, and Hamil destroys the Tears of Blood, ending their evil curse.
CHAPTER ONE: The Vigilante Rides Again
Greg is known as the Prairie Troubadour. In the movie sequence that Sid the director was filming on location at Pierce's ranch, Greg serenaded a woman with "Ireta".
Sid (on Greg): "Primadonnas. On horseback, yet."
Stuff contacted Greg from the Atlas Garage on Third Street, where he and the Vigilante broke up a hot car racket. The thugs at the garage had planned to dump Stuff and his car in Black Rock Canyon.
Greg reports to Barrows, in Department H-7 in Washington.
Barrows said that Hamil owns a fortune in red pearls, and believes he got them into the US without going through customs.
At "Geo. Pierce's Cafe", Greg ordered a plain ginger ale, and Stuff had a celery tonic.
Pierce (on thug's death): "Why should a poor psychopath come to my restaurant to commit suicide?"
Pierce was holding a party for Prince Hamil of Aravania. Hamid was Hamil's aide, and was in cahoots with Pierce.
The Prince brought five pure-blooded, white, Aravanian horses to present as gifts, in expression of gratitude for the kind treatment he had received in the US. The horses were presented to Betty, Capt. Reilly, Greg, Pierce, and Tex Collier (to be used as the prize for the winner of the annual race at his breeding ranch). Hamid had thought all five horses were to be presented to Pierce. Pierce and Hamid later fought in the stable, with Pierce dealing Hamid a fatal wound with a horseshoe.
Greg sang "Saturday Night in San Antone" to the Prince and the others at the party.
Hamid: "And this curse...of one hundred tears of blood."
Stuff: "One hundred tears of blood? What do you mean? What are they?"
Hamid: "Tell those to whom horses have been given...there is a curse on them."
CHAPTER TWO: Mystery of the White Horses
Stuff rolled Hamid's body and himself out through the flames in barrels.
X-1 was the name used by the mysterious leader, who gave and received orders at Pierce's Cafe, using either the operator-assisted jukebox, or the secret room behind the phone booth.
X-3 and X-4 were told to get Greg's horse, which he was keeping in his garage.
Stuff (on Betty): "You better tell her two thousand fan letters a week can't be wrong."
Capt. Reilly was with the local sheriff's substation (sign: "Sheriff's Office Placerita Substation").
Rocky was the horse handler on the movie set.
CHAPTER THREE: Double Peril!
Greg, Stuff and the horse all survived the crash of the trailer into the river.
Betty was billed at the carnival as "Queen of the Rodeo".
The thug's coupe had the plates 7G8317. It belonged to Herman Lenz, owner of Lenz Auto Rental, who had reported it stolen to the police.
Greg believe the crooks were after Stuff, for whatever Hamid might have told him.
Lenz was agent X-13.
Bongo, the ape in the carnival, was billed as being captured in the Congo, and was supposedly the largest ape in captivity.
Sign on ape cage: "Danger Keep Hands Off Cage"
Pops runs a shooting gallery that offers 10 shots for 25 cents.
Betty gave a special performance of the stagecoach and Indians stunt for the prince.
The thugs were taking Betty's horse to Hidden Valley.
CHAPTER FOUR: Desperate Flight
Silver is the cafe manager.
The thug who tried to shoot Greg and Stuff had an empty revolver.
CHAPTER FIVE: In the Gorilla's Cage
The thugs switched Pierce's and Betty's horses, but forgot to switch the horses' blankets.
The Prince sent his most trusted aides, Raban and Azar, prevent Betty from leaving her trailer while they checked her horse.
Jackson was the owner of the gorilla. The poster outside the building has "jungle killers" written on the bottom.
Sign: "Pop Gunn's Shooting Gallery"
Other sign on cage: "Danger Keep outside of railing"
Bongo hates the dark.
CHAPTER SIX: Battling the Unknown
Merk was the thug who was arrested.
Silver is X-2. He was ordered by X-1 to release Merk and get Reilly's horse.
Stuff said that he only had four courses at the diner, with two of them being pie ala mode.
CHAPTER SEVEN: Midnight Rendezvous
Silver and his men (Doc, Lefty, Walt) took the shoes off Reilly's horse, replacing them after Silver had removed the 20 red sapphires (tears of blood) hidden in them.
There are only 100 "tears of blood" in all the world.
Greg was captured and taken to hideout #6.
Note: "Miss Winslow, We've got Greg Saunders. We'll exchange him for your white horse. If you want to see him again, ride your horse through Coyote Canyon tonight, so as to arrive at Skyline Road at twelve midnight. Don't notify the police and come alone"
CHAPTER EIGHT: Blasted to Eternity
Capt. Reilly brought Prince Hamil in for questioning. He said he had been in the area where Betty was told to go because he had received an anonymous telephone call.
Tex Collier, the horsebreeder, planned to give his Aravanian horse to the winner of the riding contest. Betty and Greg were to have entered it, but Greg got a sore jaw and wrenched his knee after he was attacked by a thug taking Eddie Smith's place on the movie set.
According to the toteboard, Betty was riding Arvin, and Dunbar was riding Micky.
The bridle on Betty's horse was cut.
The course was marked by white flags, and a rider was disqualified if they became unhorsed for any reason.
CHAPTER NINE: The Fatal Flood
Mr. Waldren, the thug at the ranch in Hidden Valley, told Greg that he was going to fix the place up and raise thoroughbred horses.
X-7 was supposed to meet X-2 in Coyote Canyon with the horse.
Waldren took the gems, giving them to Prince Hamil.
Miller (X-7) was dressed as Prince Hamil, and was shot and killed at Pierce's ranch.
CHAPTER TEN: Danger Ahead
X-8 and X-9 were told to steal Greg and Betty's horses and exchange them for the others at the Carnival Ground stables.
CHAPTER ELEVEN: X-1 Closes In
The Vigilante's ladder was pushed off from Tower 6 at the carnival grounds.
Silver discovered that the shoes on Betty's horse did not have the
secret compartment, since she had the horse reshod.
Greg examined one of the shoes on Reilly's horse to discover the secret compartments.
X-3 and X-4 were assigned to follow X-2.
Silver offered to sell the Tears of Blood back to Hamil, offering 20 Tears for $100,000.
In the trap, Greg and Betty leaked the information that Joe the stableboy had remembered that Betty's horse was reshod at Garrity's Blacksmith Shop in the valley.
CHAPTER 12: Death Rides the Rails
Greg and Reilly rode in Sheriff's Car 14. Reilly had to drop Greg off to attend to an accident and fight at the corner of Nashville and Highway 66.
Silver had the last 20 pearls.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN: The Trap That Failed
Reilly picked Greg up in front of the Friendly Store.
Betty (on thugs): "You see, they forgot I'm Queen of the Rodeo."
Joe the stableboy went to see Pop at the midway before going back to the stables. He was accosted by Doc and Lefty, and told them that Betty's horse had actually been reshod at Garrity's Blacksmith Shop in Newhall. He was shot by the thugs, and Pop was knocked out.
"Jeb Tyler and Livery" was next to Garrity's.
While the thugs battled the blacksmith and the Vigilante, Hamil's men took the horseshoes. Their car was equipped with a smoke screen to help them escape.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN: Closing In
Greg had two of the shoes, as did Hamil.
The Tears of Blood were 100 perfectly matched blood red pearls, upon which there had been a curse for 1000 years.
Greg (on costumed men): "Now who do we know that would have comic opera characters like that working for him?"
Betty: "Prince Hamil?"
Greg: "You win the sixty four Confederate dollars. Or should I say rupees?"
Greg had Hamil stay on pretense of seeing his stamp collection, and verifying that a couple from Nepal were genuine.
Hamil had discovered that Hamid was stealing the Tears, and had wanted him to give all five horses to Pierce.
Reilly met with Greg on Stage One.
Thorne, Sadler and Mork were sprung in the hardly-contested fight with Reilly and his deputy.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN: The Secret of the Skyroom
Reilly, Greg, Betty and Tex, as well as Hamil, were invited to Pierce's club. Pierce was not invited, but was there anyway.
Hamil was taken to X-1's secret room through the phone booth. X-1 had 80 of the pearls, which Hamil combined with his and then used a chemical to destroy.
X-1 was. of course, really Pierce.
Hamil's man shot Pierce before he could shoot the Vigilante, who was threatening to kill the hero unless he removed his mask.
All images and character names © 1998 DC Comics, Inc; 1947 Columbia Pictures. All text © 1998 Dik Meyer