| The Vanishing Outpost | |
| Director: | Ron Ormond |
| Producer: | Ron Ormond |
| Music: | Walter Greene |
| Studio: | Western Adventures Productions Inc. |
| Distributor: | Realart Pictures Howco |
| Runtime: | 56 minutes |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
The Vanishing Outpost is a 1951 American Western film produced and directed by Ron Ormond starring Lash LaRue and Al "Fuzzy" St. John. It was the tenth of LaRue's films for Ormond's Western Adventures Productions Inc.[1] The film was the fourth to be released by Howco, Ron Ormond's new film company composed of Ormond and drive-in movie owners Joy N. Houck and J. Francis White, and Ormond's second film as director. The screenplay is credited to Ormond's wife June Carr and Maurice Tombragel. The film is composed mostly of footage from the previous Ormond LaRue Westerns Son of Billy the Kid (1949), Mark of the Lash (1948), Outlaw Country (1949) and Son of a Bad Man (1949).[2] No outpost, vanishing or otherwise is seen in the film. The story appeared in Fawcett Comics' Motion Picture Comics #111 (1952).
En route to more adventures, Lash and Fuzzy stop off in a saloon where Lash knocks down and straightens out an obnoxious drunk named Mack. Mack has been terrorising the barflies including Walker, an undercover Pinkerton Detective. Recognising Lash and Fuzzy as Marshals, Walker seeks their help in replacing his murdered partner to bring an outlaw gang to justice.
Sue Hussey was cast at the age of 15 after winning a pageant in which LaRue was one of the three judges. He approached her and offered her a starring role.[3]
The filming began on November 6, 1950.[4]
In an effort to promote the film, LaRue had the entire cast interviewed on Jimmie Johnson's Memory Lane.