An evil arthritic rancher and his murderous daughter are having settlers killed to prevent them from selling their land to the railroad.An evil arthritic rancher and his murderous daughter are having settlers killed to prevent them from selling their land to the railroad.An evil arthritic rancher and his murderous daughter are having settlers killed to prevent them from selling their land to the railroad.
Lon Chaney Jr.
- Artemus Taylor
- (as Lon Chaney)
William Holmes
- 'Ding' Bell
- (as Bill Holmes)
Ward Wood
- Second Henchman
- (as Bob Wood)
Gordon Wynn
- John Quigley
- (as Gordon Wynne)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaDirectorial debut of Rod Amateau.
- GoofsThe opening battle scene breaches one of the conventions of film-making. The opening shot shows Union cavalry charging from the left of screen to the right. This is followed by shots of Confederate Infantry on the right of the screen firing to the left. There follow some other shots, some showing troops charging directly at the camera, others showing Union cavalry coming from the left of screen. The final shots of the battle show the Confederate infantry retreating to the left of screen pursued by Union infantry coming from the right. The convention would dictate that the Union troops should always come from the left, and that the Confederate troops should have retreated to the right of screen.
- Quotes
Jefferson Waring: I can't feel a thing for ya, Taylor. You're a beaten old man and I'm not sorry. You've ruined so many lives yours isn't even a down payment.
- ConnectionsReferenced in Madelynn Kopple on Kid Monk Baroni (and Other Jack Broder Movies) (2007)
- SoundtracksThe Battle Hymn of the Republic
(uncredited)
Written by Julia Ward Howe
Chorus heard as a theme after the initial battle scenes
Featured review
A pacifist-minded ex-Confederate gets caught up in a land war as he seeks a new life in post- Civil War Missouri.
Considering the bizarre cast, I guess I was hoping for too much. After all, the compelling Tierney, Elam, Chaney Jr. and Dell are all established movie toughies. Then there's the unpredictable Ireland and Morris, performers comfortable playing with a wobbly moral compass. And finally there's the luscious Malone playing the good citizen, though she could also wobble when necessary, e.g. Written On The Wind (1955). Trouble is Tierney's entirely wasted, disappearing early on. No scary stare or frozen face here. As a result, there's no logical showdown between him and Ireland, as dramatically promising as that would be. Also, Chaney only gets a few minutes of loopy screen time, while Morris seems unsure of what he's supposed to do as the Marshal. And the latter's really too bad since the Marshal's uncertainty could be the story's most interesting character.
The narrative itself is fairly familiar—greedy plotters trying to drive settlers off their land so they can cash in on the railway coming through. Not exactly a ground-breaking premise. On the other hand, shifting alliances among the town folk add character interest, while a restrained Ireland carries the film even though in a clichéd role. Still, I like the fact that the settlers organize themselves without waiting for the hero to save the day. That's a good non- clichéd touch.
All in all, I'm wondering how a budget indie like this was able to assemble such an exotic cast, and whether they had to haul legendary juicers like Tierney and Chaney out of the nearest Hollywood bar. Too bad the screenplay didn't make better use of these colorful characters. That would have made something truly memorable. Instead, we get an unexceptional if occasionally interesting western.
Considering the bizarre cast, I guess I was hoping for too much. After all, the compelling Tierney, Elam, Chaney Jr. and Dell are all established movie toughies. Then there's the unpredictable Ireland and Morris, performers comfortable playing with a wobbly moral compass. And finally there's the luscious Malone playing the good citizen, though she could also wobble when necessary, e.g. Written On The Wind (1955). Trouble is Tierney's entirely wasted, disappearing early on. No scary stare or frozen face here. As a result, there's no logical showdown between him and Ireland, as dramatically promising as that would be. Also, Chaney only gets a few minutes of loopy screen time, while Morris seems unsure of what he's supposed to do as the Marshal. And the latter's really too bad since the Marshal's uncertainty could be the story's most interesting character.
The narrative itself is fairly familiar—greedy plotters trying to drive settlers off their land so they can cash in on the railway coming through. Not exactly a ground-breaking premise. On the other hand, shifting alliances among the town folk add character interest, while a restrained Ireland carries the film even though in a clichéd role. Still, I like the fact that the settlers organize themselves without waiting for the hero to save the day. That's a good non- clichéd touch.
All in all, I'm wondering how a budget indie like this was able to assemble such an exotic cast, and whether they had to haul legendary juicers like Tierney and Chaney out of the nearest Hollywood bar. Too bad the screenplay didn't make better use of these colorful characters. That would have made something truly memorable. Instead, we get an unexceptional if occasionally interesting western.
- dougdoepke
- Oct 25, 2016
- Permalink
Details
- Runtime1 hour 10 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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