''Albuquerque'' is a 1948 American

Cinecolor Cinecolor was an early subtractive color-model two-color motion picture process that was based upon the Prizma system of the 1910s and 1920s and the Multicolor system of the late 1920s and the 1930s. It was developed by William T. Crispinel and ...

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

film directed by

Ray Enright Ray Enright (March 25, 1896 – April 3, 1965) was an American film director. He directed 73 films between 1927–53, many of them for Warner Bros. He oversaw comedy films like Joe E. Brown vehicles, five of the six informal pairings of ...

and starring

Randolph Scott George Randolph Scott (January 23, 1898 – March 2, 1987) was an American film actor whose career spanned the years from 1928 to 1962. As a leading man for all but the first three years of his cinematic career, Scott appeared in a variety of ...

Barbara Britton Barbara Britton (born Barbara Maurine Brantingham, September 26, 1920 – January 17, 1980) was an American film and television actress. She is best known for her Western film roles opposite Randolph Scott, Joel McCrea, and Gene Autry and for ...

George "Gabby" Hayes George Francis "Gabby" Hayes (7 May 1885 – 9 February 1969) was an American actor. He began as something of a leading man and a character player, but he was best known for his numerous appearances in B-Western film series as the bewhiskered, c ...

, and

Lon Chaney, Jr. Creighton Tull Chaney (February10, 1906 – July12, 1973), known by his stage name Lon Chaney Jr., was an American actor known for playing Larry Talbot in the film '' The Wolf Man'' (1941) and its various crossovers, Count Alucard (Dra ...

Based on the novel ''Dead Freight for Piute'' by Luke Short, with a screenplay by Gene Lewis and Clarence Upson Young, the film is about a man who is recruited by his corrupt uncle to inherit his freight-hauling empire in the southwest, and who eventually defects to his uncle's honest business rival.

Plot

During a stagecoach holdup, Celia Wallace is robbed of $10,000 and little Myrtle Walton is saved from the runaway horses by a passenger, Cole Armin. Celia is grateful until she learns Cole is coming to Albuquerque to work for his uncle, John Armin, a ruthless freight-line owner who stops at nothing to put competitors Celia and her brother Ted out of business. Concluding that his uncle was even behind the robbery, Cole switches sides to work for the Wallaces. Armin uses a woman, Letty Tyler, to spy on his adversaries, but she resents being used when a mine is blown up and Ted is wounded by gunfire. Cole is framed for arson and jailed. Celia, who loves him, turns against Cole until his acquittal, when Letty explains that John Armin is the man responsible. After an ambush, Cole has to shoot the corrupt sheriff and another gunman, and before the Cavalry finally arrives, John Armin is dealt with as well.

Cast

as Cole Armin *

as Letty Tyler *

as Juke *

as Steve Murkil *

Russell Hayden Russell "Lucky" Hayden (born Hayden Michael "Pate" Lucid; June 12, 1912 – June 9, 1981) was an American film and television actor. He is best known for his portrayal as Lucky Jenkins in Paramount's popular Hopalong Cassidy film series. Early ...

as Ted Wallace *

Catherine Craig Catherine Craig (born Catherine Jewel Feltus; January 18, 1915 – January 14, 2004), sometimes credited as Kay Craig, was an American actress. Early years Catherine Jewel Feltus was born in Bloomington, Indiana, where she was a member of Phi ...

as Celia Wallace *

George Cleveland George Alan Cleveland (September 17, 1885 – July 15, 1957) was a Canadian film actor. He appeared in more than 180 films between 1930 and 1954. Career Cleveland was born in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada. His first appearance on the stage ...

as John Armin *

Irving Bacon Irving Bacon (born Irving Von Peters; September 6, 1893 – February 5, 1965) was an American character actor who appeared in almost 500 films. Early years Bacon was the son of entertainers Millar Bacon and Myrtle Vane. He was born in St. Jos ...

as Dave Walton *

Bernard Nedell Bernard Jay Nedell (October 14, 1898 – November 23, 1972) was an American film actor. He appeared in 50 films between 1916 and 1972. He was born in New York, New York and died in Hollywood, California. He was married to actress Olive Blak ...

as Sheriff Ed Linton *

Karolyn Grimes Karolyn Grimes (born July 4, 1940) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Zuzu Bailey in the classic 1946 Frank Capra film ''It's a Wonderful Life''. She also played Debby Brougham in the 1947 film ''The Bishop's Wife''. Ca ...

as Myrtle Walton * Russell Simpson as Abner Huggins *

Jody Gilbert Jody Gilbert (March 18, 1916 – February 3, 1979) was an American actress. Biography Gilbert was born in Fort Worth, Texas. She studied voice and acting at Columbia University, and was a graduate of Pasadena Playhouse. One of her first notabl ...

as Pearl Eager * John Halloran as Matt Wayne *

Dan White Daniel James White (September 2, 1946 – October 21, 1985) was an American politician who assassinated San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk, on Monday, November 27, 1978, at City Hall. White was convicted of manslaugh ...

as Henchman Jackson *

Walter Baldwin Walter Smith Baldwin Jr. (January 2, 1889 − January 27, 1977) was an American character actor whose career spanned five decades and 150 film and television roles, and numerous stage performances. Baldwin was born in Lima, Ohio, into a theatr ...

as Judge Fred Martin

Production

The film was based on the Luke Short novel, ''Dead Freight for Piute'' published in 1941. The ''New York Times'' called it a "stirring tale". Film rights went to William Pine and William Thomas who ran

Pine-Thomas Productions Pine-Thomas Productions was a prolific B-picture unit of Paramount Pictures from 1940–1957, producing 81 films. Co-producers William H. Pine (February 15, 1896 – April 29, 1955) and William C. Thomas (August 11, 1903 – April 2, 1984) were kno ...

. In January 1946 it was reported Clarence Young was writing the script which would be called ''The Last Frontier'' and

Johnny Weissmuller Johnny Weissmuller (born Johann Peter Weißmüller; June 2, 1904 – January 20, 1984) was an American Olympic swimmer, water polo player and actor. He was known for having one of the best competitive swimming records of the 20th century. H ...

would star. By March the project was retitled ''Albuquerque'' and it was reported Pine and Thomas were looking "for a big time star". In August 1946 Randolph Scott signed to star. Pine-Thomas specialised in low budget films, but in December they formed a separate company, Clarion, to make one expensive film a year. ''Albuquerque'' was to be its first.

Arlee Whelan Arlee ( Salish: nɫq̓alqʷ, nɫq̓a ) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Lake County, Montana, United States. The population was 636 at the 2010 census. It is named after Alee, a Salish chief. The chief's name ...

was originally announced for the lead. The following month she was withdrawn for another film and replaced by Barbara Britton. ''Albuquerque'' was filmed on location at Iverson Movie Ranch in Chatsworth, California, and in Sedona, Arizona. Britton later sued Paramount for $100,000 over the size of her billing.

Reception

The film was a success at the box office, earning almost $2 million.

References

External links

* * *
Review of film
at ''Variety'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Albuquerque 1948 films 1948 Western (genre) films American Western (genre) films 1940s English-language films Paramount Pictures films Films directed by Ray Enright Films set in New Mexico 1940s American films