''Dawn at Socorro'' is a 1954 American
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
George Sherman and starring
Rory Calhoun
Rory Calhoun (born Francis Timothy McCown, August 8, 1922April 28, 1999) was an American film and television actor. He starred in numerous Westerns in the 1950s and 1960s, and appeared in supporting roles in films such as '' How to Marry a Milli ...
and
Piper Laurie
Piper Laurie (born Rosetta Jacobs; January 22, 1932) is an American actress. She is known for her roles in the films ''The Hustler'' (1961), ''Carrie (1976 film), Carrie'' (1976), and ''Children of a Lesser God (film), Children of a Lesser God' ...
. It was produced and distributed by
Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...
. The film is set mostly in
Lordsburg, New Mexico
Lordsburg is a city in and the county seat of Hidalgo County, New Mexico, United States. Hidalgo County includes the southern "bootheel" of New Mexico, along the Arizona border. The population was 2,797 at the 2010 census, down from 3,379 in 20 ...
, and the spoken introduction says the story is based on an actual shootout in the town in 1871. But no such incident happened there. The plot is actually a thinly veiled fictionalization of the famous 1881 shootout near the OK Corral in Tombstone, Arizona, which pitted the Earp brothers and Doc Holliday against the Clanton Gang.
Plot
A retired gunfighter (
Rory Calhoun
Rory Calhoun (born Francis Timothy McCown, August 8, 1922April 28, 1999) was an American film and television actor. He starred in numerous Westerns in the 1950s and 1960s, and appeared in supporting roles in films such as '' How to Marry a Milli ...
) and a saloonkeeper (
David Brian) play cards, with the saloon and a dance-hall girl (
Piper Laurie
Piper Laurie (born Rosetta Jacobs; January 22, 1932) is an American actress. She is known for her roles in the films ''The Hustler'' (1961), ''Carrie (1976 film), Carrie'' (1976), and ''Children of a Lesser God (film), Children of a Lesser God' ...
) at stake.
Cast
*
Rory Calhoun
Rory Calhoun (born Francis Timothy McCown, August 8, 1922April 28, 1999) was an American film and television actor. He starred in numerous Westerns in the 1950s and 1960s, and appeared in supporting roles in films such as '' How to Marry a Milli ...
as Brett Wade
*
Piper Laurie
Piper Laurie (born Rosetta Jacobs; January 22, 1932) is an American actress. She is known for her roles in the films ''The Hustler'' (1961), ''Carrie (1976 film), Carrie'' (1976), and ''Children of a Lesser God (film), Children of a Lesser God' ...
as Rannah Hayes
*
David Brian as Dick Braden
*
Kathleen Hughes
Kathleen Hughes (born Elizabeth Margaret von Gerkan; November 14, 1928) is an American actress.
Early life
Hughes' uncle, F. Hugh Herbert, was a playwright who authored ''Kiss and Tell'' and ''The Moon Is Blue''. Her desire to act was inspired ...
as Clare
*
Alex Nicol as Jimmy Rapp
*
Edgar Buchanan
William Edgar Buchanan II (March 20, 1903 – April 4, 1979) was an American actor with a long career in both film and television. He is most familiar today as Uncle Joe Carson from the ''Petticoat Junction'', ''Green Acres'', and ''The ...
as Sheriff Cauthen
*
Mara Corday
Mara Corday (born Marilyn Joan Watts; January 3, 1930) is an American showgirl, model, actress, ''Playboy'' Playmate, and 1950s cult figure.
Early life
Corday was born in Santa Monica, California. Wanting a career in films, she came to Hollywoo ...
as Letty Diamond
*
Roy Roberts as Doc Jameson
*
Skip Homeier
George Vincent Homeier (October 5, 1930 – June 25, 2017), known professionally as Skip Homeier, was an American actor who started his career at the age of eleven and became a child star.
Career Child actor
Homeier was born in Chicago, Illino ...
as Buddy Ferris
*
James Millican
James Millican (February 17, 1911 – November 24, 1955) was an American actor with over 200 film appearances mostly in western movies.
Millican was the son of Fred S. Millican, a circus owner, and Dorothy Millican.
Millican was a clos ...
as Harry McNair
*
Lee Van Cleef
Clarence LeRoy Van Cleef Jr. (January 9, 1925 – December 16, 1989) was an American actor. He appeared in over 170 film and television roles in a career spanning nearly 40 years, but is best known as a star of Italian Spaghetti Westerns, parti ...
as Earl Ferris
*
Stanley Andrews
Stanley Andrews (born Stanley Martin Andrzejewski; August 28, 1891 – June 23, 1969) was an American actor perhaps best known as the voice of Daddy Warbucks on the radio program ''Little Orphan Annie'' and later as "The Old Ranger", the first ...
Old Man Ferris
*
Richard Garland
Charles Richard Garland Jr. (July 7, 1927 – May 24, 1969) was an American film, stage and television actor. He was known for playing the recurring role of Constable Clay Horton in CBS's television series ''Lassie'' from 1954 to 1956.
Life a ...
as Tom Ferris
* Scott Lee as Vince McNair
*
Paul Brinegar
Paul Alden Brinegar Jr. (December 19, 1917 – March 27, 1995) was an American character actor best known for his roles in three Western series: ''The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp'', '' Rawhide'', and ''Lancer''.
Early years
Brinegar was b ...
as Desk Clerk
*
Philo McCullough
Philo McCullough (June 16, 1893 – June 5, 1981) was an American actor. He appeared in more than 250 films between 1914 and 1969. He was born in San Bernardino, California, and died in Burbank, California.
McCullough's film debut came in 1 ...
as Rancher (as Philo McCollough)
*
Forrest Taylor
Edwin Forrest Taylor (December 29, 1883 – February 19, 1965) was an American character actor whose artistic career spanned six different decades, from silents through talkies to the advent of color films.
Early years
Taylor was born in B ...
as Jebb Hayes
See also
*
List of American films of 1954
A list of American films released in 1954.
''On the Waterfront'' won the Academy Award for Best Picture.
A-B
C-D
E-F
G-H
I-K
L-N
O-R
S-T
U-Z
Documentaries
Serials
Shorts
See also
* 1954 in the United States
Referen ...
External links
*
*
*
1954 films
Films directed by George Sherman
American Western (genre) films
1950s English-language films
1954 Western (genre) films
Films set in New Mexico
Universal Pictures films
1950s American films
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