''El Paso'' is a 1949 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

Lewis R. Foster Lewis Ransom Foster (August 5, 1898 – June 10, 1974) was an American screenwriter, film/television director, and film/television producer. He directed and wrote over one hundred films and television series between 1926 and 1960. Selected film ...

and starring John Payne,

Gail Russell Gail Russell (born Betty Gale Russell; September 21, 1924 – August 26, 1961) was an American film and television actress. Early years Gail Russell was born to George and Gladys (Barnet) Russell in Chicago and then moved to the Los Angeles ...

and

Sterling Hayden Sterling Walter Hayden (born Sterling Relyea Walter; March 26, 1916 – May 23, 1986) was an American actor, author, sailor and decorated Marine Corps officer and an Office of Strategic Services' agent during World War II. A leading man for mos ...

Plot

Clay Fletcher ( John Payne), lawyer and returned Civil War Confederate officer, feels he needs to ease back into his legal career; he takes an assignment to travel west from his home state of

South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

to a "frontier settlement called El Paso", in Texas. His mission involves obtaining the signature on estate documents of attorney Henry Jeffers (

Henry Hull Henry Watterson Hull (October 3, 1890 – March 8, 1977) was an American character actor perhaps best known for playing the lead in Universal Pictures's '' Werewolf of London'' (1935). For most of his career, he was a lead actor on stage and a c ...

), whom Clay knows by reputation. He also knows, and is very fond of, Jeffers' daughter, Susan (

). Along the way, he meets a pots-and-pans peddler named Pesky (

George 'Gabby' Hayes George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...

) and a con-woman, Stagecoach Nellie (

Mary Beth Hughes Mary Elizabeth Hughes (November 13, 1919 Katz, Ephraim (1979). ''The Film Encyclopedia: The Most Comprehensive Encyclopedia of World Cinema in a Single Volume''. Perigee Books. . P. 586. – August 27, 1995) was an American film, television, a ...

), who steals his wallet. In a saloon in El Paso, Clay witnesses a sham trial; a man is convicted of murder by a drunken judge, who turns out to be Jeffers. When Clay speaks up on the defendant's behalf, he is charged with contempt of court. Unable to pay the fine, his fancy clothing is auctioned off. Clay is rescued by rancher Nacho Vazquez ( Eduardo Noriega), who offers him a place to stay. He also gets reacquainted with Susan, who owns a hat shop. Clay learns the man found guilty of murder was framed by rich, shady land owner Bert Donner (

) and his stooge, Sheriff La Farge (

Dick Foran John Nicholas "Dick" Foran (June 18, 1910 – August 10, 1979) was an American actor, known for his performances in Western musicals and for playing supporting roles in dramatic pictures. Early years Foran was born in Flemington, New Jer ...

). La Farge brutally beats rancher John Elkins (

Arthur Space Charles Arthur Space (October 12, 1908 – January 13, 1983) was an American film, television and stage actor. He was best known as Doc Weaver, the veterinarian, in thirty-nine episodes of the CBS television series '' Lassie''. Early years Bor ...

), who has tried to stand up for his rights after discovering that Donner and his crowd, including the sheriff, are going to foreclose on him as they have many other landowners in the area. Clay and Elkins served together during the war and the former Captain Clay Fletcher is disturbed that such a thing would happen to someone who had gone into tax arrears only because he was away fighting in the war in the service of his home state of Texas. After Clay takes Elkins and his wife home, the gang of men led by Donner and La Farge arrive to foreclose. Clay pleads his friend's case but the men storm further onto the property to drive the Elkins' off the land; after warning them that he will do so, in self-defense Elkins fires his gun and kills a deputy. The rancher is charged with murder and Clay volunteers to represent him. La Farge tries to have him killed. Clay has Pesky take the judge out of town to sober him up and ensure he stays away from liquor. By the time of the trial and in spite of Donner and his crew making one final attempt to get him to drink before the trial, Jeffers remains sober. He clears Elkins of any wrongdoing. Subsequently, Judge Jeffers is dragged behind a horse and killed; Elkins and his wife (

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 ...

) are also soon after found murdered. Vowing revenge, Clay forms an outfit of vigilantes to set things right. But in so doing, he is warned by Susan that he is becoming as ruthless as the men he's after. Donner ends up dead and La Farge is set to be lynched when Clay comes to his senses and asks that El Paso's next judge be the one to hand out justice.

Cast

* John Payne as Clay Fletcher *

as Susan Jeffers *

as Bert Donner *

as Pesky (Pescaloosa) Tees *

as Sheriff La Farge * Eduardo Noriega as Don Nacho Vázquez *

as Judge Henry Jeffers *

as Stagecoach Nellie * H. B. Warner as Judge Fletcher *

Bobby Ellis Bobby Ellis OD (2 July 1932 – 18 October 2016) was a Jamaican trumpet player. He worked with many reggae artists including Peter Tosh, Burning Spear and The Revolutionaries. Biography Born in Kingston on 2 October 1932, Bobby Ellis attende ...

as Jack Elkins *

as Mrs. Elkins *

as John Elkins * Steven Geray as Mexican Joe * Denver Pyle as uncredited vigilante

Production

The film was based on a story by J Robert Bren and Gladys Atwater. In July 1947 it was purchased by

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 ...

who had just made another Western named after a town in the Southwest, ''

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...

'' (1948). The story was going to depict the real-life Judge Colt.

William Holden William Holden (born William Franklin Beedle Jr.; April 17, 1918 – November 12, 1981) was an American actor, and one of the biggest box-office draws of the 1950s. Holden won the Academy Award for Best Actor for the film ''Stalag 17'' (1953) ...

was originally mentioned as the possible lead. The film was the first million-dollar-budgeted movie from

, who had specialised in low budget action films. They had recently increased their budgets because they felt the movies were more profitable that way. "We've got people working in this one who two years ago wouldn't have been caught dead in a Pine-Thomas picture," said producer Will Thomas. He added, "in the old days, all we had to do was get a guy blown up in an oil well explosion and go from there, but now, when we want to kill someone, we've got to have a good reason." Filming started October 1948. Some exterior shots were filmed in El Paso, Texas. Other scenes were shot in Gallup, Arizona, Nevada, and at ranches in the San Fernando Valley.

Reception

The film was an "okay" box office success, earning $2 million. The ''New York Times'' thought that despite the increased budget the film found Pine and Thomas "still in the same low budget groove".THE SCREEN: Just Pine and Thomas By BOSLEY CROWTHER. New York Times24 Mar 1949: 35. The film started a long relationship between Payne and Pine-Thomas.

References

External links