''One Desire'' is a 1955

Technicolor Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

romance film Romance films or movies involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their journey ...

directed by

Jerry Hopper Harold Hankins Hopper (July 29, 1907 – December 17, 1988), known professionally as Jerry Hopper, was an American film and television director, active from the mid-1940s through the early 1970s. Early life Jerry Hopper was born in Guthrie, ...

and starring

Anne Baxter Anne Baxter (May 7, 1923 – December 12, 1985) was an American actress, star of Hollywood films, Broadway productions, and television series. She won an Academy Award and a Golden Globe, and was nominated for an Emmy. A granddaughter of Fra ...

Julie Adams Julie Adams (born Betty May Adams; October 17, 1926 – February 3, 2019) was an American actress, billed as Julia Adams toward the beginning of her career, primarily known for her numerous television guest roles. She starred in a number of ...

and

Rock Hudson Rock Hudson (born Roy Harold Scherer Jr.; November 17, 1925 – October 2, 1985) was an American actor. One of the most popular movie stars of his time, he had a screen career spanning more than three decades. A prominent heartthrob in the Golde ...

. Described as a "rugged story of oil-boom Oklahoma in the early 1900s", it was adapted from

Conrad Richter Conrad Michael Richter (October 13, 1890 – October 30, 1968) was an American novelist whose lyrical work is concerned largely with life on the American frontier in various periods. His novel '' The Town'' (1950), the last story of his trilogy '' ...

's best-selling 1942 novel ''Tacey Cromwell''. Baxter portrays a gambling house owner, Hudson a card dealer turned bank president and Adams the woman who comes between them. A young

Natalie Wood Natalie Wood ( Zacharenko; July 20, 1938 – November 29, 1981) was an American actress who began her career in film as a child and successfully transitioned to young adult roles. Wood started acting at age four and was given a co-starring r ...

is also in a featured role. Although the music is generally by

Frank Skinner Christopher Graham Collins (born 28 January 1957), professionally known as Frank Skinner, is an English comedian, actor, presenter and writer. At the 2001 British Comedy Awards, he was named Best Comedy Entertainment Personality. His televisio ...

, the film features a

Henry Mancini Henry Mancini ( ; born Enrico Nicola Mancini, ; April 16, 1924 – June 14, 1994) was an American composer, conductor, arranger, pianist and flautist. Often cited as one of the greatest composers in the history of film, he won four Academy Award ...

song sung by Gene Boyd and backed by the

Glenn Miller Orchestra Glenn Miller and His Orchestra was an American swing dance band formed by Glenn Miller in 1938. Arranged around a clarinet and tenor saxophone playing melody, and three other saxophones playing harmony, the band became the most popular and com ...

which was uncredited to Mancini.

Plot

Clint Saunders is dismissed from his job as the White Palace saloon's card dealer after coming to work late. He doesn't mind, wishing to leave for

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

and the lucrative silver mines there. Saloon owner Tacey Cromwell, in love with Clint, decides to leave with him and Clint's little brother Nugget, even though Clint doesn't wish to settle down. In their new town, Clint becomes acquainted with prosperous Judith Watrous, a senator's daughter, who offers him a job running her bank and is obviously attracted to him. Tacey does her best to make a proper home for Nugget and for a young tomboy, Seely Dowder, taking in the girl when she becomes an orphan. The haughty Judith learns of Tacey's past life, after having hired a private investigator and jealously has custody of the children taken from Tacey while Clint is out of town. A broken-hearted Tacey returns to her old saloon job, while Clint remains behind and marries Judith. As years go by, Seely grows up and encounters Tacey again. They return to Colorado, where upon discovering how Judith betrayed her, Tacey plans to open a rowdy new saloon, right across the street from the Judith/Clint home out of spite. During a quarrel, a drunken Judith throws a lantern at Clint and sets their house ablaze. ( note they live in the "Herman Munster" house and ride by the "Beaver Cleaver" house too). She perishes in the fire. Tacey's saloon catches fire as well and burns to the ground. Tacey, the children and Clint vow to carry on and rebuild their lives.

Cast

as Tacey Cromwell *

as Clint Saunders *

Barry Curtis Barry Curtis may refer to: * Barry Curtis (actor) (1943–2019), American film and television actor * Barry Curtis (mayor) (born 1939), served as mayor (1983–2007) of Manukau City, New Zealand ** Barry Curtis Park, a park in south Auckland, New Z ...

as Nugget Saunders *

as Judith Watrous *

Carl Benton Reid Carl Benton Reid (August 14, 1893 – March 16, 1973) was an American actor. Early years Reid was born in Lansing, Michigan. He used his full name professionally because when he worked in radio, four other people in the business were named Ca ...

as Sen. Kenneth A. Watrous *

as Seely Dowder *

Betty Garde Katharine Elizabeth Garde (September 19, 1905 – December 25, 1989) was an American stage, radio, film and television actress. Early years Born in Philadelphia, Garde was starring in productions of South Philadelphia's Broadway Players by ...

as Mrs. O'Dell *

William Hopper William DeWolf Hopper Jr. (January 26, 1915 – March 6, 1970) was an American stage, film, and television actor. The only child of actor DeWolf Hopper and actress and Hollywood columnist Hedda Hopper, he appeared in predominantly minor ro ...

as MacBain

Reception

The ''Ames Daily Tribune'' praised the "exciting climax" of the film with a drunken quarrel and fire, and praised the "ace high" of the cast in their "demanding" roles. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' described it as "nothing thing more than a plodding, old-fashioned soap opera" triangle and that "some spectators may find themselves simply tuning in, eyes closed, to the familiar train of events, dialogue and musical effects", although praised the performances of the cast. One book described it as "another 50s melodrama made at Universal".

References

External links

* {{Ross Hunter 1955 films 1955 romantic drama films American romantic drama films Films based on American novels Films directed by Jerry Hopper Films produced by Ross Hunter Films set in Oklahoma Films set in the 1900s Universal Pictures films Films scored by Frank Skinner 1950s English-language films 1950s American films

Plot

Cast

Reception

See also

References

External links