''The Broken Star'' is a 1956 American
Western
Western may refer to:
Places
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*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
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film directed by
Lesley Selander
Lesley Selander (May 26, 1900 – December 5, 1979) was an American film director of Western (genre), Westerns and adventure film, adventure movies. His career as director, spanning 127 feature films and dozens of TV episodes, lasted from 1936 to ...
and written by
John C. Higgins. The film stars
Howard Duff
Howard is an English-language given name originating from Old French Huard (or Houard) from a Germanic source similar to Old High German ''*Hugihard'' "heart-brave", or ''*Hoh-ward'', literally "high defender; chief guardian". It is also probabl ...
,
Lita Baron
Lita Baron (born Isabel Castro; August 11, 1923 – December 16, 2015) was a Spanish-born American actress and singer who appeared in movies and television shows for over 30 years.
Early life
Baron was born Isabel Castro in Almería, Spain ...
,
Bill Williams,
Douglas Fowley,
Henry Calvin,
Addison Richards, Joel Ashley and
John Pickard. The film was released in April 1956, by
United Artists
United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the studi ...
.
Plot
A deputy marshall (Smeed) kills a ranch hand and steals a sack of gold. He claims it was a fair fight but the marshal of Arizona's Southern Territory (Forrester) has his doubts. Unknown to Smeed, there was a witness to the murder (Nachez). While the investigation unfolds, Smeed tries to cover up the evidence and eliminate people who can implicate him.
Another deputy (Gentry), who has always admired Smeed, defends him to his girlfriend (Alvarado) but is astonished when Alvarado translates the written eyewitness account (from the Spanish) by Nachez. Smeed kidnaps Nachez, taking him to a mine, where he kills him and hides the body. Gentry shows up at the mine but is over-powered by Smeed, tied up, and left to be buried in a cave-in caused by Smeed setting a charge.
The marshal arrives with his posse and hunts down Smeed inside the mine, using an alternate entry. In the meantime, Gentry, who survives the cave-in, unties himself and joins the hunt. The posse corners Smeed, who draws first, and is killed by Gentry. In the closing scene, Gentry (with his new bride, Alvarado), is presented with a new badge by Forrester and congratulated for being appointed to the position of marshal of Arizona's Northern Territory.
Cast
*
Howard Duff
Howard is an English-language given name originating from Old French Huard (or Houard) from a Germanic source similar to Old High German ''*Hugihard'' "heart-brave", or ''*Hoh-ward'', literally "high defender; chief guardian". It is also probabl ...
as Deputy Marshal Frank Smeed
*
Lita Baron
Lita Baron (born Isabel Castro; August 11, 1923 – December 16, 2015) was a Spanish-born American actress and singer who appeared in movies and television shows for over 30 years.
Early life
Baron was born Isabel Castro in Almería, Spain ...
as Conchita Alvarado
*
Bill Williams as Deputy Marshal Bill Gentry
*
Douglas Fowley as Hiram Charleton
*
Henry Calvin as Thornton Wills
*
Addison Richards as Marshal Wayne Forrester
*Joel Ashley as Messendyke
*
John Pickard as Van Horn
*William 'Bill' Phillips as Doc Mott
*Joe Dominguez as Nachez
References
External links
*
1956 films
1950s English-language films
United Artists films
American Western (genre) films
1956 Western (genre) films
Films directed by Lesley Selander
Films scored by Paul Dunlap
1950s American films
American black-and-white films
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