''Mail Order Bride'' is a 1964 American Western comedy film directed by Burt Kennedy and starring Buddy Ebsen,

Keir Dullea Keir Atwood Dullea (; born May 30, 1936) is an American actor. He played astronaut David Bowman in the 1968 film '' 2001: A Space Odyssey'' and its 1984 sequel, '' 2010: The Year We Make Contact''. His other film roles include '' David and Lisa ...

and Lois Nettleton. The screenplay concerns an old man who pressures the wild son of a dead friend into marrying a

mail-order bride A mail-order bride is a woman who lists herself in catalogs and is selected by a man for marriage. In the twentieth century, the trend was primarily towards women living in developing countries seeking men in more developed nations. The majority ...

in an attempt to settle him down.

Plot

Retired lawman Will Lane promises to look after a dying friend's son. He is given the deed to the man's Montana ranch and instructed not to let the friend's son, Lee Carey, have it until Lee gives up his immature ways. One provision is that Lee must marry. Will uses a catalog to look for a suitable wife. He ends up finding Annie Boley, a widow in

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...

with a six-year-old son, working in a saloon for Hanna, who originally placed the ad in the catalog. Lee agrees to marry her, with ranch hand Jace as his best man, but assures Annie that their marriage will be in name only, with no other marital obligations. Will learns that Jace has been stealing cattle. Lee refuses to believe it until Jace proposes they rustle together and leave the ranch in ruins. When Jace starts a fire with the boy still inside the house, Lee rescues him and comes to his senses. An angry Will believes Lee conspired with Jace to steal the herd and disgustedly gives him the deed. But Lee realizes he cares for his new family and asks Will to help him get back the cattle. They corner Jace in town and in a shootout Jace is killed. Lee vows to rebuild the ranch and Will rides back to Kansas City to court Hanna.

Cast

* Buddy Ebsen as Will Lane *

as Lee Carey * Lois Nettleton as Annie Boley * Warren Oates as Jace * BarBara Luna as Marietta (as Barbara Luna) *

Paul Fix Peter Paul Fix (March 13, 1901 – October 14, 1983) was an American film and television character actor who was best known for his work in Westerns. Fix appeared in more than 100 movies and dozens of television shows over a 56-year career be ...

as Sheriff Jess Linley * Marie Windsor as Hanna *

Denver Pyle Denver Dell Pyle (May 11, 1920 – December 25, 1997) was an American film and television actor and director. He was well known for a number of TV roles from the 1960s through the 1980s, including his portrayal of Briscoe Darling Jr. in se ...

as Preacher Pope * William Smith as Lank * Kathleen Freeman as Sister Sue * Abigail Shelton as Young Old Maid * James Mathers as Matt Boley * Doodles Weaver as Charlie Mary * Diane Sayer as Lily Fontaine * Ted Ryan as Bartender

References

External links

* * * 1963 films 1963 comedy films 1960s Western (genre) comedy films American comedy films American Western (genre) comedy films Films about weddings Films directed by Burt Kennedy Films set in Kansas City, Missouri Films set in Montana Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films 1960s English-language films 1960s American films {{1960s-Western-film-stub

Plot

Cast

See also

References

External links