''The Yellow Mountain'' 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

Jesse Hibbs Jesse John Hibbs (January 11, 1906 – February 4, 1985) was an American film and television director and American football player. He played college football at the University of Southern California (USC), where he was an All-American tackle ...

and starring

Lex Barker Alexander Crichlow Barker Jr. (May 8, 1919 – May 11, 1973), known as Lex Barker, was an American actor. He was known for playing Tarzan for RKO Pictures between 1949 and 1953, and portraying leading characters from Karl May's novels, notably a ...

Mala Powers Mary Ellen "Mala" Powers (December 20, 1931 – June 11, 2007) was an American actress. Early life Powers was born in San Francisco, California, and raised in Los Angeles. Her father was a United Press executive, while her mother was a minister. ...

and Howard Duff.

Plot

Two former partners ("Andy Martin" and "Pete Menlo") from a previous mining claim are working in the strike town of "Goldfield", one running a saloon/ casino/ brothel (the "Fandango") and the other providing mining advice and management for the claims that the casino takes in as security against player's stakes. A regular gambler is "Jackpot" (whose daughter, Nevada, is the films love interest and the town's ore assayer). Buying up a mine stake, the partners make a rich strike. But their miners are taken away by a better pay offer from the town's other main mining magnate, "Bannon". A confrontation in the street with one of the hired guns escalates tension and sparks a price war. But neither mine can keep the loyalty of mule drivers to transport the ore to the smelter to turn into cash and continue the price war. The partners plan to ship a load out of town, but are betrayed by their lawyer to Bannon. (Continuity error - far too large a couple of ore wagons for the number of horses towing it.) The wagons are bushwhacked by Bannon's men outside town and crash. Martin is left unconscious to die in the desert, but is found by a passer-by and taken back into town. As Martin is returning to town, there is a cave-in at the mine with three men trapped. While the men work to free the trapped men, Menlo and Bannon discuss an offer from a state-wide magnate to run a railway to the town and the smelter, in return for a 50% stake in the town's mines. Martin arrives and incorrectly detects a double cross (financial and romantic) where there was none, and dissolves the partnership and the romance. Martin and Jackpot meet in a casino, and Martin wins Jackpot's mine, but by an obscure mining law it turns out that the rights to the mines are all controlled by the owner of Jackpot's mine (now Martin). The lawyer is run out of town. Menlo attempts to buy the mine from Jackpot, and discovers that it now belongs to Martin, so attempts to buy it back via Jackpot. This alerts Martin that Menlo is up to something. He is then attacked again by Bannon's hoodlums and dragged to a meeting with Bannon, who also tries to buy the mine. Martin, Nevada and Jackpot figure that something is up, work the mine, find high-quality ore that will control the whole area's strikes but are observed by one of the hoodlums. Bannon wants to kill the prospectors, but Menlo argues against it. After a fight, Menlo is knocked unconscious and Bannon and his hoodlums head to the claims registration office to prevent the prospectors party from registering the claim. A gunfight ensues, in which the hoodlums are killed, and Menlo reappears just in time to prevent Bannon from killing Jackpot. All ends in sweetness and light, with a fight scene between the two original partners which throws back (or forward) to "Gilligan's Island".

Cast

as Andy Martin *

as Nevada Wray * Howard Duff as Pete Menlo *

William Demarest Carl William Demarest (February 27, 1892 – December 27, 1983) was an American character actor, known especially for his roles in screwball comedies by Preston Sturges and for playing Uncle Charley in the sitcom '' My Three Sons'' Demarest, ...

as Jackpot Wray *

John McIntire John Herrick McIntire (June 27, 1907 – January 30, 1991) was an American character actor who appeared in 65 theatrical films and many television series. McIntire is well known for having replaced Ward Bond, upon Bond's sudden death in Novem ...

as Bannon (as John Mc. Intyre) * Leo Gordon as Drake *

Dayton Lummis Dayton Lummis (August 8, 1903 – March 23, 1988) was an American film, television and theatre actor. He was perhaps best known for playing the role of General Douglas MacArthur in the 1955 film ''The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell''. Lummis d ...

as Geraghty * Hal K. Dawson as Sam Torrence *

William Fawcett William or Bill Fawcett or ''variation'', may refer to: People * William Fawcett (actor) (1894–1974), American actor who was awarded the ''Légion d'honneur'' * William Fawcett (author) (1902–1941), English journalist and writer on horses, hun ...

as Old Prospector *

James Parnell James Parnel or Parnell (baptised 1636 – 1656) was an English Quaker preacher and author. As a teenager he became a nonconformist, visited George Fox in prison in 1653, and joined the Society of Friends. He is known as "The Boy Martyr". Persona ...

as Joe

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Yellow Mountain 1954 films 1954 Western (genre) films American Western (genre) films Films based on short fiction Films directed by Jesse Hibbs Films produced by Ross Hunter Films set in Nevada Treasure hunt films Universal Pictures films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films