''West of the Pecos'' is a 1945 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

Edward Killy Edward Arthur Killy (January 26, 1903 – July 2, 1981) was an American director, assistant director and production manager in films and television. He was one of the few individuals to be nominated for the short-lived Academy Award for Best ...

and starring

Robert Mitchum Robert Charles Durman Mitchum (August 6, 1917 – July 1, 1997) was an American actor. He rose to prominence with an Academy Award nomination for the Best Supporting Actor for ''The Story of G.I. Joe'' (1945), followed by his starring in ...

and

Barbara Hale Barbara Hale (April 18, 1922 – January 26, 2017) was an American actress who portrayed legal secretary Della Street in the dramatic television series ''Perry Mason (1957 TV series), Perry Mason'' (1957–1966), earning her a 1959 Emmy Award f ...

. It is the second film version of

Zane Grey Pearl Zane Grey (January 31, 1872 – October 23, 1939) was an American author and dentist. He is known for his popular adventure novels and stories associated with the Western genre in literature and the arts; he idealized the American frontie ...

's novel, previously made in 1934 and also titled '' West of the Pecos'' starring

Richard Dix Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'strong ...

. It is no relation to the 1922 silent film of the same name. The previous year, Mitchum had played the lead in another Zane Grey movie with the same screenwriter ( Norman Houston) and director titled ''

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

'', also featuring Richard Martin as comical

sidekick A sidekick is a slang expression for a close companion or colleague (not necessarily in fiction) who is, or is generally regarded as, subordinate to the one they accompany. Some well-known fictional sidekicks are Don Quixote's Sancho Panza, ...

Chito Rafferty. ''Nevada'' had been Mitchum's first movie as a leading man and the opening titles began with "Introducing Bob Mitchum as Jim Lacy".

Plot

Colonel Lambreth's health is poor, so daughter Rill persuades him to leave his

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

meat-packing business behind and move to their Texas cattle ranch. Her fiancé, lawyer Clyde Corbin, stays behind. On the trail, a couple of cowboys, Pecos Smith and sidekick Chito Rafferty, pull up to demand driver Tex Evans pay their back wages. After they ride off, the stagecoach is attacked by bandits. Circling back, the cowboys are told by the mortally wounded Tex that he was shot by Sam Sawtelle. The stage proceeds to town with Jeff Slinger at the reins. Rill, harassed in town, tucks her hair into her hat and disguises herself as a boy to be left alone. Brad Sawtelle, brother of Sam, organizes a posse of vigilantes to find Tex's killer. Pecos gets to Sam first and shoots him. The colonel and Rill get lost en route to their ranch. Pecos and Chito assist them and are offered jobs. Chito tries to woo the Lambreths' maid, Suzanne, but where Rill is concerned, Pecos still doesn't know she's a woman. Corbin comes to Texas and senses that Rill is now in love with someone else. Brad and his men believe Pecos to be an accomplice in the stagecoach robbery and murder. Pecos proves that the one responsible was Slinger, who is shot dead by Brad. A marshal places Brad under arrest and Rill and Pecos finally get to know each other better.

Cast

as Pecos Smith *

as Rill Lambeth * Richard Martin as Chito Rafferty *

Thurston Hall Ernest Thurston Hall (May 10, 1882 – February 20, 1958) was an American film, stage and television actor.Aylesworth, Thomas G. and Bowman, John S. (1987). ''The World Almanac Who's Who of Film''. World Almanac. . Pp. 186-187. Career Stag ...

as Colonel Lambeth *

Rita Corday Rita Corday (born Jeanne Paule Teipo-Ite-Marma Croset; October 20, 1920 – November 23, 1992) was an American actress. She appeared in 30 films during the 1940s and 1950s. She was sometimes billed as Paula Corday or Paule Croset. Biography ...

as Suzanne *

Russell Hopton Harry Russell Hopton (February 18, 1900 – April 7, 1945) was an American film actor and director. Biography Hopton was born in New York City, New York. He appeared in 110 films between 1926 and 1945, often playing streetwise characters f ...

as Jeff Slinger * Bill Williams as Tex Evans * Bruce Edwards as Clyde Corbin * Harry Woods as Brad Sawtelle * Perc Launders as Sam Sawtelle *

Bryant Washburn Franklin Bryant Washburn III (April 28, 1889 – April 30, 1963) was an American film actor who appeared in more than 370 films between 1911 and 1947. Washburn's parents were Franklin Bryant Washburn II and Metha Catherine Johnson Washburn. He a ...

as Doc Howard * Philip Morris as U.S. Marshal *

Martin Garralaga Martín Garralaga (10 November 1894 – 12 June 1981) was a Spanish actor who worked in Hollywood from the 1930s through the 1960s. He was married to opera singer and actress Rosa Rey. Biography Garralaga first came to the United States whe ...

as Don Manuel

Production and Release

The film was popular and earned $151,000 in profits. It was Mitchum's final job before his service in the army.Richard Jewell & Vernon Harbin, ''The RKO Story.'' New Rochelle, New York: Arlington House, 1982. p203 The previous year, Mitchum had played the lead in another Zane Grey movie with the same screenwriter ( Norman Houston) and director titled ''

'', also featuring Richard Martin as comical

Chito Rafferty. ''Nevada'' had been Mitchum's first movie as a leading man and the opening titles began with "Introducing Bob Mitchum as Jim Lacy". He was billed as Robert Mitchum for ''West of the Pecos'' and for the rest of his extremely long career as a leading man. Both ''Nevada'' and ''West of the Pecos'' did well at the box office. The latter film was popular and earned $151,000 in profits. It was Mitchum's final job before his service in the army. Among numerous other roles during her career,

would go on to play "

Della Street Della Street is the fictional secretary of Perry Mason in the long-running series of novels, short stories, films, and radio and television programs featuring the fictional defense attorney created by Erle Stanley Gardner. In 1950, Gardner publ ...

Perry Mason Perry Mason is a fictional character, an American criminal defense lawyer who is the main character in works of detective fiction written by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason features in 82 novels and 4 short stories, all of which involve a cli ...

's secretary, in the long-running television series ''

'' (1957-1966) starring

Raymond Burr Raymond William Stacy Burr (May 21, 1917September 12, 1993) was a Canadian actor known for his lengthy Hollywood film career and his title roles in television dramas ''Perry Mason'' and '' Ironside''. Burr's early acting career included roles ...

and would later play the role again opposite Burr for thirty TV-movies for a different decade (1985-1995).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:West of the Pecos (1945 Film) 1945 films 1945 Western (genre) films American black-and-white films Films shot in Lone Pine, California American Western (genre) films Films directed by Edward Killy Films scored by Paul Sawtell 1940s English-language films 1940s American films