''Overland Pacific'' is a 1954 American color

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 Fred F. Sears and starring

Jock Mahoney Jacques Joseph O'Mahoney (February 7, 1919 – December 14, 1989), known professionally as Jock Mahoney, was an American actor and stuntman. He starred in two Action/Adventure television series, ''The Range Rider'' and ''Yancy Derringer''. He ...

Peggie Castle Peggie Castle (December 22, 1927 – August 11, 1973) was an American actress who specialized in playing the "other woman" in B-movies. Castle was Miss Cheesecake in 1949. Early life Castle was born as Peggy Thomas Blair in Appalachia, Wis ...

and

Adele Jergens Adele Jergens (November 26, 1917 – November 22, 2002) was an American actress. Early life and career Born in Brooklyn, New York, as Adele Louisa Jurgens (some sources say Jurgenson), she rose to prominence in the late 1930s when she was named ...

Plot

Ross Granger practices sending telegraphs noisily while sharing a stagecoach with an uninterested man and an irate woman. The coach halts at a telegraph pole adorned with a worker who has an arrow in his back. They place the worker's body on top of the coach, but it falls off before they reach Oaktown. Granger has a fistfight with the driver over the loss and sends him back to retrieve the body. At the Silver Dollar Saloon he meets his old friend from the Civil War: Del Stewart. Del invites him to dinner with him and his girlfriend Ann and they reminisce. Outside town men are laying a new railroad track for Overland Pacific when they are attacked by

Comanche The Comanche or Nʉmʉnʉʉ ( com, Nʉmʉnʉʉ, "the people") are a Native American tribe from the Southern Plains of the present-day United States. Comanche people today belong to the federally recognized Comanche Nation, headquartered in ...

Indians armed with bow and arrows and rifles. There is also suspicion of

sabotage Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a polity, effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction. One who engages in sabotage is a ''saboteur''. Saboteurs typically try to conceal their identitie ...

. Del is engaged to Ann Dennison, whose father runs the railroad. Del goes out to see the father who is surveying the land. Del tries to persuade the father to detour the railway to go through Oaktown, but he resists. Del's partner arrives and shoots the father dead. The killer and Del attend the funeral. Granger starts work as a telegraph operator but it is thought he is an impostor. The sheriff goes out to warn Granger that trouble is brewing. The sheriff shows where the Comanche have rifles hidden. An ambush is waiting from Jason. Granger suspects this but is shot in the chest, but manages to kill Jason. The sheriff is revealed as being sided with the other side and draws his gun on Granger. Granger collapses before he is shot. Granger revives in town. He knows now Jason killed Mr Dennison. Del is revealed as hiring the Comanche to attack the railroad workers. A jealous Jessie Lorraine, his dance-hall girl, loves Del as well. Del and his cohorts are secretly selling repeater rifles to Chief Dark Thunder and the Comanche Indians, who do not want the railroad crossing their land. Del and rancher Broden want the Overland Pacific to re-route through Oaktown, where they own property. A hired gun and corrupt sheriff both end up dead. Ann breaks off her engagement upon learning Del's scheme, pleasing Jessie until she discovers the true nature of Del, then is shot by him. It is left to Granger to win a shootout with Del, after which he and Ann commence a romance.

Cast

as Granger *

as Ann Dennison * William Bishop as Del Stewart *

as Jessie *

Pat Hogan Pat Hogan (born Thurman Lee Haas; February 3, 1920 – November 21, 1966) was an American actor. He mostly played Native Americans over the course of his career. He was best known for his portrayal of Chief Red Stick in the film '' Davy Crocke ...

as Dark Thunder, leader of the Comanche *

Chris Alcaide John Thomas Berger (October 22, 1923 – June 30, 2004) was an American film and television actor. He mostly appeared on western television shows including, ''Gunsmoke'', ''Bonanza'', '' Rawhide'', '' Wanted: Dead or Alive'', ''Trackdown'', ...

as Jason, Del's hired gun *

Chubby Johnson Charles Randolph "Chubby" Johnson (August 13, 1903 – October 31, 1974) was an American film and television supporting character actor with a genial demeanor and warm, country-accented voice. Early years Johnson was the son of entertaine ...

as Sheriff Blaney * Walter Sande as Mr Dennison *

House Peters Jr. Robert House Peters Jr. (January 12, 1916 – October 1, 2008) was an American character actor most noted for his roles in 1950s B movies and westerns. He is perhaps best remembered as the face and body of Mr. Clean in the Procter and Gamble c ...

as Perkins * Fred Graham as Jenks the stage driver

Production

Jock Mahoney signed a five-picture deal with

Edward Small Edward Small (born Edward Schmalheiser, February 1, 1891, Brooklyn, New York – January 25, 1977, Los Angeles) was a film producer from the late 1920s through 1970, who was enormously prolific over a 50-year career. He is best known for the movi ...

of which this was the first. It was originally known as ''Silver Dollar''. Although it is generally regarded as a low budget Western, it was actually one of the first films to use blood squibs to simulate someone being shot. This happens twice: at around the 25 minute mark when Jason (Chris Alcaide) shoots and kills Dennison (Walter Sande), then around the 35 minute mark when Jason shoots and wounds Granger (Jock Mahoney).

References

External links

''Overland Pacific''
at

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{{Edward Small 1954 films American Western (genre) films 1954 Western (genre) films Films produced by Edward Small 1950s English-language films United Artists films Films directed by Fred F. Sears 1950s American films Films scored by Irving Gertz