Fighting Man of the Plains | |
---|---|
Directed by | Edwin L. Marin |
Written by | Frank Gruber |
Based on | Frank Gruber (novel) |
Produced by | Nat Holt |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Fred Jackman Jr. |
Edited by | Philip Martin |
Music by | Paul Sawtell |
Color process | Cinecolor |
Production company | Nat Holt Productions |
Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
Release date |
|
Running time | 94 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Fighting Man of the Plains is a 1949 American Western film produced by Nat Holt and directed by Edwin L. Marin. It starred Randolph Scott, Bill Williams, Victor Jory, and Jane Nigh. The supporting cast included Joan Taylor, Barry Kelley, Douglas Kennedy, Paul Fix, Rhys Williams, James Millican and, in his first credited role, Dale Robertson as Jesse James. [1]
Jim Dancer (Scott) is one of Quantrill's Raiders and a close friend of Jesse James (Robertson). They are involved in the Lawrence Massacre, during which Dancer kills Theodore Slocum after mistaking him for his brother Bert Slocum (Kelley), the man responsible for the death of Dancer's own brother. Theodore Slocum's daughter Evelyn (Taylor) witnesses the killing and learns Dancer's name but cannot later recognise him. After the Civil War ends, Dancer becomes a wanted outlaw and is eventually captured by detective George Cummings (Millican). Dancer learns from Cummings that he killed the wrong Slocum. While they are crossing a river by ferry near Lanyard, Kansas, the boat is hit by a storm surge which panics the horses. Cummings is hit by a hoof and falls overboard, taking Dancer with him as they are handcuffed together. Cummings drowns and Dancer, still shackled to him, collapses on the riverbank.
They are found by Lanyard citizens next day, including gambler Dave Oldham (Jory) and saloonkeeper Florence Peel (Nigh). Dancer says he is Cummings and that his captive has drowned. Dave and Florence know he is lying but stay quiet for the present. As Cummings, Dancer retires from the detective agency and becomes a railroad worker. He is in Lanyard when the line is completed and discovers that his enemy Bert Slocum is the town boss who owns most of the property there. When a group of cowboys go on the rampage and try to assault Evelyn, Dancer rescues her and is obliged to outdraw and kill the ringleader. The townsfolk plead with him to become Town Marshal but he refuses. Dave and Florence confront him and tell him they know he is not Cummings so he agrees to take office.
Aided by his psychotic associate Johnny Tancred (Williams), Slocum sets about trying to monopolise the town and its surrounding territory including the railroad run by Charles Lanyard (Harry Cheshire), the town's founder. Slocum is suspicious of the Marshal and summons Cliff Bailey (Berry Kroeger), a Chicago detective who knew Cummings, to identify him. Bailey is an old friend of Dave Oldham who tells him the full story and, realising that Slocum is crooked, Bailey confirms that the Marshal is George Cummings.
Dancer's cover is blown, however, when he is recognised by an outlaw called Yancey (Fix) who is a former Quantrill man. Dancer is obliged to resign and Tancred takes over as Marshal, releasing Yancey and his friends from jail. They kill Oldham and other leading citizens. Dancer is arrested and Tancred, encouraged by Slocum, stages a kangaroo court trial which ends with Dancer being "sentenced" to hang for the murder of Slocum's brother. Tancred and Yancey tell Slocum they are going to rob his bank and leave the town, so Slocum will be bankrupt.
Meanwhile, Charles Lanyard has had a similar idea and has taken steps to deal with Slocum by hiring the James–Younger Gang to rob the bank. The gang arrive as Dancer is being led down the main street to a hanging tree. Tancred realises they have no rope and shouts for one. Jesse James rides forward with his rope. A shootout begins after Yancey recognises James. Slocum, Tancred and Yancey are all shot dead.
James invites Dancer to join his gang but Dancer declines. James tells him they are equal now after Dancer once saved his life and the gang ride away. Dancer has realised that Florence loves him and the finale shows them hurrying towards each other.
Alexander Franklin James was a Confederate soldier and guerrilla; in the post-Civil War period, he was an outlaw. The older brother of outlaw Jesse James, Frank was also part of the James–Younger Gang.
Quantrill's Raiders were the best-known of the pro-Confederate partisan guerrillas who fought in the American Civil War. Their leader was William Quantrill and they included Jesse James and his brother Frank.
William Clarke Quantrill was a Confederate guerrilla leader during the American Civil War.
William T. Anderson, known by the nickname "Bloody Bill" Anderson, was a soldier who was one of the deadliest and most notorious Confederate guerrilla leaders in the American Civil War. Anderson led a band of volunteer partisan raiders who targeted Union loyalists and federal soldiers in the states of Missouri and Kansas.
Edward Barry Kelley was an American actor on Broadway in the 1930s and 1940s and in films during the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. The heavy-set actor created the role of Ike in Oklahoma! on Broadway. His large size and acting range had him playing primarily judges, detectives, and police officers.
Cimarron is a 1960 American epic Western film based on the 1930 Edna Ferber novel Cimarron. The film stars Glenn Ford and Maria Schell and was directed by Anthony Mann and Charles Walters, though Walters is not credited onscreen. Ferber's novel was previously adapted as a film in 1931; that version won three Academy Awards.
Robert Newton Ford was an American outlaw who killed fellow outlaw Jesse James on April 3, 1882. He and his brother Charley, both members of the James–Younger Gang under James's leadership, went on to perform paid re-enactments of the killing at publicity events. Ford would spend his later years operating multiple saloons and dance halls in the West.
Alias Jesse James is a 1959 American Western comedy film directed by Norman Z. McLeod and starring Bob Hope and Rhonda Fleming. Based on a story by Robert St. Aubrey and Bert Lawrence, the film is about an outlaw who tries to kill an insurance agent who has been mistaken for him in order to collect on a big policy. Costumes by Edith Head.
The Man from Colorado is a 1948 American Western film directed by Henry Levin, produced by Jules Schermer for Columbia Pictures, and starring Glenn Ford as a Union officer who becomes addicted to killing during the American Civil War, William Holden as his best friend, and Ellen Drew as their common love interest. Robert Andrews and Ben Maddow based the screenplay on a story by Borden Chase. Although Ford received top billing as the mentally ill villain, Holden's role as the sympathetic hero is slightly larger.
Edward T. Miller was a Missouri-born outlaw.
I Shot Jesse James is a 1949 American Western film starring Reed Hadley as Jesse James and John Ireland as Bob Ford. Directed by Samuel Fuller in his debut behind the camera, it portrays the murder of Jesse James by Robert Ford and Robert Ford's life afterwards. The story is built around a fictional rivalry between Ford and his eventual killer Edward O’Kelley over a woman.
Harry Lewis Woods was an American film actor.
Douglas Richards Kennedy was an American actor who appeared in more than 190 films from 1935 to 1973.
James J. Chiles, also known as Jim Crow Chiles, was a Confederate outlaw who fought with Quantrill's Raiders.
James Robert Cummins or Cummings, aka: "Windy Jim" was an American criminal.
James Millican was an American actor with over 200 film appearances mostly in western movies.
Jesse Woodson James was an American outlaw, bank and train robber, guerrilla and leader of the James–Younger Gang. Raised in the "Little Dixie" area of Missouri, James and his family maintained strong Southern sympathies. He and his brother Frank James joined pro-Confederate guerrillas known as "bushwhackers" operating in Missouri and Kansas during the American Civil War. As followers of William Quantrill and "Bloody Bill" Anderson, they were accused of committing atrocities against Union soldiers and civilian abolitionists, including the Centralia Massacre in 1864.
Kansas Raiders is a 1950 American Western film directed by Ray Enright, and stars Audie Murphy, Brian Donlevy, Marguerite Chapman, and Scott Brady. It is set during the American Civil War and involves Jesse James coming under the influence of William Quantrill.
Woman They Almost Lynched is a 1953 American Western film directed by Allan Dwan and written by Steve Fisher. The film stars John Lund, Brian Donlevy, Audrey Totter, Joan Leslie, Ben Cooper, James Brown, and Nina Varela. The film was released on March 20, 1953, by Republic Pictures.
The Great Missouri Raid is a 1951 American Western film directed by Gordon Douglas and written by Frank Gruber. The film stars Wendell Corey, Macdonald Carey, Ellen Drew, Ward Bond, Bruce Bennett, Bill Williams and Anne Revere. The film was released on February 15, 1951, by Paramount Pictures.