Ghost Town (1956 film)

Last updated

Ghost Town
Ghost Town (1956 film) poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed byAllen H. Miner
Written byJameson Brewer
Produced by Howard W. Koch
Starring
Cinematography Joseph F. Biroc
Edited byMichael Pozen
Music by Paul Dunlap
Production
company
Bel-Air Productions
Distributed by United Artists
Release date
  • March 1956 (1956-03)
Running time
77 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$100,000 [1]

Ghost Town is a 1956 American Western film directed by Allen H. Miner and written by Jameson Brewer. The film stars Kent Taylor, John Smith, Marian Carr, Serena Sande and John Doucette. The film was released in March 1956 by United Artists. [2] [3]

Contents

Plot

Four passengers in a stagecoach are heading west through Indian territory: Barbara, a young woman going to meet her fiancée; Rev. Wheedle, a minister who believes the settlers should make friends with the Indians; Doc, a drunken doctor; and Conroy, a well-dressed “gentleman” with a sly and cynical tone.

At a stage stop that has been destroyed by Indians, they are joined by Duff, the woman’s fiancé and his friend Crusty; they have been prospecting for gold for the last two years. They continue on, then encounter Sgt. Dockery, a soldier from a nearby fort, and Alex, his son. The soldier tells the group that the Cheyenne are on the warpath and they have to change course. The group is then attacked by a band of Cheyenne and the two stagecoach drivers are killed. The doctor is also killed. The rest of the group manages to get to a ghost town (apparently wiped out by a disease of some kind), where they hold up for the night. They are joined there by Stone Knife, a very old Cheyenne chief who is disgraced in the eyes of his tribe, and Maureen, Stone Knife's half-white daughter.

The Cheyenne attack and the group is able to hold them off, but they run out of ammunition. The minister tries to go and talk to the Cheyenne, but is killed. The Army sergeant’s son sneaks off in the night to try and get help, but is also seemingly killed. The next day Fire Knife, the leader of Cheyanne, offers the group a bargain – turn over Stone Knife, and the rest will be allowed to go free. Duff, who has become the leader of the group, doesn’t want to do it, but Stone Knife sneaks out a back door and gives himself up, so the rest are allowed to leave the ghost town.

Cast

Production

Parts of the film were shot in Johnson Canyon and the Kanab movie fort in Utah. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philip Carey</span> American actor (1925–2009)

Philip Carey was an American actor, well-known for playing the role of Asa Buchanan on the soap opera One Life to Live for nearly three decades.

<i>Big Jake</i> 1971 film

Big Jake is a 1971 American Technicolor Western film starring John Wayne, Richard Boone and Maureen O'Hara. The picture was the final film for George Sherman in a directing career of more than 30 years, and Maureen O'Hara's last film with John Wayne and her last before her twenty-year retirement. The supporting cast features Patrick Wayne, Christopher Mitchum, Glenn Corbett, Jim Davis, John Agar, Harry Carey Jr. and Hank Worden.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Doucette</span> American actor (1921–1994)

John Arthur Doucette was an American character actor who performed in more than 280 film and television productions between 1941 and 1987. A man of stocky build who possessed a deep, rich voice, he proved equally adept at portraying characters in Shakespearean plays, Westerns, and modern crime dramas. He is perhaps best remembered, however, for his villainous roles as a movie and television "tough guy".

<i>Cheyenne Autumn</i> 1964 film by John Ford

Cheyenne Autumn is a 1964 American epic Western film starring Richard Widmark, Carroll Baker, James Stewart, and Edward G. Robinson. It tells the story of a factual event, the Northern Cheyenne Exodus of 1878–79, told with artistic license. The film was the last Western directed by John Ford, who proclaimed it an elegy for the Native Americans who had been abused by the U.S. government and misrepresented in numerous of his own films. With a budget of more than $4 million, the film was relatively unsuccessful at the box office and failed to earn a profit for Warner Bros.

<i>Four Star Playhouse</i> 1952 American TV series or program

Four Star Playhouse is an American anthology series that ran from September 25, 1952, through September 27, 1956.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert J. Wilke</span> American actor (1914–1989)

Robert Joseph Wilke was an American film and television actor noted primarily for his roles as villains, mostly in Westerns.

<i>Tarzan Finds a Son!</i> 1939 film by Richard Thorpe

Tarzan Finds a Son! is a 1939 Tarzan film based on the character created by Edgar Rice Burroughs. It was the fourth in the MGM Tarzan series to feature Johnny Weissmuller as the "King of the Apes" and the fourth of six films in which he stars with Maureen O'Sullivan as Jane; following this pairing was Tarzan's Secret Treasure (1941) and Tarzan's New York Adventure (1942).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chuck Roberson</span> American actor and stuntman (1919–1988)

Charles Hugh Roberson was an American actor and stuntman.

Gung Ho! is a 1943 American war film directed by Ray Enright and starring Randolph Scott. The story is based somewhat on the real-life World War II Makin Island raid led by Lieutenant Colonel Evans Carlson's 2nd Marine Raider Battalion.

<i>Destry</i> (film) 1954 film by George Marshall

Destry is a 1954 American western film directed by George Marshall and starring Audie Murphy, Mari Blanchard, Lyle Bettger and Thomas Mitchell.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern Cheyenne Exodus</span> Attempt of the Northern Cheyenne to return to the north

The Northern Cheyenne Exodus, also known as Dull Knife's Raid, the Cheyenne War, or the Cheyenne Campaign, was the attempt of the Northern Cheyenne to return to the north, after being placed on the Southern Cheyenne reservation in the Indian Territory, and the United States Army operations to stop them. The period lasted from 1878 to 1879.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Robinson breakout</span> Battle and massacre that occurred in Fort Robinson, Nebraska

The Fort Robinson breakout or Fort Robinson massacre was the attempted escape of Cheyenne captives from the U.S. army during the winter of 1878-1879 at Fort Robinson in northwestern Nebraska. In 1877, the Cheyenne had been forced to relocate from their homelands on the northern Great Plains south to the Darlington Agency on the Southern Cheyenne Reservation in Indian Territory (Oklahoma). In September 1878, in what is called the Northern Cheyenne Exodus, 353 Northern Cheyenne fled north because of poor conditions on the reservation. In Nebraska, the U.S. Army captured 149 of the Cheyenne, including 46 warriors, and escorted them to Fort Robinson.

<i>Dakota Incident</i> 1956 film by Lewis R. Foster

Dakota Incident is a 1956 American Trucolor western film directed by Lewis R. Foster and starring Linda Darnell, Dale Robertson, John Lund and Ward Bond. It was produced and distributed by Republic Pictures.

<i>Red Mountain</i> (film) 1951 film

Red Mountain is a 1951 American Western film directed by William Dieterle and starring Alan Ladd, Lizabeth Scott, Arthur Kennedy and John Ireland, set in the last days of the US Civil War. The plot centres on an attempt by Quantrill's Raiders to stir up rebellion in the West.

<i>Quincannon, Frontier Scout</i> 1956 film by Lesley Selander

Quincannon, Frontier Scout is a 1956 American Western film directed by Lesley Selander and written by John C. Higgins and Don Martin. The film stars Tony Martin, Peggie Castle, John Bromfield, John Smith and Ron Randell. The film was released in May 1956, by United Artists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Porcupine (Cheyenne)</span> Cheyenne chief and medicine man, c. 1848–1929

Porcupine was a Cheyenne chief and medicine man. He is best known for bringing the Ghost Dance religion to the Cheyenne. Raised with the Sioux of a Cheyenne mother, he married a Cheyenne himself and became a warrior in the Cheyenne Dog Soldiers.

<i>The Phantom Stagecoach</i> 1957 film by Ray Nazarro

The Phantom Stagecoach is a 1957 American Western film directed by Ray Nazarro and starring William Bishop, Kathleen Crowley, Richard Webb, Hugh Sanders, John Doucette, and Frank Ferguson. The film was released by Columbia Pictures on April 1, 1957.

<i>The Lone Rider in Cheyenne</i> 1942 film directed by Sam Newfield

The Lone Rider in Cheyenne is a 1942 American Western film directed by Sam Newfield and written by Oliver Drake and Elizabeth Beecher. The film stars George Houston as the Lone Rider, Al St. John as his sidekick "Fuzzy" Jones, and Dennis Moore as Sheriff Smoky Moore, with Ella Neal, Roy Barcroft and Kenne Duncan. The film was released on March 20, 1942, by Producers Releasing Corporation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kelly Thordsen</span> American film and television actor

Kelly Thordsen, born Sherman Jess Thordsen was an American film and television actor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Turkey Springs</span>

The Battle of Turkey Springs was the last battle between Native Americans (Indians) and the United States Army in the state of Oklahoma. In the Northern Cheyenne Exodus, 353 Cheyenne Indians, fleeing their reservation in Oklahoma in an attempt to return to their homeland in the northern Great Plains, fought a unit of the United States Army, killing three soldiers. After the battle the Cheyenne continued northward skirmishing with the army along the way. Some were successful in reaching their relatives in Montana. Others were captured or killed near Camp Robinson, Nebraska.

References

  1. Weaver, Tom (2000) [First published 1988]. Return of the B Science Fiction and Horror Heroes. McFarland Publishing. p. 211. ISBN   9780786407552.
  2. "Ghost Town (1956) - Overview - TCM.com". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved October 23, 2014.
  3. "Ghost Town". TV Guide. Retrieved November 15, 2023.
  4. D'Arc, James V. (2010). When Hollywood Came to Town: A History of Moviemaking in Utah (1st ed.). Layton: Gibbs Smith. p. 289. ISBN   978-1-4236-0587-4. Wikidata   Q123575108.