The Barefoot Mailman

Last updated
The Barefoot Mailman
Baremailpos.jpg
Directed by Earl McEvoy
Written by James Gunn
Alfred Lewis Levitt
Francis Swann
Based onThe Barefoot Mailman by Theodore Pratt
Produced byRobert Cohn
Starring Robert Cummings
Terry Moore
Jerome Courtland
Cinematography Ellis W. Carter
Edited by Aaron Stell
Music by George Duning
Production
company
Robert Cohn Productions
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Release date
  • November 5, 1951 (1951-11-05)
Running time
83 minutes
CountryUnited States
Language English

The Barefoot Mailman is a 1951 American historical comedy adventure film directed by Earl McEvoy and starring Robert Cummings, Terry Moore and Jerome Courtland. It was distributed by Columbia Pictures. The film was based on the 1943 novel The Barefoot Mailman by Theodore Pratt. Filmed in Super Cinecolor on location in Florida where the events take place, it features many elements of the Western. [1] [2]

Contents

Plot

Set in 1895, Robert Cummings plays a con man, Sylvanus Hurley, who is trying to raise the selling price of land he owns by convincing the residents of Miami that a railroad is coming to town. Jerome Courtland plays the barefoot mailman, Steven Pierton, who leads Sylvanus along the beach from Palm Beach to Miami, and who is skeptical of Sylvanus's scheme. Terry Moore is a run-away teenager, Adie Titus, who joins Sylvanus and Steven on their walk by impersonating a child. John Russell plays Theron, a swamp gang leader who tries to carry Adie away.

Cast

Production

The film was based on a novel by Theodore Pratt published in 1943. The New York Times called it "salty and colorful." [3]

In April 1950 Columbia reported that Alfred Lewis Levitt was writing a screenplay based on the book for the studio. [4] In September, Columbia said they would film the bulk of the movie in Florida starting October 3. [5]

Cummings was cast in November 1950. [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terry Moore (actress)</span> American actress (born 1929)

Terry Moore is an American actress who began her career as a child actor. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Come Back, Little Sheba (1952).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Cummings</span> American actor (1910–1990)

Charles Clarence Robert Orville Cummings was an American film and television actor who appeared in roles in comedy films such as The Devil and Miss Jones (1941) and Princess O'Rourke (1943), and in dramatic films, especially two of Alfred Hitchcock's thrillers, Saboteur (1942) and Dial M for Murder (1954). He received five Primetime Emmy Award nominations, and won the Primetime Emmy Award for Best Actor in a Single Performance in 1955. On February 8, 1960, he received two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contributions to the motion picture and television industries, at 6816 Hollywood Boulevard and 1718 Vine Street. He used the stage name Robert Cummings from mid-1935 until the end of 1954 and was credited as Bob Cummings from 1955 until his death.

<i>The Devil and Miss Jones</i> 1941 film by Sam Wood

The Devil and Miss Jones is a 1941 American comedy film directed by Sam Wood and starring Jean Arthur, Robert Cummings, and Charles Coburn. Its plot follows a department store tycoon who goes undercover in one of his Manhattan shops to ferret union organizers, but instead becomes involved in the employees' personal lives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Russell (actor)</span> American actor (1921–1991)

John Lawrence Russell was an American film and television actor, most noted for his starring role as Marshal Dan Troop in the ABC Western television series Lawman from 1958 to 1962 and his lead role as international adventurer Tim Kelly in the syndicated TV series Soldiers of Fortune from 1955 to 1957.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerome Cowan</span> American actor (1897–1972)

Jerome Palmer Cowan was an American stage, film, and television actor.

The barefoot mailman is an iconic Florida symbol. It refers to the carriers on the first U.S. Mail route (1885–1892) between Palm Beach and the settlements around Lake Worth on the north, and Miami, Coconut Grove, and Lemon City to the south. The mailmen had to walk and travel by boat because there was no road connecting the 68-mile route from Palm Beach to Miami. Approximately 28 miles of the one way trip was by rowing different boats, and the rest by walking along the firmer sand along the beach. The route was a Star Route, with the carriers contracting with the Post Office. The route was originally called the "barefoot route" and the carriers were called "beach walkists" or "beach walkers". It was not until around 1940 that the term "barefoot mailman" came into use.

Theodore Pratt (1901–1969) was an American writer who wrote novels set in Florida. He wrote more than 30 novels. Five films were adapted from them.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerome Courtland</span> American actor, director and producer (1926–2012)

Jerome Courtland was an American actor, director and producer. He acted in films in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, and in television in the 1950s and 1960s. Courtland also appeared on Broadway in the musical Flahooley in the early 1950s. He directed and produced television series in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. He served in the Pacific Theater of World War II.

One Night in the Tropics is a 1940 musical film notable as the film debut of Abbott and Costello. They are listed as supporting actors but have major exposure with five of their classic routines, including an abbreviated version of "Who's on First?" Their work earned them a two-picture deal with Universal, and their next film, Buck Privates, made them bona fide stars. Songs in the film were written by Jerome Kern with lyrics by Dorothy Fields.

<i>The Man from Colorado</i> 1948 film by Henry Levin

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ruth Baker Pratt</span> American politician (1877–1965)

Ruth Sears Pratt, was an American politician and the first female representative to be elected from New York.

John Cummings was an American film producer and director. He was best known for being a leading producer at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

<i>Sleep, My Love</i> 1948 film by Douglas Sirk

Sleep, My Love is a 1948 American noir film directed by Douglas Sirk. It features Claudette Colbert, Robert Cummings and Don Ameche. It has been called "a gaslighting thriller."

The Joseph L. Mailman School of Public Health is the public health graduate school of Columbia University. Located on the Columbia University Irving Medical Center campus in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, the school is accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dick Wessel</span> American actor (1913–1965)

Richard Michael Wessel was an American film actor who appeared in more than 270 films between 1935 and 1966. He is best remembered for his only leading role, a chilling portrayal of strangler Harry "Cueball" Lake in Dick Tracy vs. Cueball (1946), and for his appearances as comic villains opposite The Three Stooges.

<i>The Petty Girl</i> 1950 film by Henry Levin

The Petty Girl (1950), known in the UK as Girl of the Year, is a musical romantic comedy Technicolor film starring Robert Cummings and Joan Caulfield. Cummings portrays painter George Petty who falls for Victoria Braymore (Caulfield), the youngest professor at Braymore College who eventually becomes "The Petty Girl".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ruby Hurley</span> American civil rights activist (1909–1980)

Ruby Hurley was an American civil rights activist. She was a leader in the Civil Rights Movement and administrator for the NAACP, and was known as the "queen of civil rights".

<i>Cripple Creek</i> (film) 1952 film by Ray Nazarro

Cripple Creek is a 1952 American western film directed by Ray Nazarro and starring George Montgomery, Jerome Courtland and Karin Booth. It was produced by Edward Small for release by Columbia Pictures.

<i>Black Spurs</i> 1965 film by R. G. Springsteen

Black Spurs is a 1965 American Western film directed by R. G. Springsteen and written by Steve Fisher. The film stars Rory Calhoun, Linda Darnell, Terry Moore, Scott Brady, Lon Chaney Jr., James Best, Richard Arlen, Bruce Cabot and scenes with James Brown and DeForest Kelley. The film was released on June 25, 1965, by Paramount Pictures.

References

  1. BAREFOOT MAILMAN, The Monthly Film Bulletin; London Vol. 19, Iss. 216, (Jan 1, 1952): 49.
  2. Vagg, Stephen (29 October 2024). "Movie Star Cold Streaks: Robert Cummings". Filmink. Retrieved 29 October 2024.
  3. Special Delivery: THE BAREFOOT MAILMAN. By Theodore Pratt. 215 pp. New York: Duell, Sloan & Pearce Company. $2.50. By WILLIAM DU BOIS. New York Times 25 July 1943: BR6.
  4. WARNERS FEUDING WITH TALENT UNIT New York Times 27 Apr 1950: 47.
  5. UNIVERSAL TO FILM CALIFORNIA DRAMA New York Times 11 Sep 1950: 27.
  6. U.I. STUDIOS LIST TWO NEW MOVIES New York Times 9 Nov 1950: 43.