The Highwayman (1951 film)

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The Highwayman
Highwaypos.jpg
Official theatrical poster
Directed by Lesley Selander
Written by Jack DeWitt (story)
Duncan Renaldo (story)
Henry Blankfort (screenplay, as Jan Jeffries)
Based on The Highwayman
by Alfred Noyes
Produced by Hal E. Chester
Jack Dietz
Starring Philip Friend
Wanda Hendrix
Cecil Kellaway
Narrated by Brian Aherne
Cinematography Harry Neumann
Edited by Bernard W. Burton
Music by Herschel Burke Gilbert
Production
company
Jack Dietz Productions
Distributed by Allied Artists
Release dates
  • November 14, 1951 (1951-11-14)(Los Angeles) [1]
  • November 27, 1951 (1951-11-27)(New York) [2]
Running time
82 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The Highwayman is a 1951 American historical adventure film directed by Lesley Selander and starring Philip Friend, Wanda Hendrix and Cecil Kellaway. The film was shot in Cinecolor and distributed by Allied Artists, the prestige subsidiary of Monogram Pictures. It is based on the poem of the same name by Alfred Noyes.

Contents

Plot

The Highwayman is an aristocrat who leads a band of criminals who steal from the wealthy to distribute to the needy. Their campaign is broadened when they discover that innocents are being kidnapped and sold into slavery in the colonies. The Highwayman is betrayed to the authorities, soldiers march to set an ambush, his lover Bess sacrifices herself to give warning and he is shot down on the highway as he tries to take revenge. The Highwayman's ghost is seen riding up to the window of the old inn, where he and the ghost of Bess happily greet each other.

Cast

Production

The film is based on a poem written by Alfred Noyes in 1906. Film rights were owned by James Burkett, who sold them to Monogram Pictures in 1946. Monogram announced that Noyes would collaborate on the script with Jack DeWitt and Duncan Renaldo and that the budget was to be one million dollars. [3] [4]

Noyes determined that his poem would be the basis of the film's final act and that there would be a parallel storyline set in the present day about a woman who works at the tavern and has problems with her love life. Noyes wished to preserve the tragic ending of the poem but also include a happy ending in the present day. [5] He arrived in Hollywood in April 1947 to inspect the script. [6]

In July 1947, the film was officially added to Monogram's production schedule, [7] but filming was delayed. In April 1950, Monogram announced that it would likely produce the film in June with Florence Marley and Rory Calhoun as the stars. [8]

Production of The Highwayman continued to be delayed. In January 1951, Monogram announced that Hal Chester and Bernard Burton would produce and that Charles Coburn would be the film's star, with the script written by Henry Blankfort (a communist who used the pseudonym Jan Jeffries to hide his identity). Filming was set to start on February 19 under the direction of Lesley Selander at the Motion Picture Center. [9] Wanda Hendrix joined the cast, [10] followed by Philip Friend shortly before rehearsals and filming started. [11]

Noyes wrote in his autobiography that he was surprised by "the fact that in this picture, produced in Hollywood, the poem itself is used and followed with the most artistic care." [12] Portions of the film were shot at the Corriganville Movie Ranch.

The film was released in the same year as Columbia Pictures' Dick Turpin's Ride , another film based on the poem.

Reception

In a contemporary review for the New York Daily News , critic Dorothy Masters wrote: "It's a pity to waste Philip Friend on the swashbuckling trivia of 'The Highwayman,' and it's a dreadful fate for Wanda Hendrix, who stands around looking petulant while her co-star busies himself with rescuing men slated for slavery in the Colonies." [2]

Critic Philip K. Scheuer of the Los Angeles Times wrote: "The entire concept may be summed up as competent but undistinguished. The most stirring thing about it, significantly, is the voice of the narrator at the finish. declaiming lines from the poem." [1]

Notes

  1. 1 2 Scheuer, Philip K. (1951-11-15). "Frank Fay Lady Killer; 'Highwayman' Dashing". Los Angeles Times . p. 13, Part II.
  2. 1 2 Masters, Dorothy (1951-11-28). "Horses and Ditto in New York Dual". New York Daily News . p. 81.
  3. ↑ Schallert, Edwin (1946-11-01). "Alfred Noyes Will Aid 'Highwayman' Project". Los Angeles Times . p. 3, Part II.
  4. ↑ Brady (1946-11-02). "Milland to Star in Picture Abroad". The New York Times . p. 12.
  5. ↑ Scheuer, Philip K. (1946-11-24). "Even the Solvent Poets Gravitate to Hollywood". Los Angeles Times . p. 1, Part III.
  6. ↑ Hopper, Hedda (1947-04-08). "Looking at Hollywood". Chicago Tribune . p. 18.
  7. ↑ "Monogram Plans 48 Feature Films". The New York Times . 1947-07-21. p. 12.
  8. ↑ Hopper, Hedda (1950-04-22). "'Legal Bride,' Comedy, Set for McCambridge". Los Angeles Times . p. 8, Part II.
  9. ↑ Schallert, Edwin (1951-01-27). "Coburn Plays Sinister Politician; Constance Smith Stars With Power". Los Angeles Times . p. 11.
  10. ↑ Hopper, Hedda (1951-01-31). "Doris Day Will Play Straight Drama Parts". Chicago Tribune . p. 7, Part 2.
  11. ↑ Schallert, Edwin (1951-02-10). "Philip Friend Will Star in 'Highwayman;' Wilde Prepares Scripts". Los Angeles Times . p. 11.
  12. ↑ Noyes, Alfred (1953). Two Worlds for Memory. Lippincott.
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