The Walking Hills

Last updated

The Walking Hills
The Walking Hills FilmPoster.jpeg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by John Sturges
Written byVirginia Roddick
(additional dialogue)
Screenplay by Alan Le May
Story by Alan Le May
Produced by Harry Joe Brown
Starring Randolph Scott
Ella Raines
CinematographyCharles Lawton Jr.
Edited by William Lyon
Music byArthur Morton
Color process Black and white
Production
company
Producers-Actors Corporation
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Release date
  • March 5, 1949 (1949-03-05)
Running time
78 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The Walking Hills is a 1949 American Western film directed by John Sturges and starring Randolph Scott and Ella Raines. The film's plot has film noir elements in its story of a search for an old treasure by nine men including a detective tracking a fugitive, several others who have things to hide, and a love triangle involving the two leads and the fugitive.

Contents

The film was shot in the Alabama Hills of California and Death Valley National Monument, locations Sturges returned to a few years later to film his classic Bad Day at Black Rock .

Plot

One day in contemporary Mexicali, a poker game in the back room of a cantina includes horse breeder Jim Carey, cowboys Shep and Johnny, a prospector called Old Willy, a stranger in town named Frazee and a drifter, Chalk. Guitar player Josh and bartender Bibbs are kibbitzing. Conversation turns to a legendary wagon train carrying gold bars worth $5 million lost 100 years ago in the Walking Hills, a huge area of shifting dunes across the border in the United States. Johnny, not paying attention, casually mentions how his horse recently tripped over an old wagon wheel in the hills. To keep the discovery a secret, they agree that all of them including Jim's man Cleve must join the search for the wagon train.

The nine reach the apparent site but all the dunes have shifted since Johnny was there. Bibbs discovers an ox skull and Old Willy an oxen yoke and they begin digging. The group is joined by Chris Jackson, a woman who followed them from Calexico, where she works in a diner. Shep is really former rodeo rider Dave Wilson with whom Chris, herself a rodeo performer, fell in love at a rodeo in Denver, breaking off her engagement to Jim. Dave abruptly disappeared and Chris saw him again in Calexico after he showed up there as Shep, heading for the border.

It turns out that Dave Wilson had fled because he accidentally killed a gambler who accused him of cheating at cards. The man's father, King, hired a detective who turns out to be Frazee, and who has been sending signals to King and a posse with a heliograph. Johnny, Chalk and Cleve are also on the run and each believes Frazee is after him. Frazee shoots Johnny during a fight. Jim, told by Johnny that he would rather die than go to prison, has Cleve hide the horses to keep Johnny from being found out if someone goes for help.

A wagon is uncovered and tempers flare when no gold is found. Johnny dies right after Frazee admits he watched Chris as "hangman's bait," waiting for Dave to show up. A terrible sand storm develops, and Chalk tries to stampede the horses, killing Frazee with Frazee's gun. Jim kills Chalk as he tries to escape. The storm uncovers the entire wagon train. Old Willy finds it, but it's empty. Dave decides to turn himself in to the law and Chris, still in love with Dave, rides after him. Jim has a hunch, meanwhile, that the wagons weren't entirely empty when Old Willy found them.

Cast

Critical reception

A contemporary review of the film in Variety described it as having an "intriguing theme, good cast, and tight direction," adding that although the screenplay's "attempt to handle the cross-currents of greed for gold and a three-way romantic tangle is not fully successful [...] the main outlines of a sharp human conflict are made to emerge nonetheless," and noting that "Josh White adds importantly to the film with his renditions of a couple of blues numbers and folk ballads." [1] A modern review described it as "an entirely forgettable western that could (and should) have been so much better," and having a "smattering of compelling sequences and [a] raft of better-than-average performances." [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slim Pickens</span> American rodeo performer, film and television actor (1919–1983)

Louis Burton Lindley Jr., better known by his stage name Slim Pickens, was an American actor and rodeo performer. Starting off in the rodeo, Pickens transitioned to acting, and appeared in dozens of movies and TV shows. For much of his career, Pickens played mainly cowboy roles. He is perhaps best remembered today for his comic roles in Dr. Strangelove, Blazing Saddles, and 1941, and his villainous turn in One-Eyed Jacks with Marlon Brando.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Calexico, California</span> City in California, United States

Calexico is a city in southern Imperial County, California. Situated on the Mexican border, it is linked economically with the much larger city of Mexicali, the capital of the Mexican state of Baja California. It is about 122 miles (196 km) east of San Diego and 62 miles (100 km) west of Yuma, Arizona. Calexico, along with six other incorporated Imperial County cities, forms part of the larger populated area known as the Imperial Valley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yakima Canutt</span> American rodeo rider, actor and stuntman (1895–1986)

Enos Edward "Yakima" Canutt was an American champion rodeo rider, actor, stuntman, and action director. He developed many stunts for films and the techniques and technology to protect stuntmen in performing them.

<i>Wagon Train</i> Western television series from 1957 to 1965

Wagon Train is an American Western series that aired 8 seasons: first on the NBC television network (1957–1962), and then on ABC (1962–1965). Wagon Train debuted on September 18, 1957, and became number one in the Nielsen ratings. It is the fictional adventure story of a large westbound wagon train through the American Old West, from Missouri to California. Its format attracted different famous guest stars per episode, as travelers or as residents of the settlements they encountered. The show initially starred supporting film actor Ward Bond as the wagon master and Robert Horton as the scout.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ken Maynard</span> American actor

Kenneth Olin Maynard was an American actor and producer. He was mostly active from the 1920s to the 1940s and considered one of the biggest Western stars in Hollywood.

The following is a list of players and managers (*), both past and current, who appeared at least in one regular season game for the Chicago White Sox franchise.

The following is a list of players, past and present, who have appeared in at least one competitive game for the Boston Red Sox American League franchise, known previously as the Boston Americans (1901–07).

Western lifestyle or cowboy culture is the lifestyle, or behaviorisms, of, and resulting from the influence of, the attitudes, ethics and history of the American Western cowboy. In the present day these influences affect this sector of the population's choice of recreation, clothing, and consumption of goods.

The following is a list of players, both past and current, who appeared at least in one game for the Minnesota Twins American League franchise (1961–present), also known previously as the Washington Senators (1901–1960).

The following is a list of players, both past and current, who appeared at least in one game for the Washington Nationals National League franchise (2005–present), also known previously as the Montreal Expos (1969–2004).

The following is a list of players, both past and current, who appeared in at least one game for the Tampa Bay Rays franchise, formerly known as the Devil Rays.

The following is a list of players, both past and current, who appeared in at least one game for the Cleveland American League franchise known as the Blues (1901), Bronchos (1902), Naps (1903–14), Indians (1915–2021), and Guardians (2022–present).

The following is a list of players, both past and current, who appeared at least in one game for the Los Angeles Angels American League franchise, also known previously as the California Angels (1965–1996), Anaheim Angels (1997–2004) and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (2005–2015).

The following is a list of players, both past and current, who appeared at least in one game for the Pittsburgh Pirates National League franchise (1891–present), previously known as the Pittsburgh Alleghenys (1882–1890).

The following is a list of players, both past and current, who appeared at least in one game for the San Diego Padres National League franchise (1969–present).

Wilson's Allen (1914–1939) was an influential early Tennessee Walking Horse sire. Although he himself was not used as a show horse, he sired the first three World Grand Champions of his breed.

The Melbourne International Comedy Festival Gala, or Oxfam Gala, is a comedy show run annually as part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Billed as Australian comedy's 'night of nights', it is held one week before the festival opens, and acts as a fundraiser for the charity Oxfam Australia.

References

  1. "The Walking Hills". Variety. Variety. March 2, 1949. Retrieved March 2, 2023.
  2. Nusair, David. "The Walking Hills". Reel Film Reviews. MH Purity. Retrieved March 2, 2023.