The Man from Colorado

Last updated

The Man from Colorado
Themanfromcolorado.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Henry Levin
Screenplay by Robert Andrews
Ben Maddow
Story by Borden Chase
Produced byJules Schermer
Starring Glenn Ford
William Holden
CinematographyWilliam Snyder
Edited byCharles Nelson
Music by George Duning
Color process Technicolor
Production
company
Columbia Pictures
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Release date
  • December 1948 (1948-12)
Running time
98 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$1 million [1]
Box office$2 million [2]

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.

Contents

Levin replaced Charles Vidor during filming. [3]

Plot

Union Colonel Owen Devereaux (Glenn Ford) orders his regiment to fire on a detachment of Confederate soldiers, even though he (and only he) has seen that they are signaling their surrender with a white flag. Immediately after the battle, the soldiers learn the war has ended. As they celebrate, Sergeant Jericho Howard (James Millican) drinks while on duty, and Devereaux has him arrested. Later, the mayor announces Devereaux's appointment as federal judge for the region. He proposes to Caroline Emmett (Ellen Drew), who agrees to the marriage.

Afterwards, a veteran of the Confederate detachment confronts Devereaux about the white flag. Devereaux disarms him and then shoots him several times, even though the man has already been subdued. Devereaux's best friend, Del Stewart (William Holden), witnesses the act. Based on the rebel soldier's anger and apparent veracity, Del concludes Devereaux must have seen a white flag. He further surmises the war has unhinged the new judge's mind. Nevertheless, Del agrees to serve as Devereaux's marshal. Devereaux's first big case as judge involves the taking over of mines from individual soldiers once they marched off to war. They want their mines back, but businessman Ed Carter argues that according to law, the mines are rightfully his. Devereaux upholds Carter's claim.

Led by the insubordinate Jericho Howard, a contingent of ex-soldiers and miners pull off a series of robberies designed to cripple Carter's mining venture. Devereaux threatens to hang Jericho's younger brother Johnny (Jerome Courtland), based on circumstantial evidence, even though Johnny is not part of his brother's gang. After warning Devereaux not to hang Johnny, Del persuades Jericho to turn himself in. But when Devereaux hangs Johnny, Stewart resigns as marshal in disgust and joins Jericho's gang. Meanwhile, Devereaux's unstable judgment finally convinces the people to alert Colorado's territorial governor. The story finally climaxes in a confrontation between Devereaux and Jericho. They both die when a wall from a burning building falls on them. In the final scene, Del boards a stage for Washington, D.C. to plead on behalf of the dispossessed miners.

Cast

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Holden</span> American actor (1918–1981)

William Franklin Holden was an American actor and one of the biggest box-office draws of the 1950s. Holden won the Academy Award for Best Actor for the film Stalag 17 (1953) and the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for the television miniseries The Blue Knight (1973).

The year 1950 in film involved some significant events.

The year 1939 in film is widely considered the greatest year in film history. The ten Best Picture-nominated films that year include classics in multiple genres.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glenn Ford</span> Canadian actor (1916–2006)

Gwyllyn Samuel Newton Ford, known as Glenn Ford, was a Canadian-American actor. He was most prominent during Hollywood's Golden Age as one of the biggest box-office draws of the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, who had a career that lasted more than 50 years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Vidor</span> American film director

Charles Vidor was a Hungarian film director. Among his film successes are The Bridge (1929), The Tuttles of Tahiti (1942), The Desperadoes (1943), Cover Girl (1944), Together Again (1944), A Song to Remember (1945), Over 21 (1945), Gilda (1946), The Loves of Carmen (1948), Rhapsody (1954), Love Me or Leave Me (1955), The Swan (1956), The Joker Is Wild (1957), and A Farewell to Arms (1957).

<i>Shenandoah</i> (film) 1965 American Civil War film directed by Andrew V. McLaglen

Shenandoah is a 1965 American film set during the American Civil War starring James Stewart and featuring Doug McClure, Glenn Corbett, Patrick Wayne, and, in their film debuts, Katharine Ross and Rosemary Forsyth. The picture was directed by Andrew V. McLaglen. The American folk song "Oh Shenandoah" features prominently in the film's soundtrack.

<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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ellen Drew</span> American actress (1914–2003)

Ellen Drew was an American film actress.

<i>Night Editor</i> 1946 film by Henry Levin

Night Editor is a 1946 American film noir directed by Henry Levin and starring William Gargan, Janis Carter and Jeff Donnell. It was based on a popular radio program of the same name. The script for the film was based on a previous radio program episode "Inside Story." A B-movie produced by Columbia Pictures, The movie was to be the first in a series of films featuring stories about the graveyard-shift police beat reporters at a fictional newspaper, the New York Star, but no other Night Editor films were made.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colorado Territory in the American Civil War</span> Overview of the territory during the American Civil War

The Colorado Territory was formally created in 1861 shortly before the bombardment of Fort Sumter sparked the American Civil War. Although sentiments were somewhat divided in the early days of the war, Colorado was only marginally a pro-Union territory. Colorado was strategically important to both the Union and Confederacy because of the gold and silver mines there as both sides wanted to use the mineral wealth to help finance the war. The New Mexico Campaign was a military operation conducted by Confederate Brigadier General Henry Sibley to gain control of the Southwest, including the gold fields of Colorado, the mineral-rich territory of Nevada and the ports of California. The campaign was intended as a prelude to an invasion of the Colorado Territory and an attempt to cut the supply lines between California and the rest of the Union. However, the Confederates were defeated at the Battle of Glorieta Pass in New Mexico and were forced to retreat back to Texas, effectively ending the New Mexico Campaign.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Levin (director)</span> American film director

Henry Levin began as a stage actor and director but was most notable as an American film director of over fifty feature films. His best known credits were Jolson Sings Again (1949), Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959) and Where the Boys Are (1960).

The 42nd Golden Globe Awards, honoring the best in film and television for 1984, were held on January 27, 1985.

<i>Convicted</i> (1950 film) 1950 film by Henry Levin

Convicted is a 1950 American crime film noir directed by Henry Levin and starring Glenn Ford and Broderick Crawford. It was the third Columbia Pictures film adaptation of the 1929 stage play The Criminal Code by Martin Flavin, following Howard Hawks's The Criminal Code (1930) and John Brahm's Penitentiary (1938).

<i>Father Is a Bachelor</i> 1950 film by Abby Berlin

Father Is a Bachelor is a 1950 American musical romantic comedy film directed by Abby Berlin and Norman Foster. It stars William Holden and Coleen Gray.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Millican</span> American actor (1911–1955)

James Millican was an American actor with over 200 film appearances mostly in western movies.

<i>The Great Missouri Raid</i> 1951 film by Gordon Douglas

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Giulio Panicali</span> Italian actor and voice actor

Giulio Panicali was an Italian actor and voice actor.

Two Faces West is an American syndicated Western television series set in the Wild West running from October 1960 to July 1961 for a total of 39 half-hour episodes. It was produced by Donald Gold and Jonas Seinfeld with Matthew Rapf as the on-set producer for Screen Gems. Music was by Joseph Weiss. Despite being syndicated to 150 broadcast stations the show is somewhat forgotten, never having been repeated, and never released on DVD.

References

  1. "109-Million Techni Sked". Variety . February 18, 1948. p. 14.
  2. "Top Grossers of 1949". Variety. January 4, 1950. p. 59.
  3. Brady, Thomas F. (March 22, 1947). "METRO TO DO FILM OF RUSSIAN NOVEL: Robert Taylor Van Heflin Are Named by Studio for Roles in 'Brothers Karamazov'". The New York Times . p. 10.