The Lawless (1950)

Director:

Joseph Losey

Writer:

Daniel Mainwaring (screenplay)

Release Date:

1 June 1950 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

A newspaper editor in a small agricultural town finds himself going against the people in the town when he gets involved in the plight of the area's fruit pickers, who are mostly Mexican.

Plot Keywords:

Mexican | Editor | Newspaper | Beautiful Woman | Small Town

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Macdonald Carey	...	Larry Wilder
Gail Russell	...	Sunny Garcia
Johnny Sands	...	Joe Ferguson (as John Sands)
Lee Patrick	...	Jan Dawson
John Hoyt	...	Ed Ferguson
Lalo Rios	...	Paul Rodriguez
Maurice Jara	...	Lopo Chavez
Walter Reed	...	Jim Wilson
Herbert Anderson	...	Jonas Creel (as Guy Anderson)
Argentina Brunetti	...	Mrs. Rodriguez
William Edmunds	...	Angie Jensen
Gloria Winters	...	Mildred Jensen
John Davis	...	Harry Pawling
Martha Hyer	...	Caroline Tyler
Frank Fenton	...	Mr. Prentiss

Also Known As:

Outrage (USA) (working title)
The Dividing Line (UK)

Runtime:

83 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Grass Valley, California, USA

Company:

Pine-Thomas Productions

Quotes:

Cadwallader: See that white line over there? If I was the sherrif, which I aint, since I never was lazy enough to work for the county, I'd hike right along it, to the river.

A great old "B" movie

..And some of those "B"s are far better than some of the "A"s of today. Macdonald Carey is at his best here as an editor who slowly becomes involved in the conditions and prejudices against the California fruit pickers. this movie is way ahead of its time in how it depicts a small city in the grip of discrimination and fear. Gail Russell, though never a great lead, is luminous here and utterly convincing as Mac's opposite - the editor or a Mexican newspaper. I was completely caught up in and the ending is quite nerve-wracking, you cannot predict which way it is going to go. The supporting cast is also terrific and the crowd scenes and slow panning action for the dance in the country and the street scenes is amazing. I understand the director was a victim of the McCarthy witchhunt and lived out his days in England where he directed "Dirk Bogarde" in "the Servant" another great movie. Highly recommended, an 8 out of 10.