The Lawless (1950)

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.

Director:

Joseph Losey

Writer:

Daniel Mainwaring (written for the screen by)

Stars:

Macdonald Carey, Gail Russell, Johnny Sands

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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	...	Mr. Jensen
Gloria Winters	...	Mildred Jensen
John Davis	...	Harry Pawling
Martha Hyer	...	Caroline Tyler
Frank Fenton	...	Mr. Prentiss

Storyline

Former big city newsman Larry Wilder is tired of fighting the powers that be and just wants to enjoy his new life as a small-town newspaper editor. He thinks his bucolic new home will provide him with an easy and unconflicted life. But when a young Latino farmworker is goaded into a fight by racist rich boys, Wilder finds himself the only white citizen of the town willing to stand up for the boy's rights. He joins with Sunny Garcia, a staffer for a small weekly newspaper for the Hispanic workers, in trying to see justice done and possibly to save a life.

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Plot Keywords:

newspaper | editor | small town | mexican | based on novel

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

1 June 1950 (USA)

Also Known As:

Outrage

Filming Locations:

Grass Valley, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Pine-Thomas Productions, Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

83 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The movie debut of 1950's teen idol Tab Hunter.

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Quotes

Sunny Garcia: I met you years ago.

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Connections

Edited into Histoire(s) du cinéma: Seul le cinéma (1997)

User Reviews

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.