Along the Great Divide (1951)

A U.S. Marshall and two deputies rescue a cattle rustler from a lynch mob led by a local cattle baron convinced that the rustler also killed his son.

Director:

Raoul Walsh

Writers:

Walter Doniger (screenplay), Lewis Meltzer (screenplay),

Stars:

Kirk Douglas, Virginia Mayo, John Agar

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Kirk Douglas	...	Marshal Len Merrick
Virginia Mayo	...	Ann Keith
John Agar	...	Billy Shear
Walter Brennan	...	Timothy 'Pop' Keith
Ray Teal	...	Deputy Lou Gray
Hugh Sanders	...	Frank Newcombe
Morris Ankrum	...	Ed Roden
James Anderson	...	Dan Roden
Charles Meredith	...	Judge Marlowe

Storyline

New Federal marshal Len Merrick saves Tim Keith from lynching at the hands of the Roden clan, and hopes to get him to Santa Loma for trial. Vindictive Ned Roden, whose son Ed was killed, still wants personal revenge, and Tim would like to escape before Ned catches up with him again. Can the marshal make it across the desert with Tim and his daughter? Even if he makes it, will justice be served?

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Plot Keywords:

marshal | rustler | desert | deputy | lynch mob | 

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Taglines:

AN ADVENTURE THAT AVALANCHES FROM THE BULLET-PROOF ROOF OF THE ROCKIES TO THE FIERY DESERT FLOOR! (original print ad - all caps)

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Genres:

Adventure | Romance | Western

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 June 1951 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Travelers

Filming Locations:

Alabama Hills, Lone Pine, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Morris Ankrum played Ed Roden in this movie and the 1956 Cheyenne remake "The Travelers".

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Quotes

Marshal Len Merrick: [Seeing Dan Roden go for the gun of a sleeping deputy, he cocks his pistol and speaks authoritatively] He's asleep, but I'm not!

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Connections

Remade as Cheyenne: The Travelers (1956)

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Soundtracks

"Down in the Valley"
(uncredited)
(aka "Birmingham Jail")
Traditional American folk song
Sung by Walter Brennan and Virginia Mayo

User Reviews

An Inauspicious Debut

Along The Great Divide marked Kirk Douglas's western debut. Fortunately he made several more and they were a whole lot better than this one.

Douglas is a federal marshal who with his deputies John Agar and Ray Teal breaks up a lynching of Walter Brennan who is accused of rustling and killing the son of cattle baron Morris Ankrum. Douglas arrests Brennan and brings him back for trial. It's the journey back across the desert that's marked by ambush and betrayal with Brennan maintaining his innocence in the homicide. Along for the ride is Brennan's daughter, Virginia Mayo.

Kirk Douglas proved to be a natural western star and he's cast well as the determined federal marshal. Unfortunately he's hampered by an extremely improbable script as is the rest of the cast. Some of the B westerns of Tim Holt or Roy Rogers make a lot more sense than this one.

I won't give away the plot or the incidents involved, but Kirk should have died on the desert and Walter Brennan should have made it to Mexico.