Untamed Frontier (1952)

The Denbow family hope to freeze out homesteaders by denying access across their land; but to evade a murder charge, Glenn Denbow marries the only witness, Jane, who's conveniently in love ... See full summary »

Director:

Hugo Fregonese

Writers:

Gerald Drayson Adams (screenplay), John Bagni (screenplay),

Stars:

Joseph Cotten, Shelley Winters, Scott Brady

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Joseph Cotten	...	Kirk Denbow
Shelley Winters	...	Jane Stevens
Scott Brady	...	Glenn Denbow
Suzan Ball	...	Lottie
Minor Watson	...	Matt Denbow
Katherine Emery	...	Camilla Denbow
José Torvay	...	Bandera (as Jose Torvay)
Douglas Spencer	...	Clayton Vance
John Alexander	...	Max Wickersham
Lee Van Cleef	...	Dave Chittun
Richard Garland	...	Charlie Fentress
Robert Anderson	...	Ezra McCloud
Fess Parker	...	Clem McCloud
Ray Bennett	...	Sheriff Brogan

Storyline

The Denbow family hope to freeze out homesteaders by denying access across their land; but to evade a murder charge, Glenn Denbow marries the only witness, Jane, who's conveniently in love with him, but favors the settlers. When Glenn goes back to his blackmailing old flame Lottie, a warm regard develops between Jane and cousin Kirk Denbow. Things come to a head when an impending range war coincides with a rustling foray.

---

Plot Keywords:

murder

---

Genres:

Western

---

Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 January 1953 (Finland)

Also Known As:

Der Tag der Vergeltung

Filming Locations:

Agoura, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal International Pictures (UI)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

78 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Fess Parker's first on-screen credit movie performance.

User Reviews

Pretty Good Western

A tyrannical rancher and his two sons defend their huge ranch spread against encroaching homesteaders.

Pretty good western, with Cotten and Brady fitting easily into their roles. I like the way the movie starts since the characters are too ambiguous to tell how the story will end. Most westerns, on the other hand, are all-too predictable in that respect. However, as the movie progresses battling sides begin to form and the outcome becomes more predictable.

The producers do a good job making the scale of the film-- with its cattle drive and wide open spaces-- appear bigger than it is. I suspect from some locations that the production actually never left the greater LA area. Also, I really like Brady as the headstrong Glenn; he injects real energy into the part. Of course, Shelley Winters is Shelley Winters. She makes a good floozie, but a not so good ranch lady. Still, it's a fine supporting cast, Van Cleef in an early bad guy role, plus Fess Parker doing a walk-on. But check out the luscious Suzan Ball as Lottie. Her brief life was indeed a tragic one.

Universal turned out a number of Technicolor oaters during this period. I imagine the westerns were upgraded to color in order to compete with early TV. They were usually done cheaply but smartly, and this, all in all, is one of the better ones.