Tennessee's Partner (1955)

A tough, womanizing high-stakes gambler known only as Tennessee has an uneasy relationship with Duchess, madam of a thinly-disguised bordello, and no other friends at all. But he's saved ... See full summary »

Director:

Allan Dwan

Writers:

Milton Krims (screenplay), D.D. Beauchamp (screenplay),

Stars:

John Payne, Ronald Reagan, Rhonda Fleming

Cast

Complete credited cast:
John Payne	...	Tennessee
Ronald Reagan	...	Cowpoke
Rhonda Fleming	...	Elizabeth 'Duchess' Farnham
Coleen Gray	...	Goldie Slater
Anthony Caruso	...	Turner (as Tony Caruso)
Morris Ankrum	...	Judge Parker
Leo Gordon	...	The Sheriff
Chubby Johnson	...	Grubstake McNiven
Joe Devlin	...	Prendergast
Myron Healey	...	Reynolds
John Mansfield	...	Clifford

Storyline

A tough, womanizing high-stakes gambler known only as Tennessee has an uneasy relationship with Duchess, madam of a thinly-disguised bordello, and no other friends at all. But he's saved from murder by a lonesome cowpoke ('My friends call me Cowpoke'), in town to meet his fiancée Goldie on the steamboat. When she arrives, there's a mysterious undercurrent between Goldie and Tennessee, whose newfound friendship with Cowpoke is destined to be severely tried...

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Plot Keywords:

gambler | apostrophe in title | punctuation in title | state in title | place name in title | 

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Taglines:

ALL THE GUTS AND GUSTO OF THE WEST...as it really was!

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Genres:

Western

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 September 1955 (USA)

Also Known As:

Todesfaust

Filming Locations:

Iverson Ranch - 1 Iverson Lane, Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Benedict Bogeaus Production

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.00 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

At one point in this film, John Payne slaps Rhonda Fleming and then tells her "Big girls don't cry." This inspired songwriter Bob Gaudio to write the song "Big Girl Don't Cry," which became a hit for his band The Four Seasons.

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Quotes

Turner: You did hear what the man said...
Tennessee: If I heard him, I might have to kill him.

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Connections

Remake of Tennessee's Pardner (1916)

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Soundtracks

"HEART OF GOLD"
Music by Louis Forbes
Lyrics by Dave Franklin
Sung by chorus behind credits; also by Rhonda Fleming

User Reviews

"I Never Knew His Name"

Tennessee's Partner is very loosely based on a Bret Harte story. The story takes place in a gold mining town in California where gambler John Payne finds it easier to make money at the poker table than digging for gold. Payne's who's name is Tennessee is probably no better than he ought to be, but the place is full of rough characters.

One of them is Anthony Caruso, another gambler who's got a bad case of jealousy. He eggs on another poker loser to bushwhack Payne, But a stranger riding into town played by Ronald Reagan saves Payne. He's simply known as Cowpoke. And he becomes Tennessee's partner.

Reagan is in town to marry Coleen Gray who's name Goldie implies what she's really after. Payne's known her in the past and knows what Gray is all about. He romances her again and leaves her on a boat to San Francisco.

Of course that's bitter medicine for Reagan and it puts a strain on the partnership.

Payne has another partner in town, Rhonda Fleming who's the local madam. They're partners in a combination bordello/gambling establishment. Payne takes the customer's money downstairs at the poker table and Fleming's girls do the same upstairs.

This marked the fourth film during the Fifties that Ronald Reagan and Rhonda Fleming appeared together in. They were good friends professionally and politically. Ms. Fleming's politics were quite compatible with the 40th president of the United States.

Tennessee's Partner is a nicely crafted B western and good entertainment even if we never do learn the real names of both Tennessee and Cowpoke.