The Law and Jake Wade (1958)

Director:

John Sturges

Writers:

William Bowers (screenplay)
Marvin H. Albert (novel)

Release Date:

22 July 1958 (Japan)

Genre:

Western

Plot:

Outlaw Clint Hollister escapes from jail with the help of Marshal Jake Wade, because once Clint did the same for him...

Plot Keywords:

Loot | Outlaw | Ghost Town | Comanche Indian | Five Word Title

Cast

Robert Taylor	...	Jake Wade
Richard Widmark	...	Clint Hollister
Patricia Owens	...	Peggy
Robert Middleton	...	Ortero
Henry Silva	...	Rennie
DeForest Kelley	...	Wexler (as De Forest Kelley)
Burt Douglas	...	Lieutenant
Eddie Firestone	...	Burke
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Fred Coby	...	Deputy (uncredited)
Gene Coogan	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Richard H. Cutting	...	Luke, Jake's Deputy (uncredited)
Roy Engel	...	Avery (uncredited)
Al Ferguson	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Rory Mallinson	...	Deputy (uncredited)
Reginald Simpson	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Henry Wills	...	Cavalry Sergeant (uncredited)

Directed by
John Sturges

Writing credits
William Bowers		(screenplay)
Marvin H. Albert		(novel)

Produced by
William B. Hawks	....	producer (as William Hawks)

Cinematography by
Robert Surtees		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Ferris Webster

Casting by
Leonard Murphy		(uncredited)

Art Direction by
Daniel B. Cathcart
William A. Horning

Set Decoration by
Henry Grace
Otto Siegel

Costume Design by
Walter Plunkett

Makeup Department
Sydney Guilaroff	....	hair stylist
William Tuttle	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Al Shenberg	....	unit manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Robert Saunders	....	assistant director
Jack N. Reddish	....	second assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Walter Brown	....	props (uncredited)

Sound Department
Wesley C. Miller	....	recording supervisor (as Dr. Wesley C. Miller)
Thomas Edwards	....	sound mixer (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Lee LeBlanc	....	special effects

Stunts
Martha Crawford	....	stunt double: Patricia Owens (uncredited)
Carl Pitti	....	stunts (uncredited)
Jack Williams	....	stunts (uncredited)
Henry Wills	....	stunts (uncredited)
Jack N. Young	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
John Schmitz	....	camera operator (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Robert Ellsworth	....	wardrobe: men (uncredited)
Evelyn Rickart	....	wardrobe: women (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Charles K. Hagedon	....	color consultant

Other crew
Grace Dubray	....	script supervisor (uncredited)
Howard 'Dutch' Horton	....	location manager (uncredited)
Jim Merrick	....	publicist (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1958) (USA) (theatrical)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1958) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1970) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere) (pan/scan)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1992) (USA) (VHS) (pan/scan)
• Warner Home Video (2008) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2008) (Germany) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

86 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Perspecta Stereo (as Perspecta Sound) (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:U (passed with cuts) | West Germany:16 | USA:Approved (certificate #18917) | Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

Alabama Hills, Lone Pine, California, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Goofs:

Continuity: When Marshall Wade comes into a town near the start of the movie leading an extra horse, he throws that horse's rein up against a rail and it drops right off. As he steps down from his horse, the other horse's rein is now tightly wound around the rail.

Quotes:

Peggy Carter:Your father was a preacher?
Rennie:Kind of a phony evangelist. I tell ya, he was about the meanest man I've ever met in my life. He just naturally liked to beat up on anything that was smaller than him. And of course, he could always say he was beating the fear of God into ya.
Peggy Carter:Well, where is he now?
Rennie:Well, I, ah, well I hope I know where he is. He was the first man I ever killed.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in A Majority of One (1961)

If only a different composer

How can a movie go wrong with a hero like Robert Taylor, a villain like Richard Widmark, glorious western scenery, and a director like John Sturges? It can't, until they put the music to it. I can't recall who the composer for this was, but he had definitely done better work. Music can make an excellent film a great one, take a marginal film and make it a memorable one, but occasionally the music drags it down. Sadly, this is the case with this one. For more than thirty years I've wished this was scored by Bernstein or Tiomkin or Goldsmith. They're all gone now. If there was a way to strip the music out and replace it with something by the likes of Bruce Broughton or James Newton Howard this could be one of the great westerns of the '50s!