The Young Land (1959)

User Rating:

5.0/10   

Director:

Ted Tetzlaff

Writers:

John Reese (story)
Norman S. Hall (screenplay)

Release Date:

1 May 1959 (USA)

Genre:

Western

Plot:

An American gunslinger kills a Mexican man in California immediately after the Mexican-American war. The killer is arrested and put on trial for murder with the Hispanic population waiting to learn of American justice. |

Plot Keywords:

California | Shootout | Racial Prejudice | Sheriff | 1840s

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Patrick Wayne	...	Sheriff Jim Ellison
Yvonne Craig	...	Elena de la Madrid
Dennis Hopper	...	Hatfield Carnes
Dan O'Herlihy	...	Judge Millard Isham
Roberto De La Madrid	...	Don Roberto de la Madrid
Cliff Ketchum	...	Deputy Marshal Ben Stroud
Ken Curtis	...	Lee Hearn
Pedro Gonzalez Gonzalez	...	Deputy Santiago
Ed Sweeney	...	Sully / Kelly (as Edward Seeeney)
John Michael Quijada	...	Vaquero (as John Quijada)
Miguel Camacho	...	Miguel
Tom Tiner	...	Charlie Higgins, Court Clerk
Carlos Romero	...	Francisco Quiroga
Eddie Juaregui	...	Drifter (as Edward Juaregui)
Los Reyes De Chapala	...	Mariachis

Runtime:

89 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

West Germany:12 (nf) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved

Filming Locations:

Mexico

Company:

C.V. Whitney Pictures

Quotes:

[first lines]
Hatfield Carnes: Now you talk big, Mex. Let's see if you got guts enough to draw on a white man.

Soundtrack:

Strange Are the Ways of Love

The cowboys, the vaqueros and the newborn California.

This is an undeservedly forgotten film, I found it by chance as a DVD with a very low price. I did not expect much, but to my surprise it is quite a good western, also very interesting from the historical point of view. The story takes place when California became part of the United States, and it shows a potential conflict between English and Spanish speaking people, when Dennis Hopper, a real bad guy kills a Mexican. Pat Wayne is excellent as the young sheriff who does not wear a gun, also Ken Curtis as a tough guy who has problems with the law, but is willing to help Pat. Ben Stroud is the marshal and Dan O'Herlihy the judge. Yvonne Craig is cute as the young Mexican girl who falls for Wayne. There are the cowboys and the vaqueros waiting for the trial, the cowboys ready to turn Hopper loose, and the vaqueros waiting for him to be hanged. The story is very similar to "Star in the Dust", a 1956 western.