The Secret of Convict Lake (1951)

In 1871 a convict escapes, with other prisoners, to kill the man that framed him, but has second thoughts after meeting the man's beautiful future wife.

Director:

Michael Gordon

Writers:

Anna Hunger (story), Jack Pollexfen (story)

Stars:

Glenn Ford, Gene Tierney, Ethel Barrymore

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Glenn Ford	...	Jim Canfield
Gene Tierney	...	Marcia Stoddard
Ethel Barrymore	...	Granny
Zachary Scott	...	Johnny Greer
Ann Dvorak	...	Rachel Schaeffer
Barbara Bates	...	Barbara Purcell
Cyril Cusack	...	Edward 'Limey' Cockerell
Richard Hylton	...	Clyde Maxwell
Helen Westcott	...	Susan Haggerty
Jeanette Nolan	...	Harriet Purcell
Ruth Donnelly	...	Mary Fancher
Harry Carter	...	Rudy Schaeffer

Storyline

Jim Canfield, convicted of a crime he did not commit, escapes a Nevada prison with several hardened criminals. He leads them to the small farming community home of the man who not only framed him, but committed the crime. But Jim's plans for revenge are put on hold when he discovers that the local men have all joined the posse in the convict's pursuit, leaving their women behind. He soon becomes attracted to the beautiful and resourceful Marcia, who turns out to be the fiance of the man who framed him. Can Jim protect the women from his less-civilized comrades, fall under Marcia's humanizing influence and still maintain his murderous resolve?

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Plot Keywords:

escaped convicts | posse | revenge | false testimony | hidden money | 

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Taglines:

6 women at the mercy of the west's most dangerous outlaws !

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Genres:

Western

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 September 1951 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

L'énigme du lac noir

Filming Locations:

Bishop, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

83 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Although the story is fictional, it is inspired by a real incident in which a posse from a California town had a shoot-out with convicts escaped from the Carson City prison. Convict Lake is a real place in California, named after the incident.

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Quotes

Jim Canfield: No decent human being can kill a person in cold blood.
Marcia Stoddard: Start any trouble and you'll find out different.

User Reviews

This film was a critical and commercial success (Wikipedia)

Some films end up being forgotten and that's the case with this excellent western directed by Michael Gordon (Cyrano de Bergerac, Pillow Talk) and with great black and white cinematography by Leo Tover (The Day the Earth Stood Still, The Tall Men, The Sun Also Rises, among many others). Inspired by a legend of the Convict Lake (Sierra Nevada, California), it tells the story of men who escaped from jail and go looking for 40000 dollars, through the snow in a lonely group of houses located on an almost unreachable valley. Glenn Ford and the great bad guy Zachary Scott are the main male characters and Gene Tierney, Ethel Barrymore and Ann Dvorak, the female. Great script, even Ben Hecht touched it, though uncredited. Dale Robertson lends his voice as the narrator, also uncredited. This film was a critical and commercial success and I am sure that it will eventually be back where it belongs, among the best westerns, in DVDs , etc.