Horizons West (1952)

Two brothers end up on opposite sides of the law in post-Civil War Texas.

Director:

Budd Boetticher

Writer:

Louis Stevens (story and screenplay)

Stars:

Robert Ryan, Julie Adams, Rock Hudson

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Robert Ryan	...	Dan Hammond
Julie Adams	...	Lorna Hardin (as Julia Adams)
Rock Hudson	...	Neil Hammond
Judith Braun	...	Sally Eaton
John McIntire	...	Ira Hammond
Raymond Burr	...	Cord Hardin
James Arness	...	Tiny McGilligan
Dennis Weaver	...	Dandy Taylor
Frances Bavier	...	Martha Hammond
Tom Powers	...	Frank Tarleton
John Hubbard	...	Sam Hunter
Rodolfo Acosta	...	General José Escobar Lopez
Douglas Fowley	...	Ed Tompkins
Walter Reed	...	Layton
Raymond Greenleaf	...	Eli Dodson

Storyline

Home from the Civil War, young Neal Hammond is happy to return to Texas ranching, but brother Dan wants more. His attempt to enter business is thwarted when carpetbagger Cord Hardin beats and humiliates him in a poker game. So Dan forms a rustling gang and parlays his ill-gotten gains into a land empire. But among the growing opposition to his gang is the new Marshal of Austin...brother Neal.

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Plot Keywords:

ranch | rancher | poker game | money | marshal | 

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Taglines:

LAWLESS RUTHLESS DEFIANCE! (original print ad - all caps)

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Genres:

Western

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 October 1952 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Texas Man

Filming Locations:

Andy Jauregui Ranch - Placerita Canyon Road, Newhall, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal International Pictures (UI)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

81 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Robert Ryan was only two years younger than John McIntire, who played his father.

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Connections

Featured in Rock Hudson: Dark and Handsome Stranger (2010)

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Soundtracks

ALEXIS, DARLIN' OF TEXAS
Written by Inez James and Sidney Miller
Sung by Judith Braun

User Reviews

Two brothers , Robert Ryan and Rock Hudson , returning Texas , but one to get rich quick by cattle rustling and taking over lands

Home from the Civil War, young Neal Hammond : Rock Hudson and his older brother : Robert Ryan are glad to return to Austin Texas ranching. However , brother Dan wants more and he takes over properties . As 2 brothers go their separate ways after Civil War , one leads a peaceful life as a rancher , but the other corrupted by the war engages in a violent campaign to build his own empire ,and carrying out terrorisation . His attempt to enter business is thwarted by carpetbagger Cord Hardin : Raymond Burr . But among the growing opposition to his band is the new sheriff , to become his his nemesis , his brother Neal, along with an old friend : James Arness .

It begins as a sluggish , slow-moving Western but follows to surprise us with complex characters , thrills , breathtaking patches and decent plot about two differen brothers ; as both of them end up on opposite sides of the law . The simple tale is almost rudimentary though full of clichés, as the monotonous script lines too often settle for crude routine . Suspense and tension builds over the time in which the outlaws and the starring await to take the farmer's lands . The action is decently made , as when the nasties shoot without remission and rustling cattle . The highlights of the film are the facing off between Robert Ryan and his enemies and the climatic showdown on the ending . Robert Ryan gives a nice performance as the ex-officer who forms a rustling gang and parlays his ill-gotten gains into a land empire . Rock Hudson provides a slighly laborious acting as new Marshal of Austin , but his interpretation is really eclipsed by the great Robert Ryan . His acting as the mobster-tycoon reverberates all the movie in a manner that sometimes anticapates ¨The rise and fall of Leg Diamond¨ considered to be Boetticher's the best . Support cast is pretty good , such as : Burr as as the nasty owner who beats and humiliates Ryan in a poker game , John McIntire as the honest father though he was only 2 years older than Ryan , James Arness , Dennis Weaver , Mae Clarke , Tom Powers , Douglas Fowley , among others.

It displays an atmospheric score by Herman Stein and Henry Mancini , both of whom uncredited . Colorful cinematography in Universal style by Charles Boyle . The motion picture was professionally directed by Budd Boetticher in ordinary and traditional wake.Still apprentice work , so don't expect anything quite so stylishly spare as the Randolph Scott/Boetticher cycle , but Burt Kennedy's intelligent scripting was probably the decisive factor in those later films . Boetticher formed a production company called ¨Ranown¨ along with Harry Joe Brown and Randolph Scott and as usual writer Burt Kennedy. The first Harrry Brown-Boetticher-Scott movie was 1956's " Seven men from now" , following ¨Decision at sundown(57)¨, ¨Buchanan rides alone(58)¨,¨Westbound(59)¨ ,¨Ride lonesome(59) ,in the decades since, they have produced and directed one Western ¨Comanche Station(60)¨ . Boetticher was a great expert on Western genre and also on the bullfighting world as ¨Bullfighter and the lady¨, ¨The magnificent matador¨ and ¨Arruza¨ . Rating : 6/10 . Well worth watching .