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IMDbPro

Kansas Pacific

  • 19531953
  • ApprovedApproved
  • 1h 13m
IMDb RATING
5.8/10
737
YOUR RATING
Sterling Hayden and Eve Miller in Kansas Pacific (1953)
Western
With the Civil War about to begin, Southern saboteurs attack frontier railroad construction.With the Civil War about to begin, Southern saboteurs attack frontier railroad construction.With the Civil War about to begin, Southern saboteurs attack frontier railroad construction.
IMDb RATING
5.8/10
737
YOUR RATING
    • Ray Nazarro
    • Daniel B. Ullman(adapted from his play)
  • Stars
    • Sterling Hayden
    • Eve Miller
    • Barton MacLane
    • Ray Nazarro
    • Daniel B. Ullman(adapted from his play)
  • Stars
    • Sterling Hayden
    • Eve Miller
    • Barton MacLane
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 23User reviews
    • 5Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Photos7

    Sterling Hayden and Reed Hadley in Kansas Pacific (1953)
    Sterling Hayden and Eve Miller in Kansas Pacific (1953)
    Sterling Hayden, Roy Gordon, James Griffith, Jonathan Hale, and Barton MacLane in Kansas Pacific (1953)
    Sterling Hayden and Eve Miller in Kansas Pacific (1953)
    Kansas Pacific (1953)
    Kansas Pacific (1953)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Sterling Hayden
    Sterling Hayden
    • Capt. John Nelson
    Eve Miller
    Eve Miller
    • Barbara Bruce
    Barton MacLane
    Barton MacLane
    • Cal Bruce
    Harry Shannon
    Harry Shannon
    • Smokestack
    Tom Fadden
    Tom Fadden
    • Gus Gustavson
    Reed Hadley
    Reed Hadley
    • Bill Quantrill
    Douglas Fowley
    Douglas Fowley
    • Max Janus
    Robert Keys
    • Lt. Stanton
    • (as Bob Keys)
    Irving Bacon
    Irving Bacon
    • Casey
    Myron Healey
    Myron Healey
    • Morey
    James Griffith
    James Griffith
    • Joe Farley
    Clayton Moore
    Clayton Moore
    • Stone - Henchman
    Jonathan Hale
    Jonathan Hale
    • Sherman Johnson
    Lane Bradford
    Lane Bradford
    • Max - Henchman
    • (uncredited)
    Bill Coontz
    Bill Coontz
    • Henchman
    • (uncredited)
    Joe Garcio
    Joe Garcio
    • Henchman
    • (uncredited)
    Tommy Garland
    Tommy Garland
    • Heavy
    • (uncredited)
    Roy Gordon
    Roy Gordon
    • Gen. Winfield Scott
    • (uncredited)
      • Ray Nazarro
      • Daniel B. Ullman(adapted from his play)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The character Bill Quantrill is clearly an allusion to William Quantrill, the notorious leader of Quantrill's Raiders in the Kansas area before and during the Civil War.
    • Goofs
      The film is set in late 1860/early 1861 shortly before the outbreak of the American Civil War. The crew building the Kansas Pacific railroad is using dynamite for blasting. Dynamite was invented by Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel in 1866.
    • Quotes

      Barbara Bruce: [resignedly] You're staying.

      Cal Bruce: I guess old Smokestack's right this time. We've handled these diploma boys before, you know. He'll learn soon enough to stay out of our way.

      Barbara Bruce: Well... alright. But you've got to promise me one thing. If this man turns out to be impossible, we're leaving. I'm not go to let anyone push you around.

      Cal Bruce: Have you ever seen anyone push me around... except you and your mother?

    • Connections
      Featured in The Sierra Number 3 Locomotive: A Star Is Reborn (2012)

    User reviews23

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    6/10
    Built By Bullets, Dynamite And Blood Stained Spikes!
    Kansas Pacific is directed by Ray Nazarro and written by Daniel B. Ullman. It stars Sterling Hayden, Eve Miller, Barton MacLane, Harry Shannon, Tom Fadden and Reed Hadley. A Cinecolor production with music by Albert Sendrey and cinematography by Harry Neumann.

    "In the years preceding the War between the States, 'Bleeding Kansas' was split down the middle. Being a border state-and not legally committed to either side-Kansas was almost torn apart by its two equally violent factions.

    A railroad to the West was being built. To the rapidly forming Confederacy, this line, if completed, could mean the difference between defeat and victory, because it could well become the lifeline for the Union's western military installations.

    Some Southern groups therefore, took strong steps to see that the Kansas Pacific did not reach completion. Northern interests, on the other hand, took equally strong steps to see that it did. All of this happened before any formal declaration of war, so neither side was really justified in the acts of total violence which resulted."

    It's a fictionalised account that would surely have the historians frothing at the mouth, but on its own modest terms Kansas Pacific is solid entertainment. It's 1860 and Hayden is an undercover Army engineer who is sent in to ensure that the railroad is built. Not easy because the construction is plagued by sabotage attacks by Southern Rebels led by William Quantrill (Hadley).

    Thus the story follows a familiar path that sees Hayden viewed with suspicion by some, admired by others, and as the sabotage attempts increase in ferocity, so does Hayden's will to succeed. Some love action comes his way (Miller on dressage duties only), as does the chance for some stoic engine driving. The action is well staged by Nazarro, who oversees dynamite attacks and cannon warfare, and the location photography coupled with the train sequences are most pleasing.

    Modest for sure, but performed well in the right areas and at 73 minutes in length it barely has time to annoy anyone but the history buffs. 6/10
    helpful•4
    0
    • hitchcockthelegend
    • Oct 4, 2013

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • February 22, 1953 (United States)
      • United States
      • English
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • Iverson Ranch - 1 Iverson Lane, Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California, USA
    • Production company
      • Walter Wanger Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • 1 hour 13 minutes
      • Mono

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