Broken Lance (1954)

The saga of the Devereaux rancher family, set in 1880's Arizona.

Director:

Edward Dmytryk

Writers:

Richard Murphy (screenplay), Philip Yordan (story)

Stars:

Spencer Tracy, Robert Wagner, Jean Peters

Won 1 Oscar. Another 1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Spencer Tracy	...	Matt Devereaux
Robert Wagner	...	Joe Devereaux
Jean Peters	...	Barbara
Richard Widmark	...	Ben Devereaux
Katy Jurado	...	Señora Devereaux
Hugh O'Brian	...	Mike Devereaux
Eduard Franz	...	Two Moons
Earl Holliman	...	Denny Devereaux
E.G. Marshall	...	Horace - The Governor
Carl Benton Reid	...	Clem Lawton
Philip Ober	...	Van Cleve
Robert Burton	...	Mac Andrews

Storyline

Cattle baron Matt Devereaux raids a copper smelter that is polluting his water, then divides his property among his sons. Son Joe takes responsibility for the raid and gets three years in prison. Matt dies from a stroke partly caused by his rebellious sons and when Joe gets out he plans revenge.

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Plot Keywords:

half brother half brother relationship | remake | dysfunctional family | father son conflict | resentment | 

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Taglines:

Fury of the West's Most Lawless Feud!

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Genres:

Adventure | Western

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

25 September 1954 (USA)

Also Known As:

La lance brisée

Filming Locations:

Circle Z Ranch - 1476 Highway 82, Patagonia, Arizona, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (35 mm optical prints) 4-Track Stereo (35 mm magnetic prints) (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.55 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Though Katy Jurado played Robert Wagner's mother in the film, she was only six years older than him in real-life.

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Goofs

When Barbara visits Joe in prison, he angrily leaves her and when he grabs the iron bar cell door, it visibly shakes and wobbles. No iron bar door in prison is constructed shabbily enough to do that.

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Quotes

Van Cleve: I now ask you, sir, do you remember the names Charlie Monger, Red Dog Johnson or Carlos Rameriez?
Matt Devereaux: No.
Van Cleve: The incident may be too trivial to recall. But isn't it true that you summarily hanged three of these men on the afternoon of June 4th?
Matt Devereaux: They were stealing my cattle!
Van Cleve: I thought you didn't remember them.
Matt Devereaux: I didn't ask their names!
Van Cleve: You just hanged 'em?
Matt Devereaux: By the neck until they were dead. They were thieves!

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Connections

Referenced in Memories of 'Giant' (1998)

User Reviews

Familiar drama with awesome acting , colorful scenarios and rousing score

This is an enjoyable and luxurious remake from ¨House of strangers¨ in Western style . Cattle baron Matt Devereaux (magnificent Spencer Tracy as the ruthless wealthy owner who sadly contends his sons) is a widower who married an Indian woman (Katy Jurado , though plays Robert Wagner's mother in the film, she was only six years older than him in real life) . The Irish Matt is an egocentric and tyrannical self-made man that raises his family in an environment of hatred . He raids a copper smelter that is polluting his water . As Deveraux swears vengeance on those who have poised his stock . Half-breed son named Joe (Robert Wagner) takes responsibility for the raid and gets three years in jail . Serious conflicts arouse which split the family , as Ben Deveraux (Richard Widmark) attempts to divide the property among his brothers .

This over-the-top film contains intense drama , racial slur , familiar confrontation with dramatic taking on among father-sons and being beautifully realized . Interesting screenplay by Richard Murphy , based on a story by prestigious Philip Yordan . Good and agreeable Western that details the dissolution of a despotic cattle baron's family with King Lear's Shakespeare touches . The picture with exciting plot displays elements of Greek tragedy and a touching finale . It results to be a peculiar version about confrontation between father and brothers ; theme to be treated in other Hollywood films such as ¨House of strangers¨ (1949) also written by Philip Yordan , being directed by Joseph L Mankiewicz with Edward G Robinson (Spencer Tracy role), Luther Adler (Richard Widmark character) , Efrem Zimbalist (Hugh O'Brian role) and Richard Conte (Robert Wagner role) . Spencer Tracy's tour-de-force performance in the climactic courtroom scene was so powerful that it completely captivated the onlooking film crewmen . Richard Widmark as the oldest and meanest brother , in a smaller part that you'd expected from his billing , is nevertheless excellent as a bad guy . The other siblings are played by naive young Robert Wagner , tough Hugh o'Brian and slow witted Earl Holliman . Romantic interest is supplied by the ever vivacious and lovely Jean Peters who married Howard Hughes . Besides , an excellent plethora of secondary actors as Katy Jurado , E.G Marshall , Eduard Franz . Musical score well composed and conducted by Leigh Harline is impressive ; including catching leitmotif and enjoyable sounds from Western . Colorful and evocative cinematography in Cinemascope by Joseph MacDonald .

The motion picture well produced by the great producers Sol C. Siegel , Darryl F. Zanuck was stunningly directed by Edward Dmytryck . A veteran filmmaker, Dmytryck is one of Hollywood's most prolific directors who started his career in the early 40s . He was a craftsman whose career was interrupted by the activities of the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), a congressional committee that employed ruthless tactics aimed at rooting out and destroying what it saw as Communist influence in Hollywood . A lifelong political leftist who had been a Communist Party member briefly during World War II, Dmytryk was one of the so-called "Hollywood Ten" who refused to cooperate with HUAC and had their careers disrupted or ruined as a result. The committee threw him in prison for refusing to cooperate, and after having spent several months behind bars , Dmytryk decided to cooperate . Dmytrick's biggest film was ¨The Caine Mutiny¨ , but he also realized another mutiny film titled : ¨Mutiny¨ with Angela Lansbury . Edward was an expert on warlike genre as ¨Back to Batan¨ , ¨Battle of Anzio¨ , ¨Young lions¨ and Western as ¨Broken lance¨ , ¨Alvarez Kelly¨ , ¨Warlock¨ among others . Rating : 7 , better than average . It's recommended for Western enthusiasts and Spencer Tracy fans .