Colorado Territory (film)
Encyclopedia
Colorado Territory is a 1949 western film, a remake
of the 1941 High Sierra. Both films were directed by Raoul Walsh
. It was the first film premiered at a drive-in theater
.
The story was remade again in 1955 as I Died a Thousand Times
with Jack Palance
and Shelley Winters
.
taking Humphrey Bogart
's original role) is freed from jail and heads off to the Colorado Territory
to meet the man who arranged the escape, his old friend Dave Rickard (Basil Ruysdael
). On the way, the stagecoach
he is riding in is attacked by a gang of robbers. When the driver and guard are both killed, McQueen kills or drives off the remaining gunmen, earning the gratitude of the other passengers, dreamer Fred Winslow (Henry Hull
) and his daughter Julie Ann (Dorothy Malone
). Winslow has bought a ranch sight unseen and looks forward to making his fortune.
McQueen arrives at the ghost town of Todos Santos, where Reno Blake (John Archer
) and Duke Harris (James Mitchell
) are waiting for him, along with Reno's part-Indian girlfriend, Colorado Carson (Virginia Mayo
). After looking them over (and not liking what he sees), he heads off to a nearby town to meet Rickard.
An ailing Rickard asks McQueen to pull off one last big train robbery so they can both retire. With the exception of Rickard, McQueen distrusts everybody else in the gang, including ex-private detective Pluthner (Harry Woods
), who recruited Reno and Duke, and Homer Wallace (Ian Wolfe
), the railroad informant. McQueen wants to go straight, but agrees to do the job out of gratitude and friendship.
While waiting, McQueen decides to keep Colorado with him to avoid stirring up trouble between Duke and Reno. She falls for him and tells him so. However, McQueen dreams of marrying Julie Ann and settling down. When he visits the Winslow ranch, he finds it a poor, arid place. Winslow warns him that Julie Ann loves Randolph, a rich man back east. Winslow took her away because Randolph would never have married so far beneath him socially. However, McQueen does not let the disclosure deter him.
The day of the robbery, a suspicious McQueen talks to Wallace's wife and discovers he has betrayed the gang for the reward money. Forewarned, McQueen uncouples the passenger cars in which the sheriff and his men wait in ambush, leaving them behind. Duke and Reno (as prearranged with Pluthner) also try to double cross McQueen, but he is prepared for them too. He gets the drop on them, takes the money, and leaves the pair handcuffed together for the sheriff to capture (and later hang). He and Colorado go to split the money with Rickard, only to find Pluthner over the old man's dead body. McQueen kills him, but is shot in the shoulder.
McQueen heads to the Winslow ranch. Winslow helps Colorado get the bullet out, even after he is told who McQueen really is and what he has done. Later, McQueen overhears Julie Ann tell her father they should turn him in for the reward money. However, Winslow lies to the sheriff and his posse when they show up.
McQueen realizes he loves Colorado and asks her to marry him. The happy couple plan a new life in Mexico, but are found hiding out in Todos Santos. He gives her the money, drives off her horse so she cannot follow him, and makes a desperate dash for the border. He is trapped in a long-deserted cliffside Indian settlement, but is too good a marksman for his pursuers to rush him. Eventually Colorado arrives on foot.
The sheriff comes up with a devious plan. After stationing an Indian sharpshooter, he and all but two of his men ride away to a (fictional) back entrance. As the lawman had hoped, Colorado grabs a gun from one of the men, orders them to walk away, and takes the two remaining horses to McQueen. McQueen emerges and is wounded by the sharpshooter. When the posse returns, Colorado shoots back, and the two lovers are killed in a hail of gunfire. In the closing scene, a priest at a church McQueen visited says, "A happy couple passed by here today." He rings the church bells and the film ends.
Remake
A remake is a piece of media based primarily on an earlier work of the same medium.-Film:The term "remake" is generally used in reference to a movie which uses an earlier movie as the main source material, rather than in reference to a second, later movie based on the same source...
of the 1941 High Sierra. Both films were directed by Raoul Walsh
Raoul Walsh
Raoul Walsh was an American film director, actor, founding member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the brother of silent screen actor George Walsh...
. It was the first film premiered at a drive-in theater
Drive-in theater
A drive-in theater is a form of cinema structure consisting of a large outdoor screen, a projection booth, a concession stand and a large parking area for automobiles. Within this enclosed area, customers can view movies from the privacy and comfort of their cars.The screen can be as simple as a...
.
The story was remade again in 1955 as I Died a Thousand Times
I Died a Thousand Times
I Died a Thousand Times is a color film noir directed by Stuart Heisler. The drama features Jack Palance as paroled bank robber Roy Earle, with Shelley Winters, Lee Marvin, Pedro Gonzalez Gonzalez, and Lon Chaney, Jr....
with Jack Palance
Jack Palance
Jack Palance , was an American actor. During half a century of film and television appearances, Palance was nominated for three Academy Awards, all as Best Actor in a Supporting Role, winning in 1991 for his role in City Slickers.-Early life:Palance, one of five children, was born Volodymyr...
and Shelley Winters
Shelley Winters
Shelley Winters was an American actress who appeared in dozens of films, as well as on stage and television; her career spanned over 50 years until her death in 2006...
.
Plot
Notorious outlaw Wes McQueen (Joel McCreaJoel McCrea
Joel Albert McCrea was an American actor whose career spanned 50 years and appearances in over 90 films.-Early life:...
taking Humphrey Bogart
Humphrey Bogart
Humphrey DeForest Bogart was an American actor. He is widely regarded as a cultural icon.The American Film Institute ranked Bogart as the greatest male star in the history of American cinema....
's original role) is freed from jail and heads off to the Colorado Territory
Colorado Territory
The Territory of Colorado was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 28, 1861, until August 1, 1876, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Colorado....
to meet the man who arranged the escape, his old friend Dave Rickard (Basil Ruysdael
Basil Ruysdael
Basil Ruysdael was an American film actor and opera singer.-Early life:He was born in Jersey City, New Jersey and started as a bass-baritone in the Metropolitan Opera Company from 1910 to 1918...
). On the way, the stagecoach
Stagecoach
A stagecoach is a type of covered wagon for passengers and goods, strongly sprung and drawn by four horses, usually four-in-hand. Widely used before the introduction of railway transport, it made regular trips between stages or stations, which were places of rest provided for stagecoach travelers...
he is riding in is attacked by a gang of robbers. When the driver and guard are both killed, McQueen kills or drives off the remaining gunmen, earning the gratitude of the other passengers, dreamer Fred Winslow (Henry Hull
Henry Hull
Henry Watterson Hull was an American character actor with a unique voice, most noted for playing the lead in Universal Pictures's Werewolf of London .-Life and career:Hull was born in Louisville, Kentucky...
) and his daughter Julie Ann (Dorothy Malone
Dorothy Malone
Dorothy Malone is an American actress. Her film career began in 1943, and in her early years she played small roles, mainly in B-movies. After a decade in films, she began to acquire a more glamorous image, particularly after her performance in Written on the Wind , for which she won the Academy...
). Winslow has bought a ranch sight unseen and looks forward to making his fortune.
McQueen arrives at the ghost town of Todos Santos, where Reno Blake (John Archer
John Archer (actor)
John Archer was an American movie and television actor.-Biography:Born Ralph Bowman in Osceola, Nebraska, Archer moved to California at the age of five...
) and Duke Harris (James Mitchell
James Mitchell (actor)
James Mitchell was an American actor and dancer. Although he is best known to television audiences as Palmer Cortlandt on the soap opera All My Children , theatre and dance historians remember him as one of Agnes de Mille's leading dancers...
) are waiting for him, along with Reno's part-Indian girlfriend, Colorado Carson (Virginia Mayo
Virginia Mayo
Virginia Mayo was an American film actress.After a short career in vaudeville, Mayo progressed to films and during the 1940s established herself as a supporting player in such films as The Best Years of Our Lives and White Heat .Mayo remained an A-list actress into the mid-'50s, but then went...
). After looking them over (and not liking what he sees), he heads off to a nearby town to meet Rickard.
An ailing Rickard asks McQueen to pull off one last big train robbery so they can both retire. With the exception of Rickard, McQueen distrusts everybody else in the gang, including ex-private detective Pluthner (Harry Woods
Harry Woods (actor)
Harry Woods was an American film actor. He appeared in nearly 250 films between 1923 and 1958.He was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and died in Los Angeles, California from uremia.-Selected filmography:* Tycoon...
), who recruited Reno and Duke, and Homer Wallace (Ian Wolfe
Ian Wolfe
Ian Wolfe was an American actor whose films date from 1934 to 1990. Until 1934, he worked as a theatre actor. Wolfe mostly found work as a character actor, appearing in over 270 films...
), the railroad informant. McQueen wants to go straight, but agrees to do the job out of gratitude and friendship.
While waiting, McQueen decides to keep Colorado with him to avoid stirring up trouble between Duke and Reno. She falls for him and tells him so. However, McQueen dreams of marrying Julie Ann and settling down. When he visits the Winslow ranch, he finds it a poor, arid place. Winslow warns him that Julie Ann loves Randolph, a rich man back east. Winslow took her away because Randolph would never have married so far beneath him socially. However, McQueen does not let the disclosure deter him.
The day of the robbery, a suspicious McQueen talks to Wallace's wife and discovers he has betrayed the gang for the reward money. Forewarned, McQueen uncouples the passenger cars in which the sheriff and his men wait in ambush, leaving them behind. Duke and Reno (as prearranged with Pluthner) also try to double cross McQueen, but he is prepared for them too. He gets the drop on them, takes the money, and leaves the pair handcuffed together for the sheriff to capture (and later hang). He and Colorado go to split the money with Rickard, only to find Pluthner over the old man's dead body. McQueen kills him, but is shot in the shoulder.
McQueen heads to the Winslow ranch. Winslow helps Colorado get the bullet out, even after he is told who McQueen really is and what he has done. Later, McQueen overhears Julie Ann tell her father they should turn him in for the reward money. However, Winslow lies to the sheriff and his posse when they show up.
McQueen realizes he loves Colorado and asks her to marry him. The happy couple plan a new life in Mexico, but are found hiding out in Todos Santos. He gives her the money, drives off her horse so she cannot follow him, and makes a desperate dash for the border. He is trapped in a long-deserted cliffside Indian settlement, but is too good a marksman for his pursuers to rush him. Eventually Colorado arrives on foot.
The sheriff comes up with a devious plan. After stationing an Indian sharpshooter, he and all but two of his men ride away to a (fictional) back entrance. As the lawman had hoped, Colorado grabs a gun from one of the men, orders them to walk away, and takes the two remaining horses to McQueen. McQueen emerges and is wounded by the sharpshooter. When the posse returns, Colorado shoots back, and the two lovers are killed in a hail of gunfire. In the closing scene, a priest at a church McQueen visited says, "A happy couple passed by here today." He rings the church bells and the film ends.
Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Joel McCrea Joel McCrea Joel Albert McCrea was an American actor whose career spanned 50 years and appearances in over 90 films.-Early life:... |
Wes McQueen |
| Virginia Mayo Virginia Mayo Virginia Mayo was an American film actress.After a short career in vaudeville, Mayo progressed to films and during the 1940s established herself as a supporting player in such films as The Best Years of Our Lives and White Heat .Mayo remained an A-list actress into the mid-'50s, but then went... |
Colorado Carson |
| Dorothy Malone Dorothy Malone Dorothy Malone is an American actress. Her film career began in 1943, and in her early years she played small roles, mainly in B-movies. After a decade in films, she began to acquire a more glamorous image, particularly after her performance in Written on the Wind , for which she won the Academy... |
Julie Ann Winslow |
| Henry Hull Henry Hull Henry Watterson Hull was an American character actor with a unique voice, most noted for playing the lead in Universal Pictures's Werewolf of London .-Life and career:Hull was born in Louisville, Kentucky... |
Fred Winslow |
| John Archer John Archer (actor) John Archer was an American movie and television actor.-Biography:Born Ralph Bowman in Osceola, Nebraska, Archer moved to California at the age of five... |
Reno Blake |
| James Mitchell James Mitchell (actor) James Mitchell was an American actor and dancer. Although he is best known to television audiences as Palmer Cortlandt on the soap opera All My Children , theatre and dance historians remember him as one of Agnes de Mille's leading dancers... |
Duke Harris |
| Morris Ankrum Morris Ankrum Morris Ankrum was an American radio, television and film character actor.-Early life:Born Morris Nussbaum in Danville, Illinois, Ankrum originally began a career in academics. After graduating from USC with a law degree, he went on to an associate professorship in economics at the University of... |
United States Marshal |
| Basil Ruysdael Basil Ruysdael Basil Ruysdael was an American film actor and opera singer.-Early life:He was born in Jersey City, New Jersey and started as a bass-baritone in the Metropolitan Opera Company from 1910 to 1918... |
Dave Rickard |
| Frank Puglia Frank Puglia Frank Puglia was an Italian film actor. Puglia had small but memorable roles in films including Casablanca and 1942's The Jungle Book. Born in Sicily, the actor started his career as a teen on stage in Italian operas. He emigrated to the U.S... |
Brother Tomas |
| Ian Wolfe Ian Wolfe Ian Wolfe was an American actor whose films date from 1934 to 1990. Until 1934, he worked as a theatre actor. Wolfe mostly found work as a character actor, appearing in over 270 films... |
Homer Wallace |