Slaughter Trail
Encyclopedia
Slaughter Trail is a 1951
Cinecolor
Western
produced and directed by Irving Allen
, filmed in Corriganville and released by RKO Pictures
.
secretly assisted by one of the passengers. The fleeing bandits come across some unarmed Navajo
who they shoot and steal their horses. One of the Navajo survives and informs the tribe who sets his tribe on the warpath against all whites. The commander of the US Cavalry fort who is friendly with the Navajo chief is caught in the middle.
Originally the film was shot with Howard Da Silva
in the lead. After he was accused of Communist leanings, RKO ordered DaSilva's scenes reshot with Brian Donlevy
.
Like High Noon
, Slaughter Trail has continuing ballads throughout the film that ask and answer questions as well as narrate the story. It may be debated whether the film was made "straight," or was satiric, due to the even then well known Western set piece
s such as a stagecoach holdup, Indian attacks, and the army standing between hostile Indians and townspeople being commented on by songs that often break the fourth wall
. The writer of the film Sid Kuller
was a well known comedy writer and also wrote some of the film's songs. One of the film's songs I Wish I Was became a hit song of the year.
1951 in film
The year 1951 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Sweden - May Britt is scouted by Italian film-makers Carlo Ponti and Mario Soldati-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:...
Cinecolor
Cinecolor
Cinecolor was an early subtractive color-model two color film process, based upon the Prizma system of the 1910s and 1920s and the Multicolor system of the late 1920s and 1930s. It was developed by William T. Crispinel and Alan M...
Western
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
produced and directed by Irving Allen
Irving Allen
Irving Allen was a theatrical and cinematic producer and director. He won an Academy Award in 1948 for producing the short movie Climbing the Matterhorn. In the early 1950s he formed Warwick Films with partner Albert "Cubby" Broccoli and relocated to England to leverage film making against a...
, filmed in Corriganville and released by RKO Pictures
RKO Pictures
RKO Pictures is an American film production and distribution company. As RKO Radio Pictures Inc., it was one of the Big Five studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orpheum theater chains and Joseph P...
.
Plot
A trio of masked bandits rob a stagecoachStagecoach
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...
secretly assisted by one of the passengers. The fleeing bandits come across some unarmed Navajo
Navajo people
The Navajo of the Southwestern United States are the largest single federally recognized tribe of the United States of America. The Navajo Nation has 300,048 enrolled tribal members. The Navajo Nation constitutes an independent governmental body which manages the Navajo Indian reservation in the...
who they shoot and steal their horses. One of the Navajo survives and informs the tribe who sets his tribe on the warpath against all whites. The commander of the US Cavalry fort who is friendly with the Navajo chief is caught in the middle.
Production
The film was made in 1950 and was originally to have been released through Eagle-Lion but was picked up for release by RKO.Originally the film was shot with Howard Da Silva
Howard Da Silva
Howard Da Silva was an American actor.-Early life:He was born Howard Silverblatt in Cleveland, Ohio, the son of Benjamin and Bertha Silverblatt. His parents were both Yiddish speaking Jews born in Russia. He had a job as a steelworker before beginning his acting career on the stage...
in the lead. After he was accused of Communist leanings, RKO ordered DaSilva's scenes reshot with Brian Donlevy
Brian Donlevy
Brian Donlevy was an Irish-born American film actor, noted for playing tough guys from the 1930s to the 1960s. He usually appeared in supporting roles. Among his best known films are Beau Geste and The Great McGinty...
.
Like High Noon
High Noon
High Noon is a 1952 American Western film directed by Fred Zinnemann and starring Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly. The film tells in real time the story of a town marshal forced to face a gang of killers by himself...
, Slaughter Trail has continuing ballads throughout the film that ask and answer questions as well as narrate the story. It may be debated whether the film was made "straight," or was satiric, due to the even then well known Western set piece
Set piece
Set piece may refer to:* Set piece , an elaborate sequence which sees either a chase, fight, or other action taking place in an original and memorable way...
s such as a stagecoach holdup, Indian attacks, and the army standing between hostile Indians and townspeople being commented on by songs that often break the fourth wall
Fourth wall
The fourth wall is the imaginary "wall" at the front of the stage in a traditional three-walled box set in a proscenium theatre, through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play...
. The writer of the film Sid Kuller
Sid Kuller
Sid Kuller was an American comedy writer, producer and lyricist/composer, who concentrated on special musical material, gags and sketches for leading comics...
was a well known comedy writer and also wrote some of the film's songs. One of the film's songs I Wish I Was became a hit song of the year.