''Along the Great Divide'' is a 1951 American

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

film noir Film noir (; ) is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of American '' ...

directed by

Raoul Walsh Raoul Walsh (born Albert Edward Walsh; March 11, 1887December 31, 1980) was an American film director, actor, founding member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), and the brother of silent screen actor George Walsh. He wa ...

and starring

Kirk Douglas Kirk Douglas (born Issur Danielovitch; December 9, 1916 – February 5, 2020) was an American actor and filmmaker. After an impoverished childhood, he made his film debut in '' The Strange Love of Martha Ivers'' (1946) with Barbara Stanwyck. D ...

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and

Walter Brennan Walter Andrew Brennan (July 25, 1894 – September 21, 1974) was an American actor and singer. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performances in '' Come and Get It'' (1936), ''Kentucky'' (1938), and '' The Westerner ...

. It was Douglas's first Western, a genre that served him well during his long career. In a 1986 interview with David Letterman, it was one of two movies Kirk told the audience that they "could skip" in his filmography; the other was '' The Big Trees''.

Plot

Federal marshal Len Merrick (

) and his two deputies rescue cattle rustler and murder suspect Tim "Pop" Keith (

) from a lynch mob headed by grieving rancher Ned Roden, whose beloved son was shot in the back. Merrick insists on taking Keith to Santa Loma to stand trial. The other ranchers are unwilling to go against a marshal, but Roden vows to administer his own brand of justice. He sends his other son, Dan, to gather his ranch hands while he attends to the burial. Merrick offers to help, but is met with implacable hostility. After Roden leaves, Merrick finds a pocket watch near the body of the dead son. Keith suggests they spend the night at his home, as it is nearby. Merrick accepts, but has cause to regret his decision when Keith's daughter Ann ambushes them. Merrick is able to disarm her with no harm done. When they leave, Ann decides to go with them. After he is warned of Roden's intentions by fellow ranchers, Merrick decides to take an unexpected desert route, where he can see if he is being trailed. The tactic fails, however, and the party is overtaken by Roden and his men. In the ensuing gunfight, Merrick's best friend and deputy, Billy Shear, is wounded. Merrick forces Roden to go away by capturing his son Dan. As they travel on, Billy dies. Merrick and Ann start falling in love. The marshal reveals his unswerving devotion to duty is because the one time he neglected to do so it cost his father his life. He was a deputy to his marshal father, and refused to help escort two prisoners. All three were lynched. Ann sympathizes, but warns him that her first loyalty is to her father. Meanwhile, Dan convinces the remaining deputy, Lou Gray, to help him escape by the bribe of a ranch. When the group reaches a waterhole, only to find the water undrinkable, a disagreement breaks out. All but Merrick want to head to a river half a day to the south. Worried because the river is on the Mexican border, Merrick insists on continuing on to Santa Loma. Gray quickly draws his gun, however Merrick is faster on the draw and shoots it out of his hand. Now, he has three prisoners to deal with. After two days without sleep, an exhausted Merrick drops from his horse. Keith grabs his gun, but is unwilling to shoot. When Gray goes for his rifle, Keith kills him, then hands the gun back to Merrick. Keith is tried in Santa Loma. Merrick tells the jury he is sure Keith is not a killer, though all the evidence and witnesses are against him where a guilty verdict is reached. Just before Keith is to be hanged, Merrick notices the watch he found on the body of the dead brother has an inscription to Dan. Confronted with the proof he had killed his own brother, Dan draws his revolver and grabs Ann as a shield. When his father approaches, Dan kills him then races back into the barn where a gunfight ensues between him and Merrick, then after a time Dan goes out of the barn from the next level and jumps down onto the back of a horse trying to escape but is shot in the back, just like his brother, by Merrick.

Cast

as Marshal Len Merrick *

as Ann Keith *

as Deputy Billy Shear *

as Tim "Pop" Keith * Ray Teal as Deputy Lou Gray *

Hugh Sanders Hugh Howard Sanders (March 13, 1911 – January 9, 1966) was an American actor, probably best known for playing the role of Dr. Reynolds in the movie ''To Kill a Mockingbird''. Biography Born in Illinois, Sanders graduated from Northwestern ...

as Sam Weaver *

Morris Ankrum Morris Ankrum (born Morris Nussbaum; August 28, 1897 – September 2, 1964) was an American radio, television, and film character actor. Early life Born in Danville in Vermilion County in eastern Illinois, Ankrum originally began a career in ...

as Ned Roden * James Anderson as Dan Roden * Charles Meredith as Judge Marlowe * Kenneth MacDonald uncredited - A ranchhand, and witness for the prosecution at the trial.

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Along The Great Divide 1951 films 1951 Western (genre) films American black-and-white films American Western (genre) films 1950s English-language films Films directed by Raoul Walsh Films scored by David Buttolph Films shot in Lone Pine, California Warner Bros. films 1950s American films