''City of Bad Men'' is a 1953 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 directed by

Harmon Jones Harmon Clifford Jones (June 3, 1911 – July 10, 1972) was a Canadian-born film editor and director who worked for many years at the 20th Century-Fox studio in Southern California. He is credited as the editor for about 20 feature films through 1 ...

and starring

Jeanne Crain Jeanne Elizabeth Crain (May 25, 1925 – December 14, 2003) was an American actress. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for her title role in '' Pinky'' (1949). She also starred in the films ''In the Meantime, Darling'' (1944 ...

and

Dale Robertson Dayle Lymoine Robertson (July 14, 1923February 27, 2013) was an American actor best known for his starring roles on television. He played the roving investigator Jim Hardie in the television series '' Tales of Wells Fargo'' and railroad owner Be ...

Plot

A heavyweight championship fight between "Gentleman Jim" Corbett and

Bob Fitzsimmons Robert James Fitzsimmons (26 May 1863 – 22 October 1917) was a British professional boxer who was the sport's first three-division world champion. He also achieved fame for beating Gentleman Jim Corbett (the man who beat John L. Sullivan) ...

is coming to

Carson City, Nevada Carson City is an independent city and the capital of the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 58,639, making it the sixth largest city in Nevada. The majority of the city's population lives in Eagle Valley, on the ...

at exactly the same time outlaw Brett Stanton and brother Gar return to town. Away for six years in Mexico, Brett has alienated his former love, Linda Culligan, who is now involved with Jim London, the fight's promoter. London's sister, Cynthia Castle, tries to attract Brett's interest, but he only has eyes for Linda. Because the bout could sell as much as $100,000 in tickets, law-breakers like Johnny Ringo are also milling around, keeping Sheriff Bill Gifford on his toes. He plays a strategy where he asks Ringo, another outlaw, and Brett, to be deputies just for the week of the fight. Gifford's idea is that this will offer incentive to the men to keep their respective gangs in order and keep the peace in town, so everyone might enjoy the festivities. The three agree to do this but soon Brett is the only one still on board. He is actually scheming to steal the fight's proceeds. . A match-day decision by Linda to end her engagement to Jim changes Brett's plans; he decides to go straight. However, his brother Gar betrays him to Ringo, who goes through with the daring robbery. Brett has to exchange gunfire with Ringo and face down Gar - whom Ringo has mortally wounded. When it is all over, Linda and Brett are finally reconciled.

Cast

as Linda Culligan *

as Brett Stanton *

Richard Boone Richard Allen Boone (June 18, 1917 – January 10, 1981) was an American actor who starred in over 50 films and was notable for his roles in Westerns, including his starring role in the television series ''Have Gun – Will Travel''. Early lif ...

as Johnny Ringo *

Lloyd Bridges Lloyd Vernet Bridges Jr. (January 15, 1913 – March 10, 1998) was an American film, stage and television actor who starred in a number of television series and appeared in more than 150 feature films. He was the father of four children, includi ...

as Gar Stanton *

Carole Mathews Carole Mathews (born Jean Deifel, also credited as Jeanne Francis; September 13, 1920 – November 6, 2014) was an American film and television actress. Early years Born in Montgomery, Illinois, near Chicago, Mathews lived with her grandmothe ...

as Cynthia Castle *

Carl Betz Carl Lawrence Betz (March 9, 1921 – January 18, 1978) was an American stage, film, and television actor. He appeared in a variety of television series, including the CBS soap opera ''Love of Life''; he is best remembered for playing Donna ...

as Deputy Phil Ryan *

Whitfield Connor Whitfield Connor (December 3, 1916 – July 16, 1988) was an American actor, director and producer. Career Connor started in radio in the 1930s. In 1945 he made his Broadway debut as Horatio in a production of Hamlet and by 1948 had won his ...

as Jim London *

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 U ...

as Sheriff Bill Gifford *

Rodolfo Acosta Rodolfo Pérez Acosta (July 29, 1920 – November 7, 1974) was a Mexican-American character actor who became known for his roles as Mexican outlaws or American Indians in Hollywood western films. He was sometimes credited as Rudolfo Acosta ...

as Mendoza *

Pascual García Peña Pascual García Peña (1910–1977) was a Mexican film actor.Agrasánchez, Jr. p.160 He was married to actress Hortensia Santoveña. Selected filmography * '' Madam Temptation'' (1948) * ''The Big Steal'' (1949) * '' Midnight'' (1949) * '' Angel ...

as Pig

Home media

''City of Bad Men'' was released in 2014 as a "publish on demand" DVD in the United States. Home video release of the 1953 film.

In popular culture

In episode five of the first season of the

USA network USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madison ...

series

Graceland Graceland is a mansion on a estate in Memphis, Tennessee, United States, which was once owned by rock and roll icon Elvis Presley. His daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, inherited Graceland after his death in 1977. Graceland is located at 3764 Elv ...

, the main character Mike (who is an undercover FBI agent) has a conversation with one of his targets, the ruthless Nigerian crime lord "Bello" (played by actor

Gbenga Akinnagbe Olugbenga Enitan Temitope Akinnagbe ( ; born 12 December 1978) is an American actor and writer, best known for his roles as Chris Partlow on the HBO series ''The Wire'' and as Larry Brown on the HBO series '' The Deuce''. Early life Akinnagbe ...

), where at one point the film is mentioned after Mike quotes a line from the film. Bello admits he's impressed with his knowledge of the film and admits he's a fan. Bello even shows Mike a copy of the film on DVD in a video store later on in the episode.

Historical errors about fight

The actual Corbett-Fitzsimmons fight took place in an outdoor venue, the Racetrack Arena in Carson City. The movie has the fight being held in an indoor arena under artificial lights. In the movie, Bob Fitzsimmons is shown competing in tights that ran down the length of his legs. In reality, Fitzsimmons wore short trunks.

References

External links

* * * {{Harmon Jones 1953 films 20th Century Fox films 1953 Western (genre) films Films directed by Harmon Jones American Western (genre) films Films set in Nevada Films set in 1897 Cultural depictions of Johnny Ringo 1950s English-language films 1950s American films