''Guns of the Timberland'' is a 1960 American

Technicolor Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...

lumberjack

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 Robert D. Webb and starring Alan Ladd,

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'' (194 ...

Gilbert Roland Luis Antonio Dámaso de Alonso (December 11, 1905 – May 15, 1994), known professionally as Gilbert Roland, was a Mexican-born American film and television actor whose career spanned seven decades from the 1920s until the 1980s. He was twice no ...

and

Frankie Avalon Francis Thomas Avallone (born September 18, 1940), better known as Frankie Avalon, is an American actor, singer, and former teen idol. He had 31 charting U.S. ''Billboard'' singles from 1958 to late 1962, including number one hits, "Venus" an ...

Plot

Logger Jim Hadley and his lumberjack crew are looking for new forest to cut. They locate a prime prospect outside the town of Deep Wells. The town's residents, led by Laura Riley, are opposed to the felling of the trees, believing that losing them would cause mudslides during the heavy rains.

Cast

* Alan Ladd as Jim Hadley *

as Laura Riley *

as Monty Welker *

as Bert Harvey *

Lyle Bettger Lyle Stathem Bettger (February 13, 1915 – September 24, 2003) was an American character actor who had roles in Hollywood films and television from the 1950s onward, often portraying villains. One such role was the wrathfully jealous elephant ...

as Clay Bell * Noah Beery Jr. as Blackie (as Noah Beery) *

Verna Felton Verna Arline Felton (July 20, 1890December 14, 1966) was an American actress, best known for providing many voices in numerous Disney animated films. She also provided the voice for Fred Flintstone's mother-in-law, Pearl Slaghoople in Hanna-Bar ...

as Aunt Sarah * Alana Ladd as Jane Peterson *

Regis Toomey John Francis Regis Toomey (August 13, 1898October 12, 1991) was an American film and television actor. Early life Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he was one of four children of Francis X. and Mary Ellen Toomey, and attended Peabody High ...

as Sheriff Taylor * Johnny Seven as Vince *

George Selk George Selk (May 15, 1893 – January 22, 1967) was an American film and television actor. He was known for playing the role of stableman Moss Grimmick in the American western television series '' Gunsmoke'' from 1955 to 1963. Selk portrayed G ...

as Amos Stearns * Paul E. Burns as Bill Burroughs * Henry Kulky as Logger

Production

Development

Louis L'Amour's novel ''Guns of the Timberlands'' was published in 1955 and sold more than one million copies. Alan Ladd's film production company Jaguar optioned the novel that same year. The working title for the film was "Shasta." In 1957, it was announced the film would be produced from a script by David Victor and Herbert Little, with Albert J Cohen as producer. Ladd had worked with Aaron Spelling on two TV pilots, and Spelling's work so impressed Ladd that he made Spelling a producer on the picture. Robert Webb was signed to direct. Ladd offered a lead role to

Van Heflin Emmett Evan "Van" Heflin Jr. (December 13, 1908 – July 23, 1971) was an American theatre, radio and film actor. He played mostly character parts over the course of his film career, but during the 1940s had a string of roles as a leading man. H ...

, hoping to reunite with his costar from ''Shane''. He also wanted to cast

Raymond Burr Raymond William Stacy Burr (May 21, 1917September 12, 1993) was a Canadian actor known for his lengthy Hollywood film career and his title roles in television dramas ''Perry Mason'' and '' Ironside''. Burr's early acting career included roles ...

. Jeanne Crain and Gilbert Roland were signed to support Ladd, along with the Ladds' daughter Alana.

, following his recent hit single ''

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never f ...

'', signed to make his dramatic debut in the film. Avalon later said, "I'm sure the reason why Warner Bros. said, 'Let's get this kid' is that he has lots of fans out there and he's getting 12,000 to 15,000 fans letters a week. 'Let's put him in a picture with a guy like Alan Ladd'." Avalon's performance led to his casting in '' The Alamo''.

Shooting

Filming started in April 1959 on location in and around Blairsden, California, Graeagle, California and other locations throughout

Plumas County Plumas County () is a county in the Sierra Nevada of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 19,790. The county seat is Quincy, and the only incorporated city is Portola. The largest community in the county is ...

. The scenes involving the steam engine and railroad cars were shot on the

Western Pacific Railroad The Western Pacific Railroad was a Class I railroad in the United States. It was formed in 1903 as an attempt to break the near-monopoly the Southern Pacific Railroad had on rail service into northern California. WP's Feather River Route dire ...

right-of-way. The scene in which the steam engine goes over the tall "bridge" pictured the Clio Trestle. Filming finished in June 1959.''Los Angeles Times'', June 8, 1959

Music

In the film, Avalon sings two songs, "The Faithful Kind" and "Gee Whiz Whillikins Golly Gee." Both were released as a 45-rpm single in 1960.

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

* *
''Guns of the Timberland''
at

TCMDB Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie-oriented pay-TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasting campus in the Midtown business district of A ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Guns Of The Timberland 1960 films 1960s English-language films Warner Bros. films Films directed by Robert D. Webb Films scored by David Buttolph 1960 drama films Films based on American novels Films based on Western (genre) novels American drama films Films based on works by Louis L'Amour Films set in forests Films about lumberjacks 1960s American films