''Ride a Crooked Trail'' is a 1958 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 shot in CinemaScope and

Eastman Color Eastmancolor is a trade name used by Eastman Kodak for a number of related film and processing technologies associated with color motion picture production and referring to George Eastman, founder of Kodak. Eastmancolor, introduced in 1950, was on ...

, with former

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

hero

Audie Murphy Audie Leon Murphy (20 June 1925 – 28 May 1971) was an American soldier, actor and songwriter. He was one of the most decorated American combat soldiers of World War II. He received every military combat award for valor available from t ...

and future

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

-winning actor Walter Matthau heading a strong if not well-known cast.

Gia Scala Gia Scala (born Josephine Grace Johanna Scoglio; March 3, 1934 – April 30, 1972) was a British-American actress. Early life Scala was born March 3, 1934, in Liverpool, England, to Sicilian father Pietro Scoglio, and Irish mother Eileen O'S ...

and

Henry Silva Henry Silva (September 23, 1926 – September 14, 2022) was an American actor. A prolific character actor, Silva was a regular staple of international genre cinema, usually playing criminals or gangsters. His notable film appearances include ...

co-star in the film, directed by

Jesse Hibbs Jesse John Hibbs (January 11, 1906 – February 4, 1985) was an American film and television director and American football player. He played college football at the University of Southern California (USC), where he was an All-American tackle ...

; his final

feature film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

Plot

During his escape, bank robber Joe Maybe (

) sees famous

US Marshal Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used for elevated ...

Jim Noonan, who is searching for him, stumble and fall off a cliff to his death. He enters a town on the dead man's horse, where he is mistaken for Noonan. Maybe decides to hide behind the badge for a while, but soon raises the suspicions of the local law enforcer, Judge Kyle ( Walter Matthau). His real identity is nearly blown when the riverboat brings to town Tessa Milott (

), a past acquaintance of Maybe's who calls him by his surname in front of the judge. Thinking quickly, Joe says she called him "Baby," and did this because she is his wife. She must now pretend she ''is'' his wife to avoid further scrutiny from Kyle, but this in turn causes problems with her current boyfriend, bandit leader Sam Teeler (

). The "couple" moves into a house and are well respected in town, although their secrecy is nearly compromised by a young orphan boy who expects "the marshal and his wife" to adopt him. Tessa struggles between her loyalty to her real criminal boyfriend and her growing feelings for Maybe, but each man wants to rob the town's bank.

Cast

as Joe Maybe *

as Tessa Milotte * Walter Matthau as Judge Kyle *

as Sam Teeler * Joanna Cook Moore as Little Brandy (as Joanna Moore) * Eddie Little as Jimmy *

Mary Field Mary Field (born Olivia Rockefeller; June 10, 1909 – June 12, 1996) was an American film actress who primarily appeared in supporting roles. Early life She was born in New York City. As a child, she never knew her biological parents; ...

as Mrs. Curtis * Leo Gordon as Sam Mason *

Mort Mills Mort Mills (born Mortimer Morris Kaplan; January 11, 1919 – June 6, 1993) was an American film and television actor who had roles in over 150 movies and television episodes. He was often the town lawman or the local bad guy in many popular w ...

as Pecos * Frank Chase as Ben *

Bill Walker Bill Walker may refer to: Australian rules football * Bill A. Walker (1886–1934), Australian rules footballer for Essendon * Bill Walker (Australian footballer, born 1883) (1883–1971), Australian rules footballer for Fitzroy * Bill J. V. Wal ...

as Jackson *

Ned Wever Ned Wever (born Edward Hooper Weaver; April 27, 1902 – May 6, 1984) was an actor on stage and on old-time radio. Garyn G. Roberts wrote in his book, ''Dick Tracy and American Culture: Morality and Mythology, Text and Context'', "Wever's most f ...

as Attorney Clark * Richard H. Cutting as Mr. Curtis *

Paul Newlan Paul Emory Newlan (June 29, 1903 – November 23, 1973) was an American film and TV character actor from Plattsmouth, Nebraska. He was best known for his role as Captain Grey on the NBC police series ''M Squad'' and for his roles in films incl ...

as Riverboat Captain (uncredited)

Production

The film was mostly filmed on the Universal backlot with some location shooting at the Janss Conejo Ranch in Thousand Oaks, California. During filming,

learned her mother was dying of cancer and only had three months to live; the day after she heard the news, Scala was involved in a car accident caused by her drinking and driving.Andrea Passafiume, 'Ride a Crooked Trail', ''Turner Classic Movies''
accessed 4 June 2012

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ride A Crooked Trail 1958 films 1958 Western (genre) films American Western (genre) films Audie Murphy Universal Pictures films Films directed by Jesse Hibbs 1950s English-language films 1950s American films

Plot

Cast

Production

See also

References

External links