''The Man from Colorado'' is a 1948 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 Henry Levin, produced by Jules Schermer for

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...

, and starring

Glenn Ford Gwyllyn Samuel Newton "Glenn" Ford (May 1, 1916 – August 30, 2006) was a Canadian-American actor who often portrayed ordinary men in unusual circumstances. Ford was most prominent during Hollywood's Golden Age as one of the biggest box-offi ...

as a

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

officer who becomes addicted to killing during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

William Holden William Holden (born William Franklin Beedle Jr.; April 17, 1918 – November 12, 1981) was an American actor, and one of the biggest box-office draws of the 1950s. Holden won the Academy Award for Best Actor for the film ''Stalag 17'' (1953) ...

as his best friend, and

Ellen Drew Ellen Drew (born Esther Loretta Ray; November 23, 1914 – December 3, 2003) was an American film actress. Early life Drew, born in Kansas City, Missouri in 1914, was the daughter of an Irish-born barber. She had a younger brother, Arden. Her ...

as their common love interest. Robert Andrews and

Ben Maddow Ben Maddow (born David Wolff, August 7, 1909 in Passaic, New Jersey – October 9, 1992 in Los Angeles, California) was an American screenwriter and documentarian from the 1930s through the 1970s. Educated at Columbia University, Maddow began ...

based the screenplay on a story by Borden Chase. Although Ford received

top billing Billing is a performing arts term used in referring to the order and other aspects of how credits are presented for plays, films, television, or other creative works. Information given in billing usually consists of the companies, actors, direct ...

as the mentally ill villain, Holden's role as the sympathetic hero is slightly larger. Levin replaced Charles Vidor during filming.

Plot

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

near the end of the American Civil War, Union Colonel Owen Devereaux (

) orders his regiment to fire on a detachment of Confederate soldiers, even though he (and only he) has seen that they are signaling their surrender with a

white flag White flags have had different meanings throughout history and depending on the locale. Contemporary use The white flag is an internationally recognized protective sign of truce or ceasefire, and for negotiation. It is also used to symbolize ...

. Afterward, his best friend and second-in-command, Captain Del Stewart (

), finds the white flag, considers it, and then buries it as a surviving Confederate officer secretly looks on. Immediately after the battle, the soldiers find out that the war has ended. As they celebrate, Sergeant Jericho Howard (

James Millican James Millican (February 17, 1911 – November 24, 1955) was an American actor with over 200 film appearances mostly in western movies. Millican was the son of Fred S. Millican, a circus owner, and Dorothy Millican. Millican was a clos ...

) gets drunk while on duty and is insubordinate to Devereaux, who has him arrested. At a celebratory ball in the troops' hometown, the mayor announces Devereaux's appointment as the federal judge for the region. Stewart asks Caroline Emmett (

) to marry him, but she is undecided between the two friends and later marries Devereaux instead. When the Confederate major confronts Devereaux about the white flag, Devereaux disarms him and then shoots him several times with his own gun, even though the man has already been subdued. Stewart realizes that Devereaux must have seen the flag and concludes that the war has unhinged his mind. He agrees to serve as Devereaux's marshal after Devereaux promises not to carry a gun or participate in arrests. Many of Devereaux's volunteer troops owned mines before the war, but a wealthy businessman, Big Ed Carter ( Ray Collins), has claimed the mines for his company. As a federal judge, Devereaux upholds Carter's claim based on a legal technicality. Meanwhile, Jericho escapes and stages a series of gold robberies. Devereaux's uncle, Doc Merriam (

Edgar Buchanan William Edgar Buchanan II (March 20, 1903 – April 4, 1979) was an American actor with a long career in both film and television. He is most familiar today as Uncle Joe Carson from the ''Petticoat Junction'', ''Green Acres'', and ''The ...

), hopes that the end of the war and marriage to Caroline will settle Devereaux down, but Devereaux hangs Jericho's partner after a hasty summary trial out in the country following a posse chase, prompting several other men to join Jericho. Devereaux also threatens to hang Jericho's younger brother Johnny (

Jerome Courtland Jerome Courtland (December 27, 1926 – March 1, 2012) was an American actor, director and producer. He acted in films in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, and in television in the 1950s and 1960s. Courtland also appeared on Broadway in the musical '' ...

), based on circumstantial evidence after another robbery, even though Johnny is not part of his brother's gang. After warning Devereaux not to hang Johnny, Stewart finds Jericho and persuades him to turn himself in, but when Devereaux hangs Johnny Stewart resigns in disgust and joins Jericho's gang. After Stewart helps to rescue some men from being hanged, Devereaux lures him into town by spreading a rumor that Caroline is in danger, arrests him, and puts him in jail. When Caroline sees this, she breaks into Devereaux's desk and reads his diary, finally realizes that he is mentally unstable, and persuades Doc Merriam to rescue Stewart. She begins to put Stewart and Doc Merriam on a carriage to alert the territorial governor of Devereaux's instability, but he shoots Stewart. She then drives the carriage for Stewart and the doctor as they flee to a nearby mining town. Devereaux cannot get the miners to surrender Stewart and eventually sets fire to the town. When Carter accuses him of being crazy with jealousy over Caroline's loyalty to Stewart, he rides into town, and confronts Stewart, Jericho, and Caroline. Devereaux fights with Jericho and is killed when a wall from a burning building falls on them. Stewart boards a stage to travel to Washington, D.C. to plead on behalf of the dispossessed miners, but promises Caroline he will return.

Cast

as Owen Devereaux *

as Del Stewart *

as Caroline Emmett * Ray Collins as 'Big Ed' Carter *

as Doc Merriam *

as Johnny Howard *

as Sergeant Jericho Howard *

Jim Bannon James Shorttel Bannon (April 9, 1911 – July 28, 1984) was an American actor and radio announcer known for his work on the ''I Love a Mystery'' and ''Red Ryder'' series during the 1940s and 1950s. Early life Born in 1911 in Kansas City, Misso ...

as Nagel *William "Bill" Phillips as York * Denver Pyle (uncredited) as Easy Jarrett

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Man From Colorado, The 1948 films American historical films 1940s historical films 1948 Western (genre) films Columbia Pictures films Films scored by George Duning Films directed by Henry Levin American Western (genre) films American Civil War films Films set in the 1860s Revisionist Western (genre) films 1940s American films

Plot

Cast

See also

References

External links