''Cattle Empire'' 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 ...

DeLuxe Color DeLuxe Color or Deluxe color or Color by DeLuxe is Deluxe Laboratories brand of color process for motion pictures. DeLuxe Color is Eastmancolor-based, with certain adaptations for improved compositing for printing (similar to Technicolor's "se ...

movie in

CinemaScope CinemaScope is an anamorphic format, anamorphic lens series used, from 1953 to 1967, and less often later, for shooting widescreen films that, crucially, could be screened in theatres using existing equipment, albeit with a lens adapter. Its cr ...

directed by

Charles Marquis Warren Charles Marquis Warren (December 16, 1912 – August 11, 1990) was an American motion picture and television writer, producer, and director who specialized in Westerns. Among his notable career achievements were his involvement in creating the ...

, starring

Joel McCrea Joel Albert McCrea (November 5, 1905 – October 20, 1990) was an American actor whose career spanned a wide variety of genres over almost five decades, including comedy, drama, romance, thrillers, adventures, and Westerns, for which he bec ...

and released by

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...

. The film also features

Gloria Talbott Gloria Maude Talbott (February 7, 1931 – September 19, 2000) was an American film and television actress. Early life and career Gloria Talbott was born in Glendale, California. Her great-grandfather Benjamin F. Patterson arrived from Ohi ...

Don Haggerty Don Haggerty (July 3, 1914 – August 19, 1988) was an American actor of film and television. Early life and education Haggerty was born in Poughkeepsie, New York. Before he began appearing in films in 1947, Haggerty was a Brown University ...

, Phyllis Coates, and

Bing Russell Neil Oliver "Bing" Russell (May 5, 1926 – April 8, 2003) was an American actor and Class A minor-league baseball club owner. He was the father of Hollywood actor Kurt Russell and grandfather of ex–major league baseball player Matt Franco ...

and serves as something of a forerunner for director Warren's subsequent television series ''

Rawhide Rawhide may refer to: *Rawhide (material), a hide or animal skin that has not been tanned * Whip made from rawhide Entertainment * ''Rawhide'' (1926 film), a Western directed by Richard Thorpe * ''Rawhide'' (1938 film), a Western starring baseball ...

'' starring

Eric Fleming Eric Fleming (born Edward Heddy Jr.; July 4, 1925 – September 28, 1966) was an American actor known primarily for his role as Gil Favor in the long-running CBS Western television series ''Rawhide''. Early life Fleming was born as Edward Hed ...

and

Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western (genre), Western TV series ''Rawhide (TV series), Rawhide'', Eastwood rose to international fame with his role as the "Ma ...

, which used the picture's writer Endre Bohem, as well as some of its supporting cast (

Paul Brinegar Paul Alden Brinegar Jr. (December 19, 1917 – March 27, 1995) was an American character actor best known for his roles in three Western (genre), Western series: ''The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp'', ''Rawhide (TV series), Rawhide'', and '' ...

, Steve Raines, Rocky Shahan, and Charles H. Gray).

Plot

The story starts with John Cord (

) apprehended by the townsfolk, who have roped him and are dragging him through the streets with the intent to kill him. Cord is despised for a range of things done to the town by his cattle crew he was responsible for... when they went on a wild drunken rampage. Cord is saved from death by Ralph, a prominent cattle owner and major businessman of the town... who turns up with his wife and his brother. Ralph is blind, and Cord is shown to be responsible for that, as well. Despite this... Ralph reveals that he has, in fact, invited Cord to the town. As the most experienced cattleman in the area, Cord is the only one who can drive Ralph's and the townspeople's cattle to Fort Clemson... where they can be sold. The town is on the verge of economic collapse, and the sale of the cattle will save the town. Cord is a skilled cattleman and one of the few people capable of driving the cattle across land, at a time of the year when little grass is available and many of the rivers are dry. He initially refuses the offer from Ralph. He later meets the rival of Ralph, Garth, who wants to drive his own cattle to Fort Clemson. Cord accepts an offer from Garth to drive the cattle. Then goes back to accept the offer from Ralph as well. While committing to get Garth's cattle to Fort Clemson first, he secretly plots his revenge against the townsfolk. He departs town on the cattle drive with Ralph, his wife, many of the townsfolk who tried to kill him, and a young girl who is in love with him. Things occur on the cattle drive, though, which lead Cord to reconsider his revenge on the townsfolk of Hamilton.

Cast

as John Cord *

as Sandy Jeffrey *

as Ralph Hamilton * Phyllis Coates as Janice Hamilton *

as Douglas Hamilton * Richard Shannon as Garth *

as Tom Jefferson Jeffrey * Charles H. Gray as Tom Powis (billed as Charles Gray) * Hal K. Dawson as George Washington Jeffrey *

Patrick O'Moore Patrick O'Moore (1909–1983) was an Irish actor who appeared in a variety of American films and television shows.Keaney p.445 A character actor, he appeared in a number of Hollywood's British-themed films during the 1940s and 1950s. Selected fi ...

as Rex Cogswell * Duane Grey as Juan Aruzza * William McGraw as Jim Whittaker (billed as Bill McGraw) * Jack Lomas as Sheriff Brewster * Nesdon Booth as Barkeep

References

External links

* * * 1958 films 1958 Western (genre) films American Western (genre) films Films directed by Charles Marquis Warren Films scored by Paul Sawtell Films scored by Bert Shefter 1950s English-language films 1950s American films English-language Western (genre) films {{1950s-US-Western-film-stub