''Escort West'' is a 1959 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 Francis D. Lyon, and starring

Victor Mature Victor John Mature (January 29, 1913 – August 4, 1999) was an American stage, film, and television actor who was a leading man in Hollywood during the 1940s and 1950s. His best known film roles include '' One Million B.C.'' (1940), '' My Darli ...

Faith Domergue Faith Marie Domergue (; June 16, 1924, or 1925 – April 4, 1999) was an American film and television actress. Discovered at age 16 by media and aircraft mogul Howard Hughes, she was signed to a contract with Hughes's RKO Radio Pictures ...

, and

Elaine Stewart Elaine Stewart may refer to: * Elaine Stewart (actress), American actress * Elaine Stewart (politician), British politician {{DEFAULTSORT:Stewart, Elaine ...

. The movie is set after the U.S. Civil War, when a former Confederate officer, played by

, and his daughter help some survivors of an Indian massacre. The film was released by

United Artists United Artists (UA) is an American film production and film distribution, distribution company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, it was founded in February 1919 by Charlie Chaplin, D. W. Griffith, Mary Pickford an ...

on January 23, 1959. It was the second of two co-productions between

Batjac Batjac Productions is an independent film production company co-founded by John Wayne in 1952 as a vehicle for Wayne to both produce and star in movies. The first Batjac production was '' Big Jim McLain'' released by Warner Bros. in 1952, and i ...

and Romina Productions. Their first was ''

China Doll A china doll is a doll made partially or wholly out of glazed porcelain. The name comes from ''china'' being used to refer to the material porcelain. Colloquially the term ''china doll'' is sometimes used to refer to any porcelain or bisque doll ...

'' (1957). The movie was filmed largely on the

Iverson Movie Ranch A movie ranch is a ranch that is at least partially dedicated for use as a set in the creation and production of motion pictures and television shows. These were developed in the United States in southern California, because of the climate. Movi ...

Chatsworth, California Chatsworth is a suburban neighborhood in Los Angeles, California, in the San Fernando Valley. The area around the town was home to Native Americans, who left caves containing rock art. Chatsworth was explored and colonized by the Spanish beginn ...

, with additional footage shot on the nearby Bell Moving Picture Ranch. The site of the Bell Ranch location shoot remained a mystery for decades until it was discovered on an expedition by film location researchers in early 2015. The researchers found the location by using information from "Escort West" and the first

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

movie, '' Love Me Tender'', which filmed its climactic sequence at the same site, known as the "Rocky Hill."

Plot

Now that the Civil War is over, former Confederate officer Ben Lassiter and his 10-year-old daughter ride west to

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

, where they stop off briefly at a stagecoach rest station. There they encounter sisters Beth and Martha Drury, who greet them in different ways. Beth is cordial to Ben, whereas Martha makes no secret of her dislike for rebel soldiers. Beth is engaged to an army captain, Poole, and plans to travel to

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

with her sister, whose husband was a Union officer killed in the war. Indians attack the rest station after Ben and his daughter ride off. When he sees warriors with liquor from the way station, Ben doubles back. He finds the Drury sisters safe, hidden in a cellar, plus an Army payroll that the Indians neglected to take. Ben escorts the women west and intends to deliver the payroll to Poole, who is fighting off Indian attacks himself. Ben's bravery repeatedly impresses Beth, but with each passing hour Martha becomes more unstable. She panics, flees and the Indians kill her. Ben copes with a pair of Army deserters and a renegade scout named Tago along the way, ultimately leading Beth and his daughter to safety.

Cast

as Ben Lassiter *Reba Waters as Abbey Lassiter *

Elaine Stewart Elaine Stewart may refer to: * Elaine Stewart (actress), American actress * Elaine Stewart (politician), British politician {{DEFAULTSORT:Stewart, Elaine ...

as Beth Drury *

as Martha Drury * Noah Beery Jr. as Lt. Jamison * William Ching as Capt. Howard Poole * Harry Carey Jr. as Trooper Travis *

Slim Pickens Louis Burton Lindley Jr. (June 29, 1919 – December 8, 1983), better known by his stage name Slim Pickens, was an American actor and rodeo performer. Starting off in the rodeo, Pickens took up acting, and appeared in dozens of movies and TV sho ...

as Corporal Wheeler * Rex Ingram as Nelson Walker *

Leo Gordon Leo Vincent Gordon (December 2, 1922 – December 26, 2000) was an American character actor and screenwriter. During more than 40 years in film and television he was most frequently cast as a supporting actor playing brutish bad guys but oc ...

as Trooper Vogel *

Ken Curtis Ken Curtis (born Curtis Wain Gates; July 2, 1916 – April 28, 1991) was an American actor and singer best known for his role as Festus Haggen on the Western television series ''Gunsmoke''. Early years Born the youngest of three boys in ...

as Trooper Burch *

X Brands X Brands (July 24, 1927 – May 8, 2000), sometimes credited as "Jay X. Brands", was an American actor of German ancestry known for his roles on various television series and in some films between 1956 and the late 1970s. His best-known recurring ...

as Tago *

Roy Barcroft Roy Barcroft (born Howard Harold Ravenscroft; September 7, 1902 – November 28, 1969) was an American character actor famous for playing villains in B-Westerns and other genres. From 1937 to 1957, he appeared in more than 300 films for Republi ...

as Sgt. Doyle * John Hubbard as Lt. Weeks *

Claire Du Brey Claire Du Brey (born Clara Violet Dubreyvich, August 31, 1892 – August 1, 1993) was an American actress. She appeared in more than 200 films from 1916 to 1959. Her name is sometimes rendered as Claire Du Bray or as Claire Dubrey. Early y ...

as Mrs. Kate Fenniman *

Syd Saylor Syd Saylor (born Leo Sailor; March 24, 1895 – December 21, 1962) was an American comedic actor and movie cowboy sidekick who appeared in 395 films and television series between 1926 and 1962. Early years Saylor was born Leo Sailor in 18 ...

as Elwood Fenniman *

Chuck Hayward Charles Bert Hayward (January 20, 1920 – February 23, 1998) was an American motion picture stuntman and actor. He was associated particularly with the films of John Wayne. He doubled for most of the great Western and action stars of the 19 ...

as Indian *

Charles Soldani Charles Leon Soldani (June 1, 1893 – September 10, 1968) was a Native American film and television actor. He appeared – often uncredited – in dozens of Western movies and television series, usually playing an Indian warrior or chief. He ...

as Indian *

Eddie Little Sky Eddie Little Sky (August 15, 1926 – September 5, 1997), also known as Edward Little, was an American actor. A citizen of the Oglala Lakota tribe Eddie had parts in 36 feature films and over 60 television shows,''Indian Country Today'', retrie ...

as Indian (uncredited)

Production

Francis Lyon originally bought the story for his own Leo Productions. He eventually set up the movie with Batjac.

References

External links

*
Iverson Movie Ranch: History, vintage photos.
{{Francis D. Lyon 1959 films 1959 Western (genre) films American Western (genre) films Batjac Productions films Films produced by John Wayne Films directed by Francis D. Lyon 1950s English-language films 1950s American films English-language Western (genre) films United Artists films

Plot

Cast

Production

See also

References

External links