HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Rebel in Town'' is a 1956 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
Alfred L. Werker Alfred L. Werker (December 2, 1896 – July 28, 1975) was a film director whose work in movies spanned from 1917 through 1957. After a number of film production jobs and assistant directing, Werker co-directed his first film, ''Ridin' the Wind' ...
and starring John Payne,
Ruth Roman Ruth Roman (born Norma Roman; December 22, 1922 – September 9, 1999) was an American actress of film, stage, and television. After playing stage roles on the East Coast, Roman moved to Hollywood to pursue a career in films. She appeared in ...
,
J. Carrol Naish Joseph Patrick Carrol Naish (January 21, 1896 – January 24, 1973) was an American actor. He appeared in over 200 films during the Golden Age of Hollywood. He became a dialect specialist, and was called upon to play character roles of many na ...
and
Ben Cooper Ben Cooper (September 30, 1933 – February 24, 2020) was an American film and television actor who won a Golden Boot Award in 2005 for his work in Westerns. Stage Cooper appeared on Broadway in '' Life with Father'' (1939). He debuted in th ...
.


Plot

Home from the
Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
, where he fought for the Union army, John Willoughby now lives in the western town of Kittreck Wells with wife Nora and their 7-year-old son, Petey. An appeal for help from Marshal Russell comes when a band of former Confederate soldiers are seen pulling a robbery in a neighboring town. John, who hates all rebels, agrees to go, against his wife's wishes that all his fighting must end. Meanwhile, the Rebels, Bedloe Mason and his sons Gray, Wesley, Cain and Frank, decide to ride into Kittreck Wells to replenish their dwindling water supply. Bedloe sends Gray, Frank and Wesley into town while he and Cain await their return. Petey Willoughby, who shares his father's dislike of rebels, aims and fires a cap pistol at them. Startled by the sound, Wesley Mason shoots and kills the boy. As the brothers mount their horses and gallop out of town, Gray, not having been witnessing the shooting, hesitates, then catches up to the others. When they reach Bedloe and Cain, Gray, angered by his brother's recklessness, appeals to his father and brothers that Wesley has to go back to face the consequences. Wesley is dead-set against this and the others take his side. Gray rides off alone to learn the fate of the boy, but Wesley ambushes his brother by throwing a knife into his back. After strapping his brother's unconscious body onto his horse, Wesley sets the animal loose. He then returns to camp and reports that Gray refused to listen to reason, but will meet the family at Oak Fork in three days. That night, John finds the wandering horse bearing Gray's body and takes him home. Wesley lies to his father that Gray will meet them in the next town. Gray's horse wanders into town, where John and Nora remove the wounded man from the saddle and take him into their home. John is still determined to learn who killed the child, and an eyewitness accuses Gray of being one of the gang. Nora has to stop her husband from attacking Gray with an axe. The marshal places Gray under arrest until a trial can be convened. A lynch mob threatens to drag him out of the jail. Bedloe, meanwhile, realizes Wesley has been lying. He ties his son to a tree and whips him until Wesley confesses what really happened. Just as the vigilantes are about to hang Gray, the Masons ride into town. When it is evident to all that Wesley is the guilty one, he runs from the mob. Gray follows and then fights with Wesley, who knocks Gray out and then pulls a knife. John, finally aware who really killed the boy, arrives in time to stop Wesley from stabbing the unconscious Gray. John and Wesley fight and Wesley is stabbed and dies. Mason and his boys leave peacefully. John embraces Nora.


Cast

* John Payne as John Willoughby *
Ruth Roman Ruth Roman (born Norma Roman; December 22, 1922 – September 9, 1999) was an American actress of film, stage, and television. After playing stage roles on the East Coast, Roman moved to Hollywood to pursue a career in films. She appeared in ...
as Nora Willoughby *
J. Carrol Naish Joseph Patrick Carrol Naish (January 21, 1896 – January 24, 1973) was an American actor. He appeared in over 200 films during the Golden Age of Hollywood. He became a dialect specialist, and was called upon to play character roles of many na ...
as Bedloe Mason *
Ben Cooper Ben Cooper (September 30, 1933 – February 24, 2020) was an American film and television actor who won a Golden Boot Award in 2005 for his work in Westerns. Stage Cooper appeared on Broadway in '' Life with Father'' (1939). He debuted in th ...
as Gray Mason * John Smith as Wesley Mason * Ben Johnson as Frank Mason * Sterling Franck as Cain Mason (as Cain Mason) * Bobby Clark as Peter Willoughby *
Mimi Gibson Mimi Gibson is an American real estate agent and a former child actress, from 1951 to 1968. Early life After the early death of her father, her mother, Agnes Gibson, took Mimi and her sister to Los Angeles. She had an agent before she was 3 ye ...
as Lisbeth Ackstadt * Mary Adams as Grandma Ackstadt *
James Griffith James Jeffrey Griffith (February 13, 1916 – September 17, 1993) was an American character actor, musician and screenwriter. Early life and career Born in Los Angeles, California and raised in San Pedro, Griffith was the eldest of two born t ...
as Adam Russell * Joel Ashley as Doctor


Reception

Paul Mavis of
DVD Talk DVD Talk is a home video news and review website launched in 1999 by Geoffrey Kleinman. History Kleinman founded the site in January 1999 in Beaverton, Oregon. Besides news and reviews, it features information on hidden DVD features known as ...
rated it 3.5/5 stars and called it "a surprisingly nimble, efficient B-western with a lot going on under the surface". ''
TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media In mass communication, digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital content can be created, vi ...
'' rated it 3/4 stars and called it "a finely scripted, produced, and acted film".


See also

*
List of American films of 1956 A list of American films released in 1956 '' Around the World in 80 Days'' won the Academy Award for Best Picture. A-B C-D E-I J-M N-R S-Z Documentaries and serials See also * 1956 in the United States Sources Footnotes Refe ...


References


External links

* * * {{Alfred L. Werker 1956 films 1956 Western (genre) films American Western (genre) films American black-and-white films United Artists films Films directed by Alfred L. Werker Films scored by Les Baxter 1950s English-language films 1950s American films English-language Western (genre) films