''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 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 ...

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 o ...

, with

Audie Murphy Audie Leon Murphy (20 June 1925 – 28 May 1971) was an American soldier, actor, and songwriter. He was widely celebrated as the most decorated American combat soldier of World War II, and has been described as the most highly decorated enli ...

and future

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

-winning actor

Walter Matthau Walter John Matthau ( Matthow; ; October 1, 1920 – July 1, 2000) was an American actor, known for his "hangdog face" and for playing world-weary characters. He starred in 10 films alongside his real-life friend Jack Lemmon, including '' The Od ...

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 and American actress. Early life Scala was born March 3, 1934, in Liverpool, England, to Sicilian father Pietro Scoglio, and Irish mother Eileen ...

and

Henry Silva Henry Silva (September 23, 1926 – September 14, 2022) was an American actor, with a film and television career which spanned fifty years. A prolific character actor in over 140 productions, he was known for his "dark, sepulchral" looks and ...

co-star in the film, directed by

Jesse Hibbs Jesse John Hibbs (January 11, 1906 – February 4, 1985) was an American film director, film and television director and American football, football player. He played college football for the USC Trojans football, USC Trojans, earning consensu ...

, his final

feature film A feature film or feature-length film (often abbreviated to feature), also called a theatrical film, is a film (Film, motion picture, "movie" or simply “picture”) with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole present ...

Plot

During his escape, bank robber Joe Maybe sees famous

US Marshal The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The Marshals Service serves as the enforcement and security arm of the U.S. federal judiciary. It is an agency of the U.S. Department of Jus ...

Jim Noonan, who is searching for him, stumble and fall from 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. His real identity is nearly blown when the

riverboat A riverboat is a watercraft designed for inland navigation on lakes, rivers, and artificial waterways. They are generally equipped and outfitted as work boats in one of the carrying trades, for freight or people transport, including luxury ...

brings to town Tessa Milott, an acquaintance of Maybe's who calls him by his surname in front of the judge. Thinking quickly, Joe says that she called him "Baby" because she is his wife. She must now pretend that she ''is'' his wife to avoid further scrutiny from Kyle, but this 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 *

as Judge Kyle *

as Sam Teeler *

Joanna Moore Joanna Moore (born Dorothy Joanne Cook; November 10, 1934 – November 22, 1997) was an American film and television actress, who, between 1956 and 1976, appeared in 17 feature films and guest-starred in nearly a hundred television series episod ...

as Little Brandy (credited 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 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 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. Walke ...

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 "Tiny" 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 ...

as Riverboat Captain (uncredited)

Production

The film was known as ''Middle of the Street'' and started filming August 1957. The film was filmed mostly on the Universal backlot with some location shooting at the

Janss Conejo Ranch Wildwood Regional Park is a suburban regional park in the western Simi Hills and Conejo Valley, in Ventura County, California. It is located in western Thousand Oaks, northern Newbury Park, and southern Moorpark. Wildwood is home to over 27 m ...

in Thousand Oaks, California. During filming,

learned that her mother was dying of cancer and had only 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

* * * *
Review of film
at ''Variety'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Ride A Crooked Trail 1958 films 1958 Western (genre) films American Western (genre) films Universal Pictures films Films directed by Jesse Hibbs 1950s English-language films 1950s American films English-language Western (genre) films

Plot

Cast

Production

See also

References

External links