''Siege at Red River'' is a 1954 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

Rudolph Maté Rudolph Maté (born Rudolf Mayer; 21 January 1898 – 27 October 1964) was a Polish-Hungarian cinematographer who worked in Hungary, Austria, Germany, and France. He collaborated with notable directors including Fritz Lang, René Clair, and Carl ...

and written by

Sydney Boehm Sydney Boehm (April 4, 1908 – June 25, 1990) was an American screenwriter and producer. Boehm began his writing career as a newswriter for wire services and newspapers before moving on to screenwriting. His films include '' High Wall'' (1947) ...

. The film stars

Van Johnson Charles Van Dell Johnson (August 25, 1916 – December 12, 2008) was an American actor and dancer. He had a prolific career in film, television, theatre and radio, which spanned over 50 years, from 1940 to 1992. He was a major star at Metr ...

Joanne Dru Joanne Dru (born Joan Letitia LaCock;Known as Joan Lacock in th1930 United States census/ref> January 31, 1922 – September 10, 1996) was an American film and television actress, known for such films as '' Red River'', '' She Wore a Yellow Ribb ...

Richard Boone Richard Allen Boone (June 18, 1917 – January 10, 1981) was an American actor who starred in over 50 films and was notable for his roles in Westerns, including his starring role in the television series ''Have Gun – Will Travel''. Early lif ...

Milburn Stone Hugh Milburn Stone (July 5, 1904 – June 12, 1980) was an American actor, best known for his role as "Doc" (Dr. Galen Adams) on the Western (genre), Western series ''Gunsmoke''. Early life Stone was born in Burrton, Kansas, to Herbert Stone an ...

Jeff Morrow Leslie Irving Morrow (January 13, 1907 – December 26, 1993), known as Jeff Morrow, was an American actor. Biography Morrow was educated at Pratt Institute in his native New York City. He was a commercial artist prior to turning to actin ...

, and Craig Hill. The film was released on May 1, 1954, 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 ...

Plot

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

in 1865, a

Gatling gun The Gatling gun is a rapid-firing multiple-barrel firearm invented in 1861 by Richard Jordan Gatling of North Carolina. It is an early machine gun and a forerunner of the modern electric motor-driven rotary cannon. The Gatling gun's operatio ...

is being transported by a Confederate Army officer in civilian clothes, calling himself Jim Farraday, and a sergeant, going by Benjy, to aid the Southern cause in the war. They come to the aid of a Rebel-hating Yankee nurse, Nora Curtis, whose wagon is stuck in the mud. Stopping off in a town for supplies and information, Farraday falls under the suspicion of a Pinkerton detective, Frank Kelso, who has been assigned to locate the stolen Gatling gun. Behind her back, Farraday and Benjy smuggle the gun out of town in Nora's wagon. A mercenary, Brett Manning, befriends the soldiers on the trail, then betrays them, shooting Benjy and stealing the gun. He sells it to tribal leader Chief Yellow Hawk, who uses it during an attack on a fort against soldiers, women and children. Farraday joins forces with Kelso to overcome Yellow Hawk's men and take the gun back, turning the battle in the fort's favor. Nora successfully argues that Kelso should reward Farraday by letting him go home to

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. Knowing that the war is nearly over, he allows Farraday to leave.

Cast

as Capt. James S. Simmons / Jim Farraday *

as Nora Curtis *

as Brett Manning * Craig Hill as Lt. Braden *

as Sgt. Benjamin 'Benjy' Guderman * John Cliff as Sgt. Jenkins *

as Frank Kelso *

Rico Alaniz Americo Zorilla "Rico" Alaniz (October 25, 1919 – March 9, 2015) was a Mexican-American actor. Early years Alaniz was born in Juárez, Mexico, and began riding when he was a child. Selected filmography * '' The Capture'' (1950) - Policema ...

as Chief Yellow Hawk * Robert Burton as Sheriff *Pilar Del Rey as Lukoa *

Ferris Taylor Robert Ferris Taylor (March 25, 1888 – March 7, 1961) was an American film actor and vaudeville performer. Biography Taylor owned a vaudeville company, the Taylor Players. Besides his acting, Taylor sometimes sang in vaudeville programs. ...

as Anderson Smith

Production

Parts of the film were shot in Professor Valley, Colorado River, Castle Valley and Dead Horse Point in

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

, as well as in

Durango, Colorado Durango is the home rule city that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of La Plata County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 19,071 at the 2020 United States census. Durango is the home of Fort Lewis College ...

References

External links

* 1954 films 20th Century Fox films American Western (genre) films 1954 Western (genre) films Films directed by Rudolph Maté Films scored by Lionel Newman Films shot in Utah Films shot in Colorado 1950s English-language films 1950s American films English-language Western (genre) films {{1950s-US-Western-film-stub