''Yellowstone Kelly'' 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 based upon a novel by Heck Allen (using his pen name Clay Fisher, which shows in the film credits) with a screenplay by

Burt Kennedy Burton Raphael Kennedy (September 3, 1922 – February 15, 2001) was an American screenwriter and film director, director known mainly for directing Westerns. Budd Boetticher called him "the best Western writer ever." Biography Kennedy was b ...

starring

Clint Walker Norman Eugene "Clint" Walker (May 30, 1927 – May 21, 2018) was an American actor. He played cowboy Cheyenne (TV series), Cheyenne Bodie in the American Broadcasting Company, ABC/Warner Bros. Western (genre)#Film, western series ''Cheyenn ...

as Luther Sage "Yellowstone" Kelly, and directed by Gordon Douglas. The film was originally supposed to be directed by

John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), better known as John Ford, was an American film director and producer. He is regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers during the Golden Age of Hollywood, and w ...

with

John Wayne Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne, was an American actor. Nicknamed "Duke", he became a Pop icon, popular icon through his starring roles in films which were produced during Hollywood' ...

in the

role but Ford and Wayne opted to make '' The Horse Soldiers'' instead. At the time the film was notable for using the leads of then popular Warner Bros. Television shows, ''

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. The Cheyenne comprise two Native American tribes, the Só'taeo'o or Só'taétaneo'o (more commonly spelled as Suhtai or Sutaio) and the (also spelled Tsitsistas, The term for th ...

'' (Walker), '' Lawman'' ( John Russell), '' 77 Sunset Strip'' ( Edd "Kookie" Byrnes), and '' The Alaskans'' (

Ray Danton Ray Danton (born Raymond Caplan; September 19, 1931 – February 11, 1992) was an American radio, film, stage, and television actor, director, and producer whose most famous roles were in the screen biographies ''The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamo ...

) as well as Warners contract stars such as Andra Martin, Claude Akins, Rhodes Reason and Gary Vinson. The novel was based on the real life Luther Kelly.

Plot

Trapper Yellowstone Kelly and his partner Anse Harper come upon the sick

Arapaho The Arapaho ( ; , ) are a Native American people historically living on the plains of Colorado and Wyoming. They were close allies of the Cheyenne tribe and loosely aligned with the Lakota and Dakota. By the 1850s, Arapaho bands formed t ...

Wahleeh. Wahleeh is a captive of

Sioux The Sioux or Oceti Sakowin ( ; Dakota/ Lakota: ) are groups of Native American tribes and First Nations people from the Great Plains of North America. The Sioux have two major linguistic divisions: the Dakota and Lakota peoples (translati ...

Chief Gall and is desired by both Gall and his nephew Sayapi. Kelly keeps Wahleeh to cure her and promises to return her to Gall when spring comes. However Sayapi vows to take Wahleeh back and kill Kelly. As winter ends Wahleeh has recovered and wishes to return to her people and not be returned to Gall or Sayapi. She finds herself falling in love with Kelly, But Sayapi attacks Kelly's cabin while he is trapping, injuring Harper and taking Wahleeh away. When Kelly returns he finds his cabin burning and Harper alive but succumbing to his wounds. But, before his death, he tells Kelly that Sayapi has taken Wahleeh. Kelly tracks down Sayapi's band engaging in a gun fight that kills Sayapi and his braves. Kelly intends to keep his word and return Wahleeh to Gall despite his feelings for Wahleeh, but they come across a Cavalry troop that has been attacked by Gall. Gall and his warriors return to attack the troop. Before the attack, Gall confronts Kelly, telling him he can leave in peace if he gives up Wahleeh; but the troops must remain to be slaughtered. Kelly will not give up Wahleeh if it means the deaths of the soldiers. Gall's warriors mount the first attack killing many of the troops. All seems lost as Gall prepares for his second attack, when Wahleeh rides out to Gall in an attempt to save Kelly. Wahleeh is injured when her horse overturns while Kelly and Gall race to her side. Kelly clearly showing his feelings for Wahleeh tells Gall to end the battle so more don't have to feel as they do. Gall agrees and leaves with his warriors. Some time later Kelly and Waleeh are seen taking Kelly's fur pelts to a riverboat for delivery.

Cast

as Luther "Yellowstone" Kelly *

Edd Byrnes Edward Byrne Breitenberger (July 30, 1932 – January 8, 2020), known professionally as Edd Byrnes, was an American actor, best known for his starring role in the television series '' 77 Sunset Strip.'' He also was featured in the 1978 film '' Gr ...

as Anse Harper * John Russell as Gall, Sioux Chief *

as Sayapi, Gall's nephew * Claude Akins as Sergeant * Rhodes Reason as Major Towns * Andra Martin as Wahleeah, Sayapi's Arapaho captive * Gary Vinson as Lieutenant * Warren Oates as Corporal

Production

Warner Bros announced the project in August 1956 saying that

would star. It was based on a novel by Clay Fisher, not published until April 1957. When the novel came out the ''New York Times'' said it "rates grade A without question". D.D. Beauchamp was hired to write a script. Then Eliot Asinof was reported as working on the script. Jack Warner assigned Irving Shermer as producer. By early 1959 the project had become a vehicle for Clint Walker, the star of

Warner Bros Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American film studio, filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios Burbank, Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and th ...

' hit TV show ''

'' and the final script was done by Burt Kennedy who was under contract to Warners at the time. Walker's co-star was

who had leapt to fame playing "Kookie" on the Warner Bros detective show '' 77 Sunset Strip''. Filming took place in April and June 1959, partly on location South of

Flagstaff, Arizona Flagstaff ( ), known locally as Flag, is the county seat of Coconino County, Arizona, in the southwestern United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 76,831. Flagstaff is the principal city of the Coconino Cou ...

which is now modern day Sedona, Arizona. "I felt miserable and lost ten pounds in one month" said Byrnes.

was signed to a long-term contract at Warners after the film.

Reception

The ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' called the film "fairly good" in which Byrnes was "a bit too contemporary. Let it be said that he left his comb somewhere in the Sunset Strip and played it straight from there. Burt Kennedy's script is first rate." According to ''Kinematograph Weekly'' the film performed "better than average" at the British box office in 1959.

Comic book adaptation

Dell Dell Inc. is an American technology company that develops, sells, repairs, and supports personal computers (PCs), Server (computing), servers, data storage devices, network switches, software, computer peripherals including printers and webcam ...

Four Color ''Four Color'', also known as ''Four Color Comics'' and ''Dell Four Color'', is an American comic book anthology series published by Dell Comics between 1939 and 1962. The title is a reference to the four basic colors used when printing comic ...

#1056 (October 1959) drawn by Dan Spiegle.

References

External links

* * * {{Gordon Douglas 1959 films 1959 Western (genre) films American Western (genre) films 1950s English-language films Films directed by Gordon Douglas Films based on American novels Films based on Western (genre) novels Films based on real people Films adapted into comics Films based on works by Henry Wilson Allen Films shot in Arizona 1950s American films Films scored by Howard Jackson (composer) English-language Western (genre) films Sioux in popular culture