The Road to Denver (1955)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

Joseph Kane

Writers:

Horace McCoy (screenplay) and
Allen Rivkin (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

15 June 1955 (USA)

Genre:

Western

Tagline:

Face-To-Face and Pistol-To-Pistol! BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER!

Plot:

The Mayhew brothers flee from one Texas town to another as older brother Bill repeatedly attempts to keep younger brother Sam out of jail...

Plot Keywords:

Trucolor | City Name In Title | Place Name In Title

Cast

John Payne	...	Bill Mayhew
Mona Freeman	...	Elizabeth Sutton
Lee J. Cobb	...	Jim Donovan
Ray Middleton	...	John Sutton
Skip Homeier	...	Sam Mayhew
Andy Clyde	...	Whipsaw Ellis
Lee Van Cleef	...	Pecos Larry
Karl 'Killer' Davis	...	Hunsaker (as Karl Davis)
Glenn Strange	...	Big George
Robert 'Buzz' Henry	...	Buzz (as Buzz Henry)
Dan White	...	Man in Buckboard (as Daniel White)
Robert Burton	...	Pete
Anna Lee Carroll	...	Miss Honeywell (as Anne Carroll)
Tex Terry	...	Mr. McGovern

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Trucolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

Iceland:L | West Germany:12 (nf) | USA:Approved (MPAA rating: certificate #17409) | UK:U | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Snow Canyon, Utah, USA

Company:

Republic Pictures (I)

Quotes:

[Prologue]
Bill Mayhew: In the old days of the west, the big cattle spreads had spring and fall round-ups. Then the steers to be sold became a trail herd pointed to the nearest railhead often hundreds of miles away. The trail was sometimes tough with rain, wind and snow.

It's mine, it's a great name.

Bill Mayhew is growing tired of bailing out his hot headed younger brother, Sam. After breaking him loose from a Texas jail he decides enough is enough and tells Sam they must go their separate ways. He heads towards Denver and sets up in Central City where he lands a job {and soon to be partnership} with kindly gent John Sutton, he also starts to fall for Sutton's pretty daughter Elizabeth. However it soon becomes apparent that the towns money mad crook, Jim Donovan has issues with Sutton's dealings, and after enlisting into his fold the newly arrived in town, Sam, sets up the scenario of the brothers being on opposing sides.

Simple yet executed with no little style, The Road To Denver is a hugely enjoyable Western. It's directed by Western specialist Joe Kane and stars John Payne {Bill Mayhew}, Mona Freeman {Elizabeth Sutton}, Lee J. Cobb {Jim Donovan }, Ray Middleton {John Sutton}, Skip Homeier {Sam Mayhew} & Lee Van Cleef {Pecos Larry}. It's tale of sibling rivalry amongst the fabulous Snow Canyon location is highly watchable stuff, the sense of the inevitable is hard to get away from but a number of sequences delight and fully form the story. Homeier is particularly good at playing the loose cannon role of Sam, and the best scenes tend to land with him, but Lee J Cobb is always a solid performer and when given a bad guy role he positively delivers with sneer in full effect, such is the case here.

One of Kane's better efforts in the genre, and certainly one that is either under seen or undervalued on this site, if you get the chance have a look because it's a very tidy little piece. 7/10