Harrison's Reports (1961)

February 11, 1961 HARRISON'S REPORTS 23 "The Long Rope" with Hugh Mariowe, Alan Hale, Robert Wilke and Lisa Montell (20th CenturyFox, February; time, 61 min.) Very good. A gripping, fast'moving frontier ad' venture-mystery in CinemaScope and black-andwhite dealing with a federal court judge who arrives unarmed in an Early West border town to try a young Mexican storekeeper for the murder of a brother of the rancher whose word heretofore has been law in the community. The killer is not identified until a courtroom sequence at the end of the programmer. Suspects include the accused man's lovely wife, his partner who loves her, her proud mother and the slain man's older brother. Offering convincing characterizations are Hugh Marlowe as the judge; Alan Hale as a sheriff; Robert Wilke as a tough rancher and Chris Robinson as a youthful gunslinger. Direction and photography are adequate: — It is the early West. We see a man waiting for someone in a barn. He is fatally shot, but we don't see his killer. Next, Hugh Marlowe, a circuit court judge, who goes unarmed, comes to the frontier town of Tularosa to try John Alonzo, a Mexican storekeeper for the murder. The town never had a trial before. It is dominated by the slain man's elder brother, Robert Wilke, a rancher. As Marlowe arrives, he sees another brother, Jeffrey Morris, trying to lynch David Renard, Alonzo's business partner. Morris previously had been prevented by the weak-willed sheriff, Alan Hale, from hanging Alonzo. Renard's lynching is stopped by Chris Robinson, a young gunslinger who arrives at the same time. The judge learns from Hale that the slain brother had gone to the barn of Alonzo 's proud mother-in-law, Madeline Holmes, presumably to meet Alonzo's wife, Lisa Montell. Alonzo says he was taking inventory, the night of the killing, but has no witnesses. Wilkes makes it known that he doesn't want a trial. Marlowe finds he has to investigate alone. He learns that Lisa's mother is of a proud family which once owned what is now Wilke's hugh ranch. We also discover that Renard is in love with his partner's wife. Marlowe hears that Morris is visiting Lisa and reaches her in time to save her from the lusty rancher, while giving him a sound drubbing. He sets a trial for the next day. Finding no one is brave enough to sit on a jury, he hears the case alone. The gunslinger is on hand, having told Marlowe he's been hired to kill him by Wilke. Each witness tells his story. Marlowe gets Lisa's mother to admit the slaying, and leaving Alonzo's gun at the scene of the crime. She had hoped that if Alonzo were hung, her daughter would marry Wilke and her family would get its land back. Wilke and Morris storm out of court. When Marlowe goes to arrest them for interfering with the federal court, Wilke throws a gun at his feet, dares him to pick it up. Hale has regained his courage and is killed by Wilke when defying him. Robinson, the gunslinger, kills Morris, while Marlowe beats up his older brother. Robnson, who had never killed a man before, decides to give up a gunslinging career and accompany the judge as his bodyguard. An A.P.I. Production, produced by Margia Dean, directed by William Witney from a screenplay by Robert Hamner. Family. "Gold of the Seven Saints" with Clint Walker, Roger Moore, Leticia Roman, Robert Middleton (Warner Bros., February; time, 88 min.) Very good. A suspenseful outdoor action programmer in WarnerScope and black-and-white, centering about a pair of young trappers who have to ride and fight their way across the desert badlands after finding a fortune in gold nuggets. The popularity of TV star Clint Walker is the big selling peg. He renders a believable portrayal of a young veteran trapper, as does his Irish partner, Roger Moore. Chill Wills adds humor as an alcoholic gunslinger turned physician. Romance is well provided for by fiery Letica Roman, who plays a Mexican gang leader's ward. Color would have been a considerble asset to this one, which boasts many spectacular scenic views of southeastern Utah's red-rock country : — Roger Moore, caught stealing a horse, pays for it with a gold nugget. A ruthless outlaw, Gene Evans, with seven of his men, follows Moore, to get the rest of the gold he guesses the young man must possess. Moore rejoins his trapper partner, Clint Walker, and the two, with saddlebags full of newly found gold, continue on their way across the desert badlands toward the wide-open town of Seven Saints. Walker, learning of the spent nugget, expects to be followed. The gang is held off by the two men at a water hole, and at night the trappers slip away. They cache the gold behind some rocks, and ride on — into a box canyon trap. In the ensuing gun battle, the gang loses three men, but Moore is badly wounded. Walker is saved by the timely arrival and shooting of Chill Wills, a hard-drinking, ex-gunslinger turned physician. The three men move on. They meet a band of Mexicans headed by a former boss of Walker's, Robert Middleton, who invites them to his hacienda. There Walker rediscovers Leticia Roman, an orphaned Indian girl, who under Middleton's protection, has blossomed into an extremely seductive young senorita. She flirts with the two trappers and Middleton advises she is "for sale" to the highest bidder. Evans draws Walker and Middleton from the house, using a cattle stampede as a ruse, and the two return to find that Moore and Wills have been kidnapped. Walker, alone, goes after Evans, who meanwhile kills Wills when he says he doesn't know where the gold is. Then the outlaw tortures Moore. Walker arrives, kills Evans' men, but the gang leader threatens to slay Moore if Walker doesn't lay down his gun. Walker then leads Evans to the hidden gold, but manages to pin Evans down with a boulder. Evans is left for the vultures and the two trappers go on, only to meet Middleton and his men, who ask for the gold. Walker and Moore make a break for it, but the gold is washed downstream into the foaming rapids of a river they cross. The two men decide to go look at their traps. Produced by Leonard Freeman and directed by Gordon Douglas from a screenplay by Leigh Brackett and Freeman, from a novel by Steve Frazee. Family.