Along the Great Divide
Encyclopedia
Along the Great Divide is a 1951 American western film directed by Raoul Walsh
. The movie stars Kirk Douglas
, Virginia Mayo
, John Agar
, and Walter Brennan
.
), whose beloved son was shot in the back. Merrick insists on taking Keith to Santa Loma to stand trial.
The other ranchers are unwilling to go against a marshal, but Roden vows to administer his own brand of justice. He sends his other son, Dan (James Anderson
), to gather his ranch hands while he attends to the burial. Merrick offers to help, but is met with implacable hostility. After Roden leaves, Merrick finds a pocket watch.
Keith suggests that they spend the night at his home, as it is nearby. Merrick accepts, but has cause to regret his decision when Keith's daughter Ann (Virginia Mayo) ambushes them. Fortunately, Merrick is able to disarm her with no harm done. When they leave, Ann decides to go with them.
After he is warned of Roden's intentions by fellow ranchers, Merrick decides to take an unexpected desert route, where he can see if he is being trailed. The ploy fails, however, and the party is overtaken by Roden and his men. In the ensuing gunfight, Merrick's best friend and deputy, Billy Shear (John Agar), is wounded. Merrick forces Roden to go away by capturing his son Dan. As they travel on, Billy dies.
Merrick and Ann start falling in love. The marshal reveals that his unswerving devotion to duty is because the one time he neglected it, it cost his father his life. He was a deputy to his marshal father, and refused to help escort two prisoners. All three were lynched. Ann sympathizes, but warns him that her first loyalty is to her father.
Meanwhile, Dan convinces the remaining deputy, Lou Gray (Ray Teal
), to help him escape by the bribe of a ranch. When the group reaches a waterhole, only to find the water undrinkable, a disagreement breaks out. All but Merrick want to head to a river half a day to the south. Worried because the river is on the Mexican border, Merrick insists on continuing on to Santa Loma. Gray quickly draws his gun, but Merrick is faster on the draw and shoots it out of his hand. Now, he has three prisoners.
After two days without sleep, an exhausted Merrick drops from his horse. Keith grabs his gun, but is unwilling to shoot. When Gray goes for his rifle, Keith kills him, then hands the gun back to Merrick.
Keith is tried in Santa Loma. Merrick tells the jury that he is sure Keith is not a killer, but all the evidence and witnesses are against him, and a guilty verdict is reached. However, just before Keith is to be hanged, Merrick notices that the watch he found has an inscription to Dan. Confronted with the proof that he killed his own brother, Dan draws his revolver and grabs Ann as a shield. When his father approaches him, Dan kills him and tries to flee on horseback, but is shot in the back, just like his brother, by Merrick.
Raoul Walsh
Raoul Walsh was an American film director, actor, founding member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the brother of silent screen actor George Walsh...
. The movie stars Kirk Douglas
Kirk Douglas
Kirk Douglas is an American stage and film actor, film producer and author. His popular films include Out of the Past , Champion , Ace in the Hole , The Bad and the Beautiful , Lust for Life , Paths of Glory , Gunfight at the O.K...
, Virginia Mayo
Virginia Mayo
Virginia Mayo was an American film actress.After a short career in vaudeville, Mayo progressed to films and during the 1940s established herself as a supporting player in such films as The Best Years of Our Lives and White Heat .Mayo remained an A-list actress into the mid-'50s, but then went...
, John Agar
John Agar
John George Agar was an American actor. He starred alongside John Wayne in the films Sands of Iwo Jima, Fort Apache and She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, but was later relegated to B movies, such as Tarantula, The Mole People, The Brain from Planet Arous, Flesh and the Spur, and Hand of Death...
, and Walter Brennan
Walter Brennan
Walter Brennan was an American actor. Brennan won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor on three separate occasions, which is currently the record for most wins.-Early life:...
.
Plot
Federal marshal Len Merrick (Kirk Douglas) and his two deputies rescue cattle rustler and murder suspect Tim "Pop" Keith (Walter Brennan) from a lynch mob headed by grieving rancher Ned Roden (Morris AnkrumMorris Ankrum
Morris Ankrum was an American radio, television and film character actor.-Early life:Born Morris Nussbaum in Danville, Illinois, Ankrum originally began a career in academics. After graduating from USC with a law degree, he went on to an associate professorship in economics at the University of...
), whose beloved son was shot in the back. Merrick insists on taking Keith to Santa Loma to stand trial.
The other ranchers are unwilling to go against a marshal, but Roden vows to administer his own brand of justice. He sends his other son, Dan (James Anderson
James K Anderson
James Anderson , sometimes billed as Kyle James, was an American television and film actor of the 1950s and 1960s. He is probably best known for his role as Robert E. Lee 'Bob' Ewell in To Kill a Mockingbird .He made over 120 appearances mostly in TV and several films between 1941 and 1970...
), to gather his ranch hands while he attends to the burial. Merrick offers to help, but is met with implacable hostility. After Roden leaves, Merrick finds a pocket watch.
Keith suggests that they spend the night at his home, as it is nearby. Merrick accepts, but has cause to regret his decision when Keith's daughter Ann (Virginia Mayo) ambushes them. Fortunately, Merrick is able to disarm her with no harm done. When they leave, Ann decides to go with them.
After he is warned of Roden's intentions by fellow ranchers, Merrick decides to take an unexpected desert route, where he can see if he is being trailed. The ploy fails, however, and the party is overtaken by Roden and his men. In the ensuing gunfight, Merrick's best friend and deputy, Billy Shear (John Agar), is wounded. Merrick forces Roden to go away by capturing his son Dan. As they travel on, Billy dies.
Merrick and Ann start falling in love. The marshal reveals that his unswerving devotion to duty is because the one time he neglected it, it cost his father his life. He was a deputy to his marshal father, and refused to help escort two prisoners. All three were lynched. Ann sympathizes, but warns him that her first loyalty is to her father.
Meanwhile, Dan convinces the remaining deputy, Lou Gray (Ray Teal
Ray Teal
Ray Teal was an actor who appeared in more than 250 movies and some 90 television programs in his 37-year career. His longest running role was as Sheriff Roy Coffee on NBC's most successful western, Bonanza...
), to help him escape by the bribe of a ranch. When the group reaches a waterhole, only to find the water undrinkable, a disagreement breaks out. All but Merrick want to head to a river half a day to the south. Worried because the river is on the Mexican border, Merrick insists on continuing on to Santa Loma. Gray quickly draws his gun, but Merrick is faster on the draw and shoots it out of his hand. Now, he has three prisoners.
After two days without sleep, an exhausted Merrick drops from his horse. Keith grabs his gun, but is unwilling to shoot. When Gray goes for his rifle, Keith kills him, then hands the gun back to Merrick.
Keith is tried in Santa Loma. Merrick tells the jury that he is sure Keith is not a killer, but all the evidence and witnesses are against him, and a guilty verdict is reached. However, just before Keith is to be hanged, Merrick notices that the watch he found has an inscription to Dan. Confronted with the proof that he killed his own brother, Dan draws his revolver and grabs Ann as a shield. When his father approaches him, Dan kills him and tries to flee on horseback, but is shot in the back, just like his brother, by Merrick.
Cast
- Kirk DouglasKirk DouglasKirk Douglas is an American stage and film actor, film producer and author. His popular films include Out of the Past , Champion , Ace in the Hole , The Bad and the Beautiful , Lust for Life , Paths of Glory , Gunfight at the O.K...
as Marshal Len Merrick - Virginia MayoVirginia MayoVirginia Mayo was an American film actress.After a short career in vaudeville, Mayo progressed to films and during the 1940s established herself as a supporting player in such films as The Best Years of Our Lives and White Heat .Mayo remained an A-list actress into the mid-'50s, but then went...
as Ann Keith - John AgarJohn AgarJohn George Agar was an American actor. He starred alongside John Wayne in the films Sands of Iwo Jima, Fort Apache and She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, but was later relegated to B movies, such as Tarantula, The Mole People, The Brain from Planet Arous, Flesh and the Spur, and Hand of Death...
as Deputy Billy Shear - Walter BrennanWalter BrennanWalter Brennan was an American actor. Brennan won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor on three separate occasions, which is currently the record for most wins.-Early life:...
as Tim "Pop" Keith - Ray TealRay TealRay Teal was an actor who appeared in more than 250 movies and some 90 television programs in his 37-year career. His longest running role was as Sheriff Roy Coffee on NBC's most successful western, Bonanza...
as Deputy Lou Gray - Hugh SandersHugh SandersHugh Sanders was an American actor. Born in Illinois, Sanders was a guest star in several series, including The Lone Ranger, Highway Patrol, Four Star Playhouse, Playhouse 90, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Richard Diamond, Private Detective, Bonanza, Zane Grey Theater, and Bat Masterson.-...
as Sam Weaver - Morris AnkrumMorris AnkrumMorris Ankrum was an American radio, television and film character actor.-Early life:Born Morris Nussbaum in Danville, Illinois, Ankrum originally began a career in academics. After graduating from USC with a law degree, he went on to an associate professorship in economics at the University of...
as Ned Roden - James AndersonJames K AndersonJames Anderson , sometimes billed as Kyle James, was an American television and film actor of the 1950s and 1960s. He is probably best known for his role as Robert E. Lee 'Bob' Ewell in To Kill a Mockingbird .He made over 120 appearances mostly in TV and several films between 1941 and 1970...
as Dan Roden - Charles MeredithCharles Meredith (actor)Charles Meredith was an American film and television actor. When Meredith died, The Incredible Mr. Limpet was said to be his last film.-Selected filmography:...
as Judge Marlowe - Sam AshSam AshSam Ash was founded in 1924, and is the largest family owned chain of musical instrument stores in the United States. Sam Ash sells musical instruments, recording equipment, DJ and lighting equipment, and professional sound equipment.The Company record shows annual revenue is $1b to $5b &...
as Defense counsel - Lane ChandlerLane ChandlerLane Chandler was an American actor specializing in Westerns.-Early life:He was born as Robert Chandler Oakes on a ranch near Culbertson, Montana, the son of a horse rancher. At an early age, the family relocated to Helena, Montana, where he graduated from high school...
as Sheriff - Zon Murray as Jake Wilson
- Guy Wilkerson as Jury foreman