Count Three and Pray (film)
Encyclopedia
Count Three and Pray is a 1955
1955 in film
The year 1955 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* November 3 - The musical Guys and Dolls, starring Marlon Brando and Frank Sinatra, debuts.* June 27 - The last ever Republic serial, King of the Carnival, is released....

 CinemaScope
CinemaScope
CinemaScope was an anamorphic lens series used for shooting wide screen movies from 1953 to 1967. Its creation in 1953, by the president of 20th Century-Fox, marked the beginning of the modern anamorphic format in both principal photography and movie projection.The anamorphic lenses theoretically...

 western film starring Van Heflin
Van Heflin
Emmett Evan "Van" Heflin, Jr. was an American film and theatre actor. He played mostly character parts over the course of his film career, but during the 1940s had a string of roles as a leading man...

, Joanne Woodward
Joanne Woodward
Joanne Gignilliat Trimmier Woodward is an American actress, television and theatrical producer, and widow of Paul Newman...

 (in her film debut) and Raymond Burr
Raymond Burr
Raymond William Stacey Burr was a Canadian actor, primarily known for his title roles in the television dramas Perry Mason and Ironside. His early acting career included roles on Broadway, radio, television and in film, usually as the villain...

. It was based on the story Calico Pony (also the working title
Working title
A working title, sometimes called a production title, is the temporary name of a product or project used during its development, usually used in filmmaking, television production, novel, video game, or music album.-Purpose:...

 of the film by Herb Meadow. It premiered in Woodward's home town, Greenville, South Carolina
Greenville, South Carolina
-Law and government:The city of Greenville adopted the Council-Manager form of municipal government in 1976.-History:The area was part of the Cherokee Nation's protected grounds after the Treaty of 1763, which ended the French and Indian War. No White man was allowed to enter, though some families...

, at the Paris Theatre.

Plot

Former brawler and womanizer Luke Fargo (Van Heflin) returns from the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

 to his Southern hometown a greatly changed man. Following his traumatic experiences at the Battle of Vicksburg
Battle of Vicksburg
The Siege of Vicksburg was the final major military action in the Vicksburg Campaign of the American Civil War. In a series of maneuvers, Union Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and his Army of the Tennessee crossed the Mississippi River and drove the Confederate army of Lt. Gen. John C...

 he is now a Minister, intent on rebuilding the only church. He is greeted with disbelief by his friends, including Matty (Nancy Kulp
Nancy Kulp
Nancy Jane Kulp was an American character actress best known as Miss Jane Hathaway on the popular television series The Beverly Hillbillies.-Early life:...

), and outright hostility by the rest of the townsfolk, as he alone in his community had fought on the Union side. Particularly opposed to him is Yancey Huggins (Raymond Burr), who sees a threat to his iron-fisted control of the town.

Fargo encounters two very different women from his past. Faded Southern belle Georgina Descrais (Allison Hayes
Allison Hayes
Allison Hayes was an American film and television actress and model.-Early life:Born Mary Jane Hayes in Charleston, West Virginia, Hayes won the title of Miss District of Columbia and represented Washington, DC in the 1949 Miss America pageant...

), impoverished by the war, tries to revive their former romantic relationship, as does the local madam
Pimp
A pimp is an agent for prostitutes who collects part of their earnings. The pimp may receive this money in return for advertising services, physical protection, or for providing a location where she may engage clients...

, Selma (an uncredited Jean Willes
Jean Willes
Jean Willes was an American film actress. She appeared in approximately 65 films between 1934 and 1972.-Career:...

), but he rejects them both. Meanwhile, teenage orphan tomboy Lissy (Joanne Woodward
Joanne Woodward
Joanne Gignilliat Trimmier Woodward is an American actress, television and theatrical producer, and widow of Paul Newman...

) who has been living in the parsonage before Luke returned and remains living in the same building with Luke takes a strong liking to him. This causes Fargo a great deal of trouble, as the townspeople, aroused by Huggins, suspect him of falling back on his old scandalous ways. He does not help matters when he reluctantly gambles, winning some lumber for the church in a horserace held on a Sunday, and is goaded into fighting Yancey's men.

Finally, the Bishop (Robert Burton
Robert Burton
Robert Burton may refer to:* Robert Burton , Master of University College, Oxford, England * Robert Burton , English scholar and vicar* Robert Burton, Sr. , printing industry executive...

) has to be called in to resolve the situation. He learns that Fargo, not knowing any better, had ordained
Ordination
In general religious use, ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart as clergy to perform various religious rites and ceremonies. The process and ceremonies of ordination itself varies by religion and denomination. One who is in preparation for, or who is...

himself. After hearing how much good Fargo has done in the community, the Bishop makes him a real minister and then tries to get him to marry Lissy. When Fargo proves reluctant, the exasperated Lissy hands the Bishop her rifle to prod the hesitant (though not unwilling) groom.
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