Stagecoach to Fury is a 1956 American western film directed by William F. Claxton and starring Forrest Tucker and Mari Blanchard. It was the first film from Robert L. Lippert's Regal films; the B picture unit of 20th Century Fox set up to provide second features shot in CinemaScope.[3]
| Stagecoach to Fury | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | William F. Claxton |
| Screenplay by | Eric Norden |
| Story by | Earle Lyon Eric Norden |
| Produced by | Earle Lyon |
| Starring | Forrest Tucker Mari Blanchard Wallace Ford |
| Cinematography | Walter Strenge |
| Edited by | Carl Pierson |
| Music by | Paul Dunlap |
| Color process | Black and white |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | 20th Century-Fox |
Release date |
|
Running time | 76 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $125,000[1][2] |
| Box office | $600,000 (estimated)[2] |
The film, with exteriors shot around Kanab, Utah was nominated for an Academy Award for black-and-white cinematography for the 29th Academy Awards.
Others in the film include Wallace Ford as Judge Lester Farrell, Ellen Corby as Sarah Farrell, Wright King as Ralph Slader, Paul Fix as Tim O'Connors, and Rodolfo Hoyos Jr., as Lorenzo Gracia.[4]
Plot
editA stagecoach with a mixed group of passenger en route to the town of Fury makes a stop at a layover. Upon arrival the passengers are held up by Lorenzo Garcia and his gang of bandidos capture and disarm the passengers, shooting one when he stops to raise his fallen trousers when he puts his hands up. The two staff of the coaching stop are missing presumed murdered. Garcia questions former Army captain Frank Townsend, now riding shotgun on the stagecoach on the location of the Federal Government gold shipment they expected to be carried by the stagecoach. After Garcia shoots and wounds Tim O'Connor the driver to encourage information, Townsend reveals that the stagecoach was to remain at the layover until a wagon containing the gold shipment would arrive and transfer the cargo to the stage.
Garcia holds the prisoners as his band awaits the gold shipment. Among the surviving passengers are young gunslinger Ralph Slader, who the bandidos are eager to have a gunfight with, a cowardly judge escaping from the vengeance of criminals, a scheming woman who has arranged to rob and murder her husband and Townsend's fiancée. Though Garcia explains the passengers will remain safe if they follow his orders, Townsend feels that Garcia would not want any witnesses to his robbery to be left alive.
Cast
edit- Forrest Tucker as Frank Townsend
- Mari Blanchard as Barbara Duval
- Wallace Ford as Judge Lester Farrell
- Rodolfo Hoyos Jr. as Lorenzo Gracia
- Paul Fix as Tim O'Connors
- Rico Alaniz as Miguel Torres
- Wright King as Ralph Slader
- Margia Dean as Ruth
- Ian MacDonald as Sheriff Ross
- William 'Bill' Phillips as Harold, the Bartender
- Ellen Corby as Sarah Farrell
- Alex Montoya as Oro
- Rayford Barnes as Zick
- Norman Leavitt as Customer
- Steven Geray as Nichols
- Leslie Banning as An Stewart
- Paul Fierro as Pedro
- Robert Karnes as Talbot
Production
editReception
editThe film grossed $250,000 in its first five months and Variety estimated it to earn $600,000.[2]
Quotes
edit"Justice sometimes moves in strange company. Its judgement is not always empty. Though its sting be cruel."
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Solomon, Aubrey. Twentieth Century Fox: A Corporate and Financial History (The Scarecrow Filmmakers Series). Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 1989. ISBN 978-0-8108-4244-1. p250
- ^ a b c "More Regal Pix for 20th Expansion". Variety. March 27, 1957. p. 15.
- ^ Scott, J. L. (November 7, 1956). "'Teenage rebel' human mother-daughter tale". Los Angeles Times. ProQuest 167063781.
- ^ "STAGECOACH TO FURY". Monthly Film Bulletin. Vol. 24. 1957. p. 9. ProQuest 1305821013.
- ^ D'Arc, James V. (2010). When Hollywood Came to Town: A History of Moviemaking in Utah (1st ed.). Layton: Gibbs Smith. p. 289. ISBN 978-1-4236-0587-4. Wikidata Q123575108.