Slaughter Trail is a 1951 Cinecolor Western film produced and directed by Irving Allen and starring Brian Donlevy, Gig Young and Virginia Grey.
Plot
A trio of masked bandits rob a stagecoach, secretly assisted by one of its passengers. The fleeing bandits encounter some unarmed Navajo men, shoot them and steal their horses. One of the Navajo survives and informs the tribe, which wages war against all white men. The commander of the U.S. Cavalry fort, who is friendly with the Navajo chief, is caught in the middle.
Cast
- Brian Donlevy as Capt. Dempster
- Gig Young as Ike Vaughn
- Virginia Grey as Lorabelle Larkin
- Andy Devine as Sgt. Macintosh
- Robert Hutton as Lt. Morgan
- Terry Gilkyson as Singalong
Production
The film was produced in 1950 and was originally to have been released by Eagle-Lion before RKO Pictures signed with Justal Productions as the film’s distributor.[2]
The film was shot with Howard da Silva in the lead, but after he was accused of communist leanings, RKO Pictures ordered da Silva’s scenes reshot with Brian Donlevy.[3] Allen reshot the film in three days and sold it to RKO for $200,000.[4]
In a manner similar to that of High Noon, Slaughter Trail contains continuing ballads throughout the film that ask and answer questions as well as narrate the story.[5]
Reception
In The Philadelphia Inquirer, critic Mildred Martin called Slaughter Trail “the worst Western this reviewer ever had the bad luck to encounter”.[6]
Notes
- ^ “RKO Arranges Dual Opening”. Los Angeles Times. October 5, 1951. p. 6, Part III.
- ^ p.936 Gevinson, Alan & American Film Instituted Within Our Gates: Ethnicity in American Films 1911-1960 1997 University of California
- ^ p.107 Magers, Boyd & Fitzgerald, Michael G Western Women: Interviews with 50 Leading Ladies of Film and Television 2004 McFarland
- ^ Thomas, Kevin (July 6, 1967). “Allen at Helm of Production”. Los Angeles Times. p. 14, Part VI.
- ^ p.49McFarlane, Brian & Mayer, Geoff New Australian Cinema: Sources and Parallels in American and British Film 1992 Cambridge University Press
- ^ Martin, Mildred (December 20, 1951). “‘Slaughter Trail’ and ‘The Whip Hand’ at Midtown”. The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. 29.