Cattle Empire

1958 film

1958 (1958)

Running time

83 minutesCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglish

Cattle Empire is a 1958 American Western DeLuxe Color movie in CinemaScope directed by Charles Marquis Warren, starring Joel McCrea and released by 20th Century Fox. The film also features Gloria Talbott, Don Haggerty, Phyllis Coates, and Bing Russell and serves as something of a forerunner for director Warren's subsequent television series Rawhide starring Eric Fleming and Clint Eastwood, which used the picture's writer Endre Bohem, as well as some of its supporting cast (Paul Brinegar, Steve Raines, Rocky Shahan, and Charles H. Gray).

Plot

The story starts with John Cord (Joel McCrea) apprehended by the townsfolk, who have roped him, and are dragging him through the streets with the intent to kill him. Cord is despised for a range of things done to the town by his cattle crew he was responsible when they went on a wild drunken rampage.

Cord is saved from death by Ralph, a prominent cattle owner and major businessman of the town, who turns up with his wife and his brother. Ralph is blind, and Cord is shown to be responsible for that, as well. Despite this, Ralph reveals that he has, in fact, invited Cord to the town. As the most experienced cattle man in the area, he is the only one who can drive the townsfolks and his cattle to Fort Clemson, where they can be sold. The town is on the verge of economic collapse, and the sale of the cattle will save the town.

Cord is a skilled cattleman and one of the few people capable of driving the cattle across land, at a time of the year when little grass is available and many of the rivers are dry. He initially refuses the offer from Ralph. He later meets the rival of Ralph, Garth, who wants to drive his own cattle to Fort Clemson. Cord accepts an offer from Garth to drive the cattle, and then goes back to accept the offer from Ralph, as well, secretly plotting his revenge against the townsfolk, while committing to get Garth's cattle to Fort Clemson first. He departs the town on the cattle drive with Ralph, his wife, many of the townsfolk who tried to kill him, and a young girl who is in love with him. Things occur on the cattle drive, though, which lead Cord to reconsider his revenge on the townsfolk of Hamilton. ^[1]

Cast

Joel McCrea as John Cord
Gloria Talbott as Sandy Jeffrey
Don Haggerty as Ralph Hamilton
Phyllis Coates as Janice Hamilton
Bing Russell as Douglas Hamilton
Richard Shannon as Garth
Paul Brinegar as Tom Jefferson Jeffrey
Charles H. Gray as Tom Powis (billed as Charles Gray)
Hal K. Dawson as George Washington Jeffrey
Patrick O'Moore as Rex Cogswell
Duane Grey as Juan Aruzza
William McGraw as Jim Whittaker (billed as Bill McGraw)
Jack Lomas as Sheriff Brewster
Nesdon Booth as Barkeep^[2]

References

^ "Cattle Empire (1958) - Charles Marquis Warren | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie".
^ Lentz, Harris (1996). Western and Frontier Film and Television Credits 1903-1995: Section I. Actors and actresses. Section II. Directors, producers, and writers. McFarland. p. 89. ISBN 9780786402175 – via Google Books.