El Paso

Director: Lewis R. Foster Lewis R. Foster

Overview

Produced in garish Cinecolor, this aspiring "A" Western features John Payne as Clay Fletcher, an Eastern lawyer assigned to track down a judge whose signature is needed for some estate papers. Clay traces the judge, Henry Jeffers (Henry Hull), to El Paso, a lawless town ruthlessly run by saloon owner Bert Donner (Sterling Hayden) and a corrupt sheriff, La Farge (Dick Foran). The judge has become a hopeless drunk and is used as a pawn by Donner, who terrorizes the local farmers off their land. When one settler, John Elkins (Arthur Space), shoots and kills a deputy in self-defense, Clay is at first inclined to trust that justice will prevail and arranges for traveling salesman "Pesky" (George "Gabby" Hayes) to keep Judge Jeffers sober long enough to render a just verdict. But a threatened Donner has both Jeffers and Elkins brutally killed and against the wishes of the judge's daughter Susan (Gail Russell), Clay takes matters into his won hands by organizing a vigilante group. Grandfather Fletcher (H.B. Warner) arrives to remind Clay of his judicial pledges but he, too, is killed by the increasingly insane La Farge. In the end, only the prospect of a mass lynching brings Clay around and the guilty all face a jury of their peers.

Product Details

Release Date:	01/02/2019
UPC:	0738329231194
Original Release:	1949
Rating:	NR
Source:	Kl Studio Classics

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

John Payne	Clayton Fletcher
Gail Russell	Susan Jeffers
Sterling Hayden	Bert Donner
George "Gabby" Hayes	Pesky
Dick Foran	Sheriff La Farge
Henry Hull	Judge Jeffers
Eduardo Noriega	Nacho Vaquez
Mary Beth Hughes	Stage Coach Nellie
H.B. Warner	Judge Fletcher
Arthur Space	John Elkins
Catherine Craig	Mrs. John Elkins
Peggy McIntyre	Mary 'Lizbeth Fletcher
Steven Geray	Indian Joe
Chief Yowlachie	Indian Chief
Robert Ellis	Jack Elkins

Technical Credits

Lewis R. Foster

Lewis R. Foster	Director,Screenwriter
Gladys Atwater	Original Story
J. Robert Bren	Associate Producer
Darrell Calker	Score Composer
Ellis W. Carter	Cinematographer
David Chudnow	Musical Direction/Supervision
Lewis H. Creber	Art Director
Chuck Keehne	Costumes/Costume Designer
Alfred E. Kegerris	Set Decoration/Design
William Pine	Producer
Harry Ray	Makeup
Howard A. Smith	Editor
Paul Stanhope	Makeup
William C. Thomas	Producer

Editorial Reviews

For years, independent producers William H. Pine and William C. Thomas, aka "The Dollar Bills," had been purveyors of cheaply-made action fare that benefited from a production agreement with major corporation Paramount Pictures. El Paso was billed as the team's first major release but, true to their nicknames, Pine and Thomas cut a few corners and produced the western in Cinecolor, a cheap system that offered an unrealistic warm yellow glow. Action-wise, El Paso remains a fast-paced and mostly satisfying western melodrama burdened a bit by a rather shaky performance from leading lady Gail Russell. Reportedly suffering from a near paralyzing stage fright, Russell was known to fortify herself with alcohol and she is visibly grasping hold of the scenery in places.

All Movie Guide - Hans J. Wollstein