Yellow Sky [Blu-ray]

Director: William A. Wellman, John Schlesinger

Overview

William Wellman's westerns always seemed a little claustrophobic, but in Yellow Sky the director's technique works to the film's advantage. Outlaw leader Gregory Peck takes refuge in a frontier ghost town. The only inhabitants are elderly James Barton and his pretty granddaughter Anne Baxter. Barton reveals that there's gold hereabouts, prompting a few of Peck's companions--especially Richard Widmark--to plot the old man's demise and claim the treasure for themselves. For his part, Peck is basically honorable, and offers to split fifty-fifty with Barton. Dissension, hostility and gunplay ensue, finally narrowing down to a standoff between Peck and Widmark. Yellow Sky was based on a novel by W.R. Burnett, who moved from westerns to gangster stories and back again with the greatest of ease.

Product Details

Release Date:	07/12/2016
UPC:	0738329206130
Original Release:	1948
Region Code:	A
Language:	English
Time:	1:38:00
Sales rank:	19,932

Special Features

Audio Commentaries by William Wellman Jr.; Trailer Gallery

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Gregory Peck	Stretch
Anne Baxter	Mike
Richard Widmark	Dude
John Russell	Lengthy
Robert Arthur	Bull Run
Harry Morgan	Half Pint
James Barton	Grandpa
Charles Kemper	Walrus
Robert Adler	Jed
Victor Kilian	Bartender
Paul Hurst	Drunk
William Gould	Banker
Norman Leavitt	Bank Teller
Chief Yowlachie	Colorado
Eula Guy	Woman in Bank
Harry Carter	Lieutenant
Hank Worden	Rancher
Jay Silverheels	Indian
Alfred Newman	Composer
Richard Rodney Bennett	Composer

Technical Credits

Lamar Trotti

Fred Sersen	Special Effects
Lamar Trotti	Producer,Screenwriter

Editorial Reviews

As Yellow Sky amply demonstrates, a film doesn't have to be either revolutionary or overly complex to be a great picture. When you look at the story elements of Sky, it's easy to think "That's all been done before." And it has -- not only because bits and pieces are taken from other Westerns but because the central "gold lust" theme has been seen in such other films as Greed and Treasure of the Sierra Madre. And screenwriter Lamar Trotti has not taken these familiar components and given them a surprising twist or used them in a new manner. Instead, he has fashioned them into a crackling good screenplay, one which believes in the sheer power of these components and knows exactly how to frame them so that they deliver that power. He's also provided memorable dialogue and clearly drawn characters; they're not necessarily deep, but they're individuals and impress on that account. For his part, William Wellman has provided beautifully detailed direction that doesn't skimp on suspense or action and that even makes the love angle work -- often a hard trick in "manly" Westerns. He's aided by Joe MacDonald's stark, almost expressionistic cinematography, a feast of black-and-white images that carry their own considerable emotional weight. Finally, Sky has a marvelous cast, with Gregory Peck a solid leading man with a villainous side, James Barton a welcome addition as the man who knows (perhaps) where the gold is, and Richard Widmark adding another notch to his irreplaceable psychotic lowlife repertoire.