The Young Land

Immediately following the "Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo" in 1848 the territory known as California passed from Mexico to the United States of America. Since almost all of the people living there had been citizens of Mexico there was some apprehension among them concerning how they would now be treated. So when an American gunslinger named "Hatfield Carnes" (Dennis Hopper) kills a Hispanic man the residents of a sleepy village are extremely anxious about whether justice is served. To complicate matters this village has a very rowdy group of American outlaws who feel threatened at the thought of one of their own being tried in a court of law. On the flip side there are also vaqueros riding in from various parts of California to make sure that Hatfield pays for his crime. As a result the unofficial sheriff "Jim Ellison" (Patrick Wayne) is thrown into the middle of something that is rapidly becoming very ugly. At any rate, rather than reveal the rest of the story and risk spoiling the movie for those who haven't seen it I will just say that this film turned out to be a pleasant surprise. The acting was pretty good and I especially liked the performances of Yvonne Craig (as "Elena de la Madrid") along with the aforementioned Patrick Wayne. All in all, this movie wasn't too bad and I rate it as slightly above average.

I was going through the channels and found this movie with maybe a little more than an hour left. There are times I see a movie that just grabs my attention, not often though. This is one of those times. I recognized a few faces here, but the only ones that I considered to be well known were Hopper and Curtis. Some might find the dialogue wanting and sparse, but I think that is the way people really talk. The part of the movie I caught had the one killing at the end, something I found quite refreshing. One of the things I have grown to dislike is the excessive killings in these older Westerns. Don't get me wrong, I am not saying this is a great movie, just one that is worth seeing at least once.

Patrick Wayne is the sheriff of the town town in this section of California with a jail. Sort of. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo has been signed, and California is now American. But there's been no official appointment, so he's just making it up as he goes along. So after he arrests Dennis Hopper for shooting down a Mexican, he's surprised to find judge Dan O'Herlihy riding into town with Deputy Marshal Cliff Ketchum. After the jury is charged and they retire to come to a verdict, the Mexicans gather to see what American justice looks like. So do Hopper's friends.

There isn't much subtext to this movie, and director Ted Tetzlaff runs things that way, with a competent cast that includes Yvonne Craig, Ken Curtis, and Pedro Gonzalez Gonzalez, all indulging in stereotypes of various sorts. Hopper is excellent, of course, as is Curtis as another bad man who fled to California and is appointed deputy to guard his old friend. Winton Hoch shoots wide vistas in Technicolor, and Dmitri Tiomkin picked up and Oscar nomination with Ned Washington for best song.

An American gunslinger kills a Mexican man in California immediately after the Mexican-American war.

The killer is arrested and put on trial for murder with the Hispanic population waiting to learn of American justice.

Sounds like Miami today.

Heavy handed directing. No so good acting, even though Dennis Hopper is the main character.

I never thought he was such a great actor. He prove it here.

If anything, this movie serves to prove even in 1959 the left was churning out propaganda.

Usually a film held up in release is a sign that nothing good will come of it eventually being inflicted on the movie-going public. But in the case of The Young Land this is not a bad little western about an incident from the early days of California after we acquired it from Mexico. As it was a forcible acquisition the native Mexican population was anxious to see how they would do under American law and jurisprudence.

The issue comes to a head when a murderous young punk played by Dennis Hopper uses his fast draw to gun down a Mexican vaquero who works for Roberto DeLa Madrid. Sheriff Patrick Wayne whose job usually is to jail drunks disarms Hopper and arrests him. Now the job is to try him and for that Wayne sends for a federal judge played by Dan O'Herlihy who is a model of judicial decorum.

O'Herlihy is not terribly impressed with Wayne as a sheriff, but gradually they develop a certain respect for each other. And Wayne also grows some in the estimation of Yvonne Lime, daughter of Robert DeLa Madrid.

The Young Land is a simple straightforward tale told thusly for the audience. It's got some thoughtful and sincere performances by its cast. Hopper stands out in his role. And it even got an Oscar nomination for the song Strange Are The Ways Of Love which lost to the far better known High Hopes.

The story has worn well and The Young Land is as fresh as it was when it was sadly held up in release.