IMDb RATING
6.4/10
1.1K
YOUR RATING
A tomboy frontier lawyer finds an outlaw and his son hiding out from a false murder charge.A tomboy frontier lawyer finds an outlaw and his son hiding out from a false murder charge.A tomboy frontier lawyer finds an outlaw and his son hiding out from a false murder charge.
Tony Curtis
- Brent Coulter
- (as Anthony Curtis)
James Arness
- Little Sam
- (as Jim Arness)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaOn September 29, 1949, four horses were injured and two killed while shooting a horse stampede scene. That same day, a 30-minute rainstorm caused a flash flood, which ruined about $10,000 of Technicolor photographic equipment. Hendrix came to the filming with a still-painful broken foot she had suffered earlier. She had nosebleeds and shortness of breath from the altitude in Utah, and in one scene, she was stung on the neck by yellow jackets. Murphy, already troubled with ulcers, nightmares, and PTSD from his war experiences, had severe cracked and blistering on his lips from the sun and literally could not smile due to the pain. Because Universal-International felt this was too noticeable on screen at times, after main production ended, a few of his scenes were re-shot later at Universal Studios. Main filming ended on October 3 and the next day, back in Hollywood, Hendrix announced that she and Murphy were separated.
- GoofsAt about 1hour 20 minutes into the movie in the final scene, Dean Jagger's character (Jeff) has his hands tied with rope as he sits on his horse under arrest. When it's learned he is innocent the sheriff shakes his hand and Jagger's hands are not tied. During the same scene, Tony Curtis' character's holster is inexplicably empty with no gun in it.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Biography: Audie Murphy: Great American Hero (1996)
- SoundtracksHIDEAWAY
Music by Arnold Schwarzwald (as Arnold Hughes)
Lyrics by Frederick Herbert
Performed by Burl Ives (behind credits)
Featured review
Sierra is directed by Alfred E. Green and adapted to screenplay by Edna Anhalt from the novel "Mountains Are My Kingdom" written by Stuart Hardy. It stars Audie Murphy, Wanda Hendrix, Burl Ives, Dean Jagger and Richard Rober. Music is by Walter Scharf and the Technicolor cinematography is by Russell Metty.
1950 is right at the beginning of Audie Murphy's film career and it's a big indicator of where his genre staples were laid. Of the three Westerns he made in 1950, Sierra is the weakest, but even then it's above average and shows enough of why Murphy was such an engaging star to his fans.
Plot has Murphy and Jagger as a Son and Father living in the mountains due to Pops being on the run from the law. They survive by trapping and breaking wild horses and then use Burl Ives' prospecting troubadour type as an intermediate salesman. One day a lost lawyer from town in the form of Hendrix gets involved in the lives of the mountain duo, where a series of events then lead to Murphy having to go into town and from there things become dangerously interesting for all involved.
The location photography is outstanding, with Metty bringing visual joys from Cedar City and Cedar Breaks in Utah. The costuming (Yvonne Wood) is top draw, and how nice to see Ives in a jolly role where he warbles and strums at various junctures in the play. Murphy and Hendrix have the chemistry, even though their ill fated marriage would end this same year, and the legal axis of the narrative (intriguing court sequences with Hendrix as the defence) adds some thought into proceedings.
Unfortunately for action junkies this is not the one for you, there's some nifty horse play and stampedes, and of course some macho posturing in sync, but it's with the smart story (greenhorn young man meets city life for the first time/lady lawyer trying to make it in the male dominated West) where the pic gets its strength. In the support slots you find Tony Curtis (billed as Anthony) and James Arness, who add a bit of colour to an already lively frontline cast. 6/10
1950 is right at the beginning of Audie Murphy's film career and it's a big indicator of where his genre staples were laid. Of the three Westerns he made in 1950, Sierra is the weakest, but even then it's above average and shows enough of why Murphy was such an engaging star to his fans.
Plot has Murphy and Jagger as a Son and Father living in the mountains due to Pops being on the run from the law. They survive by trapping and breaking wild horses and then use Burl Ives' prospecting troubadour type as an intermediate salesman. One day a lost lawyer from town in the form of Hendrix gets involved in the lives of the mountain duo, where a series of events then lead to Murphy having to go into town and from there things become dangerously interesting for all involved.
The location photography is outstanding, with Metty bringing visual joys from Cedar City and Cedar Breaks in Utah. The costuming (Yvonne Wood) is top draw, and how nice to see Ives in a jolly role where he warbles and strums at various junctures in the play. Murphy and Hendrix have the chemistry, even though their ill fated marriage would end this same year, and the legal axis of the narrative (intriguing court sequences with Hendrix as the defence) adds some thought into proceedings.
Unfortunately for action junkies this is not the one for you, there's some nifty horse play and stampedes, and of course some macho posturing in sync, but it's with the smart story (greenhorn young man meets city life for the first time/lady lawyer trying to make it in the male dominated West) where the pic gets its strength. In the support slots you find Tony Curtis (billed as Anthony) and James Arness, who add a bit of colour to an already lively frontline cast. 6/10
- hitchcockthelegend
- Sep 9, 2019
- Permalink
- How long is Sierra?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Runtime1 hour 23 minutes
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content