The Walking Hills

A very rewarding "lust for gold" adventure that tells its story in a brief 78 minutes and is all the better for it. Director John Sturges would later in his career allow some of his films to run overlong (THE GREAT ESCAPE) or blow up what should have been more simply told (GUNFIGHT AT THE OK CORRAL - the depicted gunfight itself is but one example), but earlier in his career made a number of lean, taut treasures, this is one of them.

A group of people are bound together in the search for some wagons believed to have been lost in the desert a century earlier, and the legend has it that gold was on them. When the youngest of them happens to mention something spotted in the desert, the need for secrecy binds the group together lest someone reveal the "golden opportunity." Several in the group have pasts that they are trying to hide and potential futures they are trying to escape if caught. One of them is a detective hot on a fugitive's trail, but willing to set aside duty for his share of the loot.

Randolph Scott headlines as the more or less moral center of the group, even if his intentions and actions seem to defy that description. For a slightly less than "A" feature, the film boasts an admirable cast of characters, among them Ella Raines, John Ireland, Arthur Kennedy, Edgar Buchanan (scene stealing as usual) and blues/folk revivalist singer Josh White whose musical contributions to the film capture a legendary performer for posterity. William Bishop, a young man whom Columbia was grooming for stardom (but who failed to click and would soon "descend" to mostly TV work) is the least familiar perhaps of the major actors, but he's impressive enough here for one to wish he had done better within the ten years that he had left before cancer took him at 41.

An interesting subplot has Scott's mare about to foal - a metaphor for new life or spiritual rebirth being created among the desert ruins. It gives nothing away to reveal that the fugitive surrenders or that some characters realize that gold fever can cause one to suspend principles - the latter is expected in such melodramas. But with its stunning black-and-white cinematography, especially in night scenes and the climatic desert storm, this film is as much of a treasure as that which its protagonists seek. Camera ace Charles Lawton must have impressed Scott and producer Harry Joe Brown as he would do five more films with the pair in the next decade. Highly recommended.

The Walking Hills is directed by John Sturges and written by Alan LeMay. It stars Randolph Scott, Ella Raines, Arthur Kennedy, Edgar Buchanan, John Ireland, William Bishop, Josh White and Jerome Courtland. Music is by Arthur Morton and cinematography by Charles Lawton Jr.

Upon hearing a chance statement about lost gold, a disparate group of people head out in search of it to the desert plains of The Walking Hills...

Whipping up a sandstorm.

A sort of contemporary Western film noir fusion, The Walking Hills is a darn fine drama that is acted accordingly. Though blessed with action, tension and passion, it's as a character study where the picture excels. True enough to say it's not overly complex stuff, the greed is bad motif a standard narrative strand, as is the tricky love triangle that resides within the sandy tale, but with the wily Sturges and the shrewd LeMay pulling the strings this plays out always as compelling. With the great Lawton Jr. adding his considerable skills as a photographer - ensuring the Alabama Hills and Death Valley locations are key characters themselves - the production shines.

Often mentioned in reference to The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, it of course is not as good as that superb picture. That it earns its right to be considered a baby brother to it, though, is testament to its worth in itself. 7/10

We have been seeing this on the TV Westerns channel. It's a very film noir western. Beside the always sturdy and moral Randolph Scott, there were two special delights. Ella Raines is my long favorite among the older actresses, with her bright eyes and rather sarcastic manner always seeming to be laughing at some private joke. I feel a personal connection to her in that she was born a month after my father and followed him by a month in death. She first captured my fascination in "The Suspect" with Charles Laughton and then in "The Strange Affair of Uncle Harry" with George Sanders. Josh White is the really special feature here. How often do you find such wonderfully played Delta Blues inexplicably inserted into the plot of a 1949 western? It's not a truly great movie but still a must-see because it is so ahead of it's time. "Bad Day at Black Rock" meets "O Brother Where Art Thou."

This is a really interesting picture. In almost all respects it represents a transition from 1940's film noir to 1950's new age angst - in buckskin and boots.

It stars a diverse group of slightly shady characters who accidentally meet up in a Mexican border town and stumble across a possible fortune out in the desert. The supporting cast is first rate with John Ireland, Edgar Buchanan (as the grizzled old prospector), William Bishop, and Arthur Kennedy. The lead is Randolph Scott with the luscious Ella Raines as the love interest. Too many people underestimate Randolph Scott. They describe his acting as robotic or wooden. His range as microscopic. I even have a brother who questions his sexual orientation. I think he is underrated. He represents, to me, an all American hero in the mold of John Wayne. Whether he's in fatigues or in the saddle, his steely eyed, square jawed performance always adds something to the production. Ella Raines likewise managed to create a smoldering, sexy presence in way too many second rate movies.

This is a contemporary Western (1949) with a clearly modern twist. Not just a falling out between thieves, but an intricate, complicated plot with lots of flashbacks and character development. Most of the principal players spend valuable time beating themselves up for mistakes they made. For a bunch of coyoots, they seem to be mighty introspective. Yet, it doesn't seem to detract from the overall tension built in to the story.

I won't go into the finale, but if you liked Treasure of the Sierra Madre and you're fascinated by the legend of The Lost Dutchman Mine, tune in. You won't be disappointed.

A nice little western drama from the early part of director John Sturges' career. Simple and straight to the point screenplay from Alan Le May. Randolph Scott leads a group of treasure hunters into the whispering, shifting sands of Death Valley's "walking hills". There's a wagon load of gold waiting to be found in the desert. Top notch camera work and a very good cast that also features: Edgar Buchanan, Arthur Kennedy, John Ireland and Ella Raines. Scott as usual is stoic and commanding. Seventy-eight minute escape.