When I picked it out of the sale bin, "These Thousand Hills" looked like a routine, unselfconscious western of the 1950's. I bought it because it had a good cast including two actors I really like, Lee Remick and Richard Egan.
However after a fairly standard start, the big surprise was that the story took a left-hand turn at the midpoint, exposing darkness within the good guys, and giving the drama psychological shadings that may even have had William Shakespeare shouting, "Author! Author!".
Don Murray stars as Lat Evans, an ambitious young cowboy who wants to own a ranch of his own. He partners with Tom Ping, an easy-going cowboy played by Stuart Whitman, who saves his life early in the movie. They encounter Jehu, played by Richard Egan, a ruthless rancher destined to become their enemy. They also meet a couple of saloon girls, one of them, Callie, played by Lee Remick, falls in love with Lat. She gives him her life savings to buy the ranch.
With this start, Lat is successful. He begins to associate with the town's classier citizens, and leaves Callie to marry Joyce, a banker's niece played by Patricia Owens. Lat also begins to look down on people, once his friends, who he now thinks beneath him; eventually he falls out with Tom. Events unfold that lead Lat to regret his actions. He sets out to put things right with a final confrontation with Jehu.
Not your average oater that's for sure, but the story, obviously condensed from the original novel, plays out over a period of time, and it was a lot to cram into 96 minutes.
The opening scenes of the cattle drive are spectacular, which is just as well as the set design of the town and the interiors is uninspired, not much above the look of the studio-bound television westerns of the time.
Top-billed Don Murray gives a pretty good performance for an actor who looked perennially youthful throughout his career; he was thirty when he made this but looks younger.
Lee Remick is the standout. A year before, she had burst onto the screen in "A Face in the Crowd". That film was in black and white, this one is in colour. The black and white camera loved her, but the colour camera adored her. Great roles were ahead, but it's fascinating to catch her just before that happened.
Then there is Richard Egan. While this was a supporting role he was a scene-stealer. He had a great voice and more teeth and muscles than just about any other actor. He had similarities to Burt Lancaster, but he never made it as big. He just didn't exude that sense of danger that gave Burt the edge as a star.
I remember reading that Charles Bronson had backed down from a potential fight with Richard Egan while working on the TV series "Empire". Charlie was smart, it wouldn't have been pretty. Egan was not only bigger, but had also taught hand-to-hand combat in the army during World War 2. He may not have exuded Lancaster's sense of danger on the screen, however he really was dangerous.
"These Thousand Hills" gave complex motivations to its characters, as did many of the urban dramas at the time. It took a different approach than most westerns, and for the most part it succeeded.
However after a fairly standard start, the big surprise was that the story took a left-hand turn at the midpoint, exposing darkness within the good guys, and giving the drama psychological shadings that may even have had William Shakespeare shouting, "Author! Author!".
Don Murray stars as Lat Evans, an ambitious young cowboy who wants to own a ranch of his own. He partners with Tom Ping, an easy-going cowboy played by Stuart Whitman, who saves his life early in the movie. They encounter Jehu, played by Richard Egan, a ruthless rancher destined to become their enemy. They also meet a couple of saloon girls, one of them, Callie, played by Lee Remick, falls in love with Lat. She gives him her life savings to buy the ranch.
With this start, Lat is successful. He begins to associate with the town's classier citizens, and leaves Callie to marry Joyce, a banker's niece played by Patricia Owens. Lat also begins to look down on people, once his friends, who he now thinks beneath him; eventually he falls out with Tom. Events unfold that lead Lat to regret his actions. He sets out to put things right with a final confrontation with Jehu.
Not your average oater that's for sure, but the story, obviously condensed from the original novel, plays out over a period of time, and it was a lot to cram into 96 minutes.
The opening scenes of the cattle drive are spectacular, which is just as well as the set design of the town and the interiors is uninspired, not much above the look of the studio-bound television westerns of the time.
Top-billed Don Murray gives a pretty good performance for an actor who looked perennially youthful throughout his career; he was thirty when he made this but looks younger.
Lee Remick is the standout. A year before, she had burst onto the screen in "A Face in the Crowd". That film was in black and white, this one is in colour. The black and white camera loved her, but the colour camera adored her. Great roles were ahead, but it's fascinating to catch her just before that happened.
Then there is Richard Egan. While this was a supporting role he was a scene-stealer. He had a great voice and more teeth and muscles than just about any other actor. He had similarities to Burt Lancaster, but he never made it as big. He just didn't exude that sense of danger that gave Burt the edge as a star.
I remember reading that Charles Bronson had backed down from a potential fight with Richard Egan while working on the TV series "Empire". Charlie was smart, it wouldn't have been pretty. Egan was not only bigger, but had also taught hand-to-hand combat in the army during World War 2. He may not have exuded Lancaster's sense of danger on the screen, however he really was dangerous.
"These Thousand Hills" gave complex motivations to its characters, as did many of the urban dramas at the time. It took a different approach than most westerns, and for the most part it succeeded.