Red Mountain *** (1951, Alan Ladd, Lizabeth Scott, Arthur Kennedy, John Ireland, Jeff Corey, James Bell) – Classic Movie Review 13,927

The 1951 Technicolor US Civil War action Western film Red Mountain stars Alan Ladd, Lizabeth Scott, Arthur Kennedy and John Ireland.

Director William Dierterle’s 1951 Paramount Pictures Technicolor Western film Red Mountain is set in 1865, stars Alan Ladd, Lizabeth Scott, Arthur Kennedy and John Ireland, with Jeff Corey and James Bell.

This modest but effective US Civil War action Western provides a smooth ride for star Alan Ladd. He plays Confederate Captain Brett Sherwood, a gunslinger who escapes from a concocted murder charge, joins up with baddie Confederate General William Quantrill (John Ireland), then finds out how nasty he is and sets about trying to shoot him down.

Brett saves the life of Lane Waldron (Arthur Kennedy) from hanging by a lynch mob, but later Lane tries to shoot Brett, who ties Lane’s hands behind his back and leaves him. Lane’s sweetheart Chris (Lizabeth Scott) arrives and releases him, they track Brett and capture him.

Though the plot gets a bit messy, the film is quick paced, is smartly acted by an excellent cast, is nicely shot in Technicolor on location in New Mexico by Charles Lang Jr, and builds through some dramatic highlights to a satisfying all-action climax.

Shooting took place near the town of Gallup in New Mexico.

The working title was Quantrill’s Raiders, rejected here but eventually used for the 1958 Steve Cochran film Quantrill’s Raiders.

When William Dieterle fell ill, an uncredited John Farrow took over.

Oddly, it premiered in the UK at the Plaza cinema in London on 3 August 1951 before its New York debut on 25 April 1952.

Cast: Alan Ladd as Captain Brett Sherwood, Lizabeth Scott as Chris, Arthur Kennedy as Lane Waldron, John Ireland as General William Quantrill, Jeff Corey as Sgt Skee, James Bell as Dr Terry, Bert Freed as Sgt Randall, Walter Sande as Benjie, Neville Brand as Dixon, Carleton Young as Morgan, Francis McDonald as Marshal Roberts, Whit Bissell, Jay Silverheels, Iron Eyes Cody, Dan White, Ralph Moody,

Red Mountain is directed by William Dierterle, runs 84 minutes, is made by Hal Wallis Productions, is released by Paramount, is written by John Meredyth Lucas, George W George and George F Slavin, based on a story by George W George and George F Slavin, is shot in Technicolor by Charles Lang Jr, is produced by Hal B Wallis, and is scored by Franz Waxman.

German-born actor and film director William Dieterle (July 15, 1893 – December 9, 1972) immigrated to the US in 1930 to escape the political situation in Germany. But in America in the 1950s his career declined during the era of  McCarthyism. Dieterle, who helped get people out of Nazi Germany and helped many left-wing friends in the 1930s, said: ‘I must have been on some kind of grey list because I couldn’t get any work.’ He quit films in 1965 and moved back to Germany where he ran a theatre near Munich.

© Derek Winnert 2026 – Classic Movie Review 13,927

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