Post by petrolino on Feb 16, 2018 23:18:02 GMT
'Hellgate' is a cut-price crime western set in Kansas during the 1860s. Veterinarian Gilman Hanley (Sterling Hayden) is a former Civil War soldier who fought for the Confederacy but now lives in Yankee territory. His wife Ellen (Joan Leslie) is equally mistrusted by their local community and has come under threat over their marriage union. When Gil unwittingly helps out members of a vicious criminal gang, he's stitched up by sneering terrorist Vern Brechene (James Anderson) and sent down for being an accessory to wholesale murder. Ellen vows to take her husband's case all the way to the highest office in the land but time's running out for Gil to take his last meal.
Charles Marquis Warren's 'Hellgate' is a subterranean prison drama in which disturbed warden Lieutenant Tod Voorhees (Ward Bond) dishes out physical and psychological torture to prisoners who've been starved to the point of delusion. Sterling Hayden is in imposing form as incarcerated soldier Gil Hanley who shares a cell with twisted tormentor George Redfield (James Arness), scarred soul-searcher Gundy Boyd (John Pickard), crumpled inmate George Nye (Richard Paxton) and convicted clown Jumper Hall (Peter Coe). Joan Leslie displays a caring nature as educated campaigner Ellen Hanley and Ward Bond excels as a Christian prison officer who believes he's been elected to his position of power as a means to right some personal wrongs.
Life is cheap in 'Hellgate'; the story design of this gritty jailhouse riff absorbs elements of dangerous 1930s classics 'I Am A Fugitive From A Chain Gang' (1932), 'The Most Dangerous Game' (1932) 'Fury' (1936) and 'The Prisoner Of Zenda' (1937), and the "good 'ol rebel" who falls under suspicion here is certainly no saint. There are overground traps laid by the authorities and the sun comes beating down hard, forcing a prison cell fashioned as a terrorist cell to fight back against a rigged system.
'Posse From Hell' is a spiritual western based on a novel by Clair Huffaker that packs a punch. In 1880, Crip (Vic Morrow) leads death row escapees Leo (Lee Van Cleef), Chunk (Henry Willis) and Hash (Charles Horvath) on a mission to take over the small town of Paradise by force. A posse is formed to hunt down the furious four led by jaded gunfighter Banner Cole (Audie Murphy).
In the endurance test 'Posse From Hell', authority brings responsibility and raises some members of a posse up, while others wilt away under an unforgiving desert sun. A few real men are filtered from a glut of poisonous, backstabbing cowards and then forced to stand up for what they believe in, a passion encompassed on the trail by honourable farmer Johnny Caddo (Rodolfo Acosta) who serves with distinction and handy banker Seymour Kern (John Saxon) who's the one man keen to evolve. Being deputised brings fresh leadership qualities out of bitter loner Banner who comes to realise there's still plenty he can glean from others.
'Posse From Hell' is an entertaining western in which Audie Murphy schools John Saxon on the warrior code and reveals the true fighter underneath. A great partnership develops between the two and that alone makes this film worth seeing. Oddball thespian Zohra Lampert is typically strange as stolen wallflower Helen Caldwell and Rodolfo Acosta is aces as measured pursuer Johnny Caddo. The action scenes are nicely done and the story keeps moving thanks to the astute handling of director Herbert Coleman, a longtime associate of suspense master Alfred Hitchcock.
'KANSAS, 1867 -- A STATE OVERRUN BY GUERRILLA TERRORISTS IN THE WAKE OF THE CIVIL WAR.'
Sterling Hayden
Charles Marquis Warren's 'Hellgate' is a subterranean prison drama in which disturbed warden Lieutenant Tod Voorhees (Ward Bond) dishes out physical and psychological torture to prisoners who've been starved to the point of delusion. Sterling Hayden is in imposing form as incarcerated soldier Gil Hanley who shares a cell with twisted tormentor George Redfield (James Arness), scarred soul-searcher Gundy Boyd (John Pickard), crumpled inmate George Nye (Richard Paxton) and convicted clown Jumper Hall (Peter Coe). Joan Leslie displays a caring nature as educated campaigner Ellen Hanley and Ward Bond excels as a Christian prison officer who believes he's been elected to his position of power as a means to right some personal wrongs.
"To be truly challenging, a voyage, like a life, must rest on a firm foundation of financial unrest. Otherwise, you are doomed to a routine traverse, the kind known to yachtsmen who play with their boats at sea... "cruising" it is called. Voyaging belongs to seamen, and to the wanderers of the world who cannot, or will not, fit in. If you are contemplating a voyage and you have the means, abandon the venture until your fortunes change. Only then will you know what the sea is all about."
- Sterling Hayden, 'Wanderer'
"By age 17, Joan Leslie was on the cover of the Oct. 26, 1942, issue of LIFE magazine. “Joan Leslie: girlish and unassuming, at age 17 she shines brightly as a full-fledged movie star able to sing, dance and act,” the magazine headline said.
Joan Leslie on the cover of Life, Oct. 1942. By this time, Leslie had starred with Humphrey Bogart a second time in “Thieves Fall Out” (1941). Still in her teens, she played the love interest to top stars such as Gary Cooper in “Sergeant York” (1941) and James Cagney in “Yankee Doodle Dandy” (1942). “When you talk about working with the best, I’ll always remember Jimmy Cagney. What a creative, dynamic person he was,” she said in a 1999 interview. Both Cooper and Cagney received Academy Awards for Best Actor for their respective roles."
- Comet Over Hollywood, 'A Colourful Life : Remembering Joan Leslie'
- Sterling Hayden, 'Wanderer'
"By age 17, Joan Leslie was on the cover of the Oct. 26, 1942, issue of LIFE magazine. “Joan Leslie: girlish and unassuming, at age 17 she shines brightly as a full-fledged movie star able to sing, dance and act,” the magazine headline said.
Joan Leslie on the cover of Life, Oct. 1942. By this time, Leslie had starred with Humphrey Bogart a second time in “Thieves Fall Out” (1941). Still in her teens, she played the love interest to top stars such as Gary Cooper in “Sergeant York” (1941) and James Cagney in “Yankee Doodle Dandy” (1942). “When you talk about working with the best, I’ll always remember Jimmy Cagney. What a creative, dynamic person he was,” she said in a 1999 interview. Both Cooper and Cagney received Academy Awards for Best Actor for their respective roles."
- Comet Over Hollywood, 'A Colourful Life : Remembering Joan Leslie'
Joan Leslie
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'We're An American Band' - Grand Funk Railroad
'We're An American Band' - Grand Funk Railroad
Life is cheap in 'Hellgate'; the story design of this gritty jailhouse riff absorbs elements of dangerous 1930s classics 'I Am A Fugitive From A Chain Gang' (1932), 'The Most Dangerous Game' (1932) 'Fury' (1936) and 'The Prisoner Of Zenda' (1937), and the "good 'ol rebel" who falls under suspicion here is certainly no saint. There are overground traps laid by the authorities and the sun comes beating down hard, forcing a prison cell fashioned as a terrorist cell to fight back against a rigged system.
'Posse From Hell' is a spiritual western based on a novel by Clair Huffaker that packs a punch. In 1880, Crip (Vic Morrow) leads death row escapees Leo (Lee Van Cleef), Chunk (Henry Willis) and Hash (Charles Horvath) on a mission to take over the small town of Paradise by force. A posse is formed to hunt down the furious four led by jaded gunfighter Banner Cole (Audie Murphy).
"Like many returning war veterans. Audie Murphy suffered from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. The film actor, David Niven, recorded in his biography that not only would Murphy sleep with a loaded gun next to him, but would occasionally wake up startled fellow actors by firing off a round when he himself woke up."
- Ivano Massari, War History Online
- Ivano Massari, War History Online
Audie Murphy
In the endurance test 'Posse From Hell', authority brings responsibility and raises some members of a posse up, while others wilt away under an unforgiving desert sun. A few real men are filtered from a glut of poisonous, backstabbing cowards and then forced to stand up for what they believe in, a passion encompassed on the trail by honourable farmer Johnny Caddo (Rodolfo Acosta) who serves with distinction and handy banker Seymour Kern (John Saxon) who's the one man keen to evolve. Being deputised brings fresh leadership qualities out of bitter loner Banner who comes to realise there's still plenty he can glean from others.
"Zohra Lampert, a gifted film, TV & stage leading lady/character women since the 1950's, celebrates her 80th birthday on May 13, 2017. The attractive brunette is probably best remembered for playing the title role in the 1971 cult psychological thriller classic Let's Scare Jessica To Death; Lampert gives an award-worthy performance as the mentally fragile Jessica. Lampert had her greatest success on the Broadway stage, snaring Tony Nominations for 1961's LOOK, WE'VE COME THROUGH (Best Featured Actress in a Play) and 1963's MOTHER COURAGE AND HER CHILDREN (Best Featured Actress in a Play)."
- Scott Rollins, 'Happy Birthday Zohra Lampert'
- Scott Rollins, 'Happy Birthday Zohra Lampert'
Audie Murphy & John Saxon
'Never Marry A Railroad Man' - Shocking Blue
'Never Marry A Railroad Man' - Shocking Blue
'Posse From Hell' is an entertaining western in which Audie Murphy schools John Saxon on the warrior code and reveals the true fighter underneath. A great partnership develops between the two and that alone makes this film worth seeing. Oddball thespian Zohra Lampert is typically strange as stolen wallflower Helen Caldwell and Rodolfo Acosta is aces as measured pursuer Johnny Caddo. The action scenes are nicely done and the story keeps moving thanks to the astute handling of director Herbert Coleman, a longtime associate of suspense master Alfred Hitchcock.
