The Proud Rebel

1958

1h 43m

IMDb RATING

5.9/10

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Western

Drama

Searching for a doctor who can help him get his son to speak again--the boy hadn't uttered a word since he saw his mother die in the fire that burned down the family home--a Confederate veteran finds himself facing a 30-day jail sentence when he's unfairly accused of starting a brawl in a small town. A local woman pays his fine, providing that he works it off on her ranch. He soon finds himself involved in the woman's struggle to keep her ranch from a local landowner who wants it--and whose sons were responsible for the man being framed for the fight.

Directors

Michael Curtiz

Writers

Lillie Hayward(screenplay by)

James Edward Grant(story by)

Joseph Petracca(screenplay by)

Stars

Alan Ladd

Olivia de Havilland

Dean Jagger

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Watch Proud Rebel 1958

Photos22

Top cast

John Chandler

Linnett Moore

Harry Burleigh

David Chandler

Dr. Enos Davis

Jeb Burleigh

Tom Burleigh

Judge Morley

Gorman

Traveling Salesman

Birm Bates

Lance, David's Dog

Photographer (uncredited)

Dan White

Court Clerk (uncredited)

Mary Wickes

Mrs. Ainsley (uncredited)

Directors

Michael Curtiz

Writers

Lillie Hayward(screenplay by)

James Edward Grant(story by)

Joseph Petracca(screenplay by)

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5/10

***Sort of a low-key drama version of “Shane,” set in Illinois (Why Sure!)*** After the Civil War, a former Confederate (Alan Ladd) travels the North searching for a doctor who can heal his son's shock-induced muteness (the boy is played by Alan’s real-life son, David). He ends up working on the farm of a woman (Olivia de Havilland) to pay off a debt and has to contend with troublesome sheep ranchers. The tone and some plot elements are reminiscent of “Shane” (1953), which is unsurprising seeing as how “Shane” is one of the greatest Westerns of all time and producers would like to reproduce its success. The big difference here is that the woman lives alone on her farm and Alan’s character isn’t a former kick-axx gunfighter, although he is a former Confederate soldier and that’s nothing to sneeze at. The highlight for me is the two stars. Olivia was still beautiful at 41 during shooting, inside and out; while Ladd still had his world-weary charisma at 44. But he looks older and would be dead in 5.5 years at the premature age of 50 from an acute overdose of alcohol and sedatives. It’s a pity his son would be bereft of his father by 15. As my title blurb says, this is decidedly a drama compared to “Shane” (which, admittedly, contained a lot of realistic drama) although there is a brief brouhaha early on and a shootout later. It’s akin to The Waltons, but without the teenaged kids. Regrettably, there’s a problem with the drama, but I don’t want to say too much. Let’s just say that one character comes across as a stiff dud who doesn’t see the gold standing right before his eyes. Aduh. Another serious problem is the southern Utah locations, which are a horrible stand-in for Illinois. It’s blatantly obvious to anyone who’s been anywhere near Illinois that the film wasn’t shot within a thousand miles of the state. There are plenty of suitable locations in the Eastern USA & Canada and around the globe that resemble Illinois; so this is unforgiveable. The movie runs 1 hour, 43 minutes and was shot in Kanab and Cedar City, Utah. GRADE: C+

Wuchak18 Oct, 2018