California (1947 film)
| California | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | John Farrow |
| Screenplay by | Frank Butler Theodore Strauss Seton I. Miller (uncredited) |
| Story by | Boris Ingster |
| Produced by | John Farrow Seton I. Miller |
| Starring | Ray Milland Barbara Stanwyck Barry Fitzgerald |
| Cinematography | Ray Rennahan |
| Edited by | Eda Warren |
| Music by | Victor Young |
Production company | Paramount Pictures |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 97 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $3.9 million (US rentals)[1] |
California is a 1947 American western film directed by John Farrow and featuring Ray Milland, Barbara Stanwyck, and Barry Fitzgerald.[2] Barbara Stanwyck's singing voice was dubbed by Kay St.Germaine.
Plot
A deserter who had been an Army lieutenant, Jonathan Trumbo is hired to guide a wagon train bound for California during the California Gold Rush. When a woman named Lily Bishop is accused of cheating at poker in a saloon, farmer Michael Fabian invites her to join the wagon train over Trumbo's strenuous objections. Trumbo, too, accuses of her of cheating at cards after losing to Lily, an insult she promises not to forget.
Lily leaves with Booth Pennock, a ruffian who injures Trumbo with a whip before departing. Lily ends up in Pharaoh City, running a saloon. The town is controlled by Pharaoh Coffin, a former slave trader who opposes the law and order of California approving statehood. Trumbo turns up and gets involved in a saloon brawl. Lily orders him never to set foot there again, but Trumbo wins the place in a poker game.
She mistakenly takes Pharaoh to be an honest man and moves onto his hacienda. Coffin's men beat up Trumbo, who is rescued on the trail by Mexicans and vows revenge. When his wounds heal, Trumbo returns and becomes a spokesman for statehood advocacy. Coffin's hired men kill Fabian for similar beliefs, causing Lily to finally see Coffin for the crazed villain he is. Trumbo forms a posse and corners Coffin, who is descending into madness. Lily shoots him. Trumbo, in love with Lily, promises to return to the Army to atone for his desertion, hoping someday to return to her.
Cast
- Barbara Stanwyck as Lily Bishop
- Ray Milland as Jonathan Trumbo
- Barry Fitzgerald as Michael Fabian
- George Coulouris as Pharaoh Coffin
- Albert Dekker as Pike
- Anthony Quinn as Hernandez
- Frank Faylen as Whitey
- Gavin Muir as Booth Pennock
- James Burke as Pokey
- Eduardo Ciannelli as Padre
- Roman Bohnen as Col. Stuart
- Argentina Brunetti as Elvira
- Howard Freeman as Senator Creel
- Julia Faye as Wagon Woman
- Ethan Laidlaw as Reb (uncredited)
- Ian Wolfe as James K. Polk (uncredited)
References
External links
- California at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
- California at IMDb
- California at AllMovie
- California at the TCM Movie Database
- California film trailer on YouTube
- 1947 films
- 1947 Western (genre) films
- American films
- American Western (genre) films
- English-language films
- Films scored by Victor Young
- Films directed by John Farrow
- Films set in California
- Films shot in California
- Paramount Pictures films
- California Gold Rush in fiction
- Films set in the 1840s
- Films set in the 1850s