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	January 14, 1947 (1947-01-14)
Running time	97 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Box office	$3.9 million (US rentals)

California is a 1947 American Western film directed by John Farrow and featuring Ray Milland, Barbara Stanwyck, and Barry Fitzgerald. Stanwyck's singing voice was dubbed by Kay St. Germaine.

Plot

Jonathan Trumbo, a deserter who had been an army lieutenant, 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 also accuses her of cheating at cards after losing to Lily, an insult that 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 law and order and California statehood. After Trumbo becomes involved in a saloon brawl, Lily orders him to never return to the saloon, but Trumbo wins the place in a poker game.

Lily mistakenly takes Pharaoh to be an honest man and moves into his hacienda. Coffin's men assault 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, and Lily shoots him. Trumbo, in love with Lily, promises to return to the army to atone for his desertion, hoping to someday 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)
• Lester Dorr as Mike, the Dealer (uncredited)

External links

• California at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
• California at IMDb
• California at AllMovie
• California at the TCM Movie Database
• California at Letterboxd