El Paso

1949 "There was one law in El Paso ... you learned to kill quick ... if you wanted to live long!"
5.8| 1h43m| NR| en| More Info
Released: 22 March 1949 Released
Producted By: Paramount
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
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Synopsis

Ex-confederate officer Clay Fletcher jumps at the chance to reunite with his once lady-friend, Susan Jeffers, when his father, Judge Fletcher, sends him on an errand to El Paso, Texas to get the signature of Susan's father, Judge Jeffers, on a legal document. Once there he finds the judge has become a drunk and a laughing stock, doing the bidding of local magnate Bert Donner and his running dog, Sheriff La Farge. Just as Clay starts straightening out the town's problems, events occur which force him to abandon the legal system and instead adopt the murderous tactics of a vigilante.

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Reviews

Matrixston Wow! Such a good movie.
CheerupSilver Very Cool!!!
Actuakers One of my all time favorites.
Jenni Devyn Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.
bsmith5552 "El Paso, a Pine/Thomas production has a large cast and plenty of violent action to satisfy the most demanding western fan. However, most of the real violence happens off screen to appease the censors.Clay Fletcher (John Payne) goes to El Paso to have Judge Henry Jeffers (Henry Hull) sign some legal documents for his grandfather Judge Fletcher (H.B. Warner). Clay also hopes to see his lost love Susan Jeffers (Gail Russell) as well. On his journey he becomes acquainted with bewhiskered Pesky (Gabby Hayes), a peddler.What Clay finds is a lawless town run by landowner Bert Donner (Sterling Hayden) and his corrupt sheriff La Farge (Dick Foran). Clay himself a lawyer, witnesses a mock trial of a prisoner accused of murder presided over by an intoxicated Judge Jeffers. The prisoner (Keith Richards) is quickly found guilty by a jury composed of Donner and his men. Clay goes to see Susan and the two try to find a way to sober up Judge Jeffers.Farmer John Elkins (Arthur Space) is told that his ranch is being sold for unpaid taxes. When he resists a deputy is shot in the scuffle. Ellis escapes to the hosienda of Mexican Don Nacho Vazquez (Eduardo Noriega) for protection. Clay decides to defend Elkins and hatches a plan to have, with Pesky's help, the Judge sobered up. At the trial, Elkins is found innocent but consequences ensue. The Elkins ranch is raided by La Farge's men who burn down their home and murder Elkins and his wife. Their son Jack (Bobby Ellis) witnesses the attack. At the same time, Judge Jeffers is dragged to death.When Clay learns of this he loses it and forms a gang of vigilantes to exact their revenge. Young Jack identifies some of the attackers who are promptly strung up. Unfortunately, Jack identifies an innocent man who is killed before the error is discovered.Judge Fletcher comes to town and he and Sally try to reason with Clay to stop his attacks. He agrees to do so but relents when Judge Fletcher's body is brought to him. This incites the final showdown with Donner and La Farge and................................................................................The finale for some reason, takes place in a sand storm which makes it difficult for the viewer to see all of the action. The brutal deaths of the two judges even though they occur off screen, are shocking.Payne and Hayden are convincing in their roles and the tragic Russell looks absolutely beautiful here. Gabby Hayes nearing the end of his long career, turns in another typical Gabby performance. But the big surprise is the casting of Dick Foran as the brutal sheriff. He normally was a good guy so this about face caught me off guard.The most surprising thing about this picture is the fact that Payne and his cohorts are not punished for the murder of the innocent Minister.Also in the cast are Irving Bacon as a stagecoach passenger, Mary Beth Hughes, Chief Yowlachie and Dewey Robinson as the bartender (what else?).
ianlouisiana When all else fails out come the Colts and Winchesters. Fine upstanding ex - Confederate officer Mr John Payne tries to Clean Up The Town by lawful means but has to resort to violence in the face of endemic corruption. The end justifies the means,eh,John? If "El Paso" has a moral message that appears to be it. Aided,if that's the word by Gabby Hayes and Gail Russel,hindered by the great Henry Hull,with heavyweight "help" such as Sterling Hayden,Mr Payne finds that friends in need are friends indeed. Mind you,nobody said either he or Haynes was clever judging from the ease with which " Stagecoach Nellie" parts then from their wallets before they arrive in town. I watched a horrible orange and grey print of this on Freeview the other night and it is a tribute to the performers that stayed to the end. The odd Fordian touch kept me from grabbing the remote but overall it's potboiling stuff all round I'm afraid.
mark.waltz Way too many familiar faces, plotlines, plot twists, graveyard plots and potholes on the streets of this Rio Grande River locale. John Payne takes the opportunity after the end of the civil war to move out west from Savannah and finds himself in trouble with the law while fighting against the corruption. This Pine/Thomas western, beautifully filmed in color, has the potential of being a great saga of settling and civilizing, but overstuffs everything like a 10 layer burrito. When the plot is set up with a pretty stagecoach con-artist Mary Beth Hughes hoodwinking the passengers, the predicted plot goes nowhere and her character simply vanishes until an appearance at the end. For romance, there's pretty Gail Russell; for conflict, Sterling Hayden, and for the bulk of the laughs, George "Gabby" Hayes. The white folks live peacefully among the Spanish folk, joining in their fiestas and picking up their culture. There's hardly any racial tension, just the fights for justice between the good guys and bad guys. It is impressively filmed, but for a good majority of this 100 minute film, I pondered the basic plot, and could only come up with a simple story with a bunch of conflicts, and nothing to really tie them together. There's a touching cameo by the ancient H.B. Warner as Payne's worried grandfather, and a shootout amongst a giant windstorm, but those are "moments". The lack of a continuity factor is the nail in the coffin of this not bad but obviously missed opportunity western
alexandre michel liberman (tmwest) I decided to see this film, after reading that it was part of Martin Scorsese's list of top westerns. John Payne is Clay Fletcher, a lawyer that goes to El Paso where he meets his former sweetheart Susan (Gail Russel) and her father Henry (Henry Hull) who is a judge, but became a drunkard and is subservient to Bert Donner (Sterling Hayden) who is trying to get for free all the nearby land of the ex confederate soldiers that fought in the civil war which has just finished.. Fletcher tries all he can in a peaceful way, but when he realizes he will not win against the dirty tactics of Donner, forms and leads a guerrilla group. The film tries to show that he is wrong, that he must respect the law, but does so in a hurried manner in the last part and that spoils the film which could have been a good western. The unconvincing, not elaborated rapid change of attitude of Payne and the members of the guerrilla group just makes you think they had to finish the film in a set time , and got carried away and let it go on too long, and then had to hurry to end it. The presence of Gail Russel who was an excellent actress and a great beauty is a positive factor.