| One Foot in Hell | |
|---|---|
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| Directed by | James B. Clark |
| Written by | Aaron Spelling Sydney Boehm |
| Produced by | Sydney Boehm |
| Starring | Alan Ladd Don Murray Dan O'Herlihy |
| Cinematography | William C. Mellor |
| Edited by | Eda Warren |
| Music by | Dominic Frontiere |
| Distributed by | Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation |
Release date |
|
Running time | 89 min. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $1,090,000[1] |
One Foot in Hell is a 1960 Western DeLuxe Color and CinemaScope film starring Alan Ladd, Don Murray and Dan O'Herlihy, co-written by Aaron Spelling from a story by Spelling.
Synopsis
Mitch Barrett (Alan Ladd) is a former Confederate soldier emigrating to the West whose wife Ellie (Rachel Stephens) dies in childbirth in a small cattle town in Arizona because of what Mitch sees as the heartlessness of three local men - George Caldwell the hotel keeper (Henry Norell ), Sam Giller the general store owner (John Alexander) and Ole Olsen the sheriff (Karl Swenson). Unhinged by Ellie's death, he plots to get his revenge by robbing the local bank of $100,000 deposited by a rich cattleman, thus ruining the town.
He accepts the job of deputy sheriff, then murders the sheriff so that he can take his place. To help him carry out the elaborately-planned robbery, he recruits four people: Dan Keats (Don Murray), an alcoholic ex-Confederate soldier who scrapes a living drawing portraits of the customers in saloons; Sir Harry Ivers 'of the Lancaster Ivers' (Dan O'Herlihy), an upper-class-sounding English pickpocket; Julie Reynolds (Dolores Michaels), a prostitute who hopes for enough money to go East and make a respectable life for herself; and Stu Christian (Barry Coe), a ruthless gunman. During the robbery, on Mitch's instructions, Ivers and Christian kill the store owner and the hotel keeper.
Afterwards, Mitch sets out to eliminate the other members of the gang in order to conceal his own part in the plot. He succeeds in killing Ivers and Christian but when he corners Dan and Julie, who have fallen in love, Julie manages to kill him. Dan and Julie then return the money, prepared to stand trial and spend some years in jail with the prospect of long-term happiness awaiting them after their release.
Cast
- Alan Ladd as Mitch Barrett
- Don Murray as Dan Keats
- Dan O'Herlihy as Sir Harry Ivers
- Dolores Michaels as Julie Reynolds
- Barry Coe as Stu Christian
- Larry Gates as Doc Seltzer
- Karl Swenson as Sheriff Ole Olsen
- John Alexander as Sam Giller, the general store owner
- Henry Norell as George Caldwell, the hotel keeper
- Rachel Stephens as Ellie Barrett
Production
The film was known as Gunslinger.[2]
Filming was interrupted when the Screen Actors Guild went on strike during the shoot on March 7.[3] Filming resumed on 11 April.[4][5]
See also
References
- ^ Solomon, Aubrey. Twentieth Century Fox: A Corporate and Financial History (The Scarecrow Filmmakers Series). Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 1989. ISBN 978-0-8108-4244-1. p252
- ^ Widmark to Act in Great Britain: Peggy Lee to Return lo Drama; Marilyn Forced to Cool Heels Hopper, Hedda. Los Angeles Times (1923-Current File) [Los Angeles, Calif] 11 Feb 1960: B10.
- ^ FILM WORK GRINDS TOWARD A HALT: Industry Gloomy as Actors Ready Walkout Tomorrow -- No Contract Talks Set By MURRAY SCHUMACHSpecial to The New York Times.. New York Times (1923-Current file) [New York, N.Y] 06 Mar 1960: 79
- ^ Hollywood Prepares to Resume Production: Scattered Film Companies Must Be Brought Together; Some Studios Ready Los Angeles Times (1923-Current File) [Los Angeles, Calif] 09 Apr 1960: 2.
- ^ Fox Will Resume Work on Four Films Today Los Angeles Times (1923-Current File) [Los Angeles, Calif] 11 Apr 1960: B1
External links
- One Foot in Hell at TCMDB
- One Foot in Hell at IMDB
- One Foot in Hell at AllMovie
- One Foot in Hell at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films