Stampede (1949)

You won't be disappointed!

Wow! Such a good movie.

Pretty Good

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Executive producer: Scott R. Dunlap. Copyright 1 May 1949 by Allied Artists Productions, Inc. New York opening at the Palace: 15 September 1949. U.S. release: 1 May 1949. U.K. release: 1 May 1950. Australian release through British Empire Films: 5 January 1950. Australian length: 7,332 feet. 81 minutes. Cut to 78 minutes (USA); 76 minutes (UK).COMMENT: A commendable Allied Artists attempt to make an "A" western (although the film was actually released as a "B" in England and Australia). It certainly demonstrates what the studio's usual contract talent (both in front of and behind the cameras) could do, given a halfway generous budget. True, the cast assembled here is more impressive than normal, with quickie players like Miljan and Hale giving particularly solid performances. Bit players include a number of well-known Monogram faces including Tim Ryan (as a drunk), Kenne Duncan, I. Stanford Jolley and stuntman Chuck Roberson.Director Lesley Selander has contrived some great action sequences. We especially remember a marvelous fist fight between husky Rod Cameron and two brutal assailants in a barn. But the general pace of the film is quite attractively slow, so as to show off the fine pictorial qualities of Neumann's sepia photography and the aural appeal of Kay's subdued, piano-tinkling score.The script, particularly in its heady dialogue, reveals the skillful hands of Sam Newman and W. Scott Darling.

This movie may be memorable for being Blake Edwards' second movie script, but it remains a B western with a good budget, one of Allied Artists' efforts to lift itself out of the shrinking market for Saturday morning kiddie fare. It does so by some adult themes and a bit of depth in its character study, as cattle rancher Rod Cameron denies water to the nesters coming onto the range, despite the obvious attraction he and Gale Storm have for each other.It's also visually darker than most B westerns, with the darkness lurking around the edge of the frame as people ride their horses, and in several still compositions shot, apparently, in dense forest. Everyone tries to make this a more important movie than it winds up being by techniques adopted from other film genres, but Rod Cameron's simple, muscular line readings defeat the effort.

"Stampede" was an ambitious entry from the newly created bigger budget "Allied Artists" extension of poverty row studio Monogram Pictures.Stanton (Donald Curtis) and Cox (John Eldredge) have lured unsuspecting farmers west with the promise of good land with ample water. Unfortuneatly, cattleman Mike McCall (Rod Cameron) controls all of the area's water and is reluctant to share it. Settlers John Dawson (Steve Clark) and his fiery young daughter Connie (Gale Storm) are the most vocal of those opposing McCall. Banker T.J. Forman (John Miljan) is tasked with trying to sway McCall into sharing his water.As in most of these cattlemen vs. the nesters westerns, the argument is that the cattlemen have forged the land and feel that they are entitled to all of the grazing land surrounding their ranches. That's basically the plot.McCall's brother Tim (Don Castle) takes an interest in Connie while Mike will have nothing to do with her. Sheriff Aaron Ball (Johnny Mack Brown tries to keep the peace between the two sides.Stanton plans to stampede McCall's cattle and blow up the dam blocking the water. As they are making preparations, Tim comes upon them and is shot by Stanton. Then, the gloves are off as Mike vows revenge. But the cattle are stampeded and..........................................The story was written by a young Blake Edwards who would go on to bigger and better things ("The Pink Panther", Julie Andrews et al). The stampede sequence is well done and the miniature work at its climax is quite convincing. However, the character of Mike McCall is supposed to be a big rancher yet, we never see his ranch (likely due to budget considerations).Cameron is good as the hard nosed cattleman although he does an about face in the end. Gale Storm was just emerging as a leading lady. Johnny Mack Brown, who was then starring in his own "B" series at Monogram, makes an effective sheriff. Also in the cast in roles of varying size are western veterans I. Stanford Jolley, Maxwell Reed, Kenne Duncan, Earle Hodgins, Charlie King, Kermit Maynard and Bud Osborne most of whom had appeared in many of Brown's films.Cameron and Brown would re-team the following year in "Short Grass".

Big budget Allied Artists western 'spectacular' has two really interesting moments: THE ALLIED ARTISTS LOGO done in a TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX style which is a very effective copy; and the big Stampede itself where hundreds of mad cows steer their way over a cliff. Maybe AA borrowed the Lydeckers from Republic or maybe they hopped over the studio fence to help out after hours, because it is a very well created scene in miniature that is quite convincing. From memory it is in a lightning storm...not a Gale Storm but a real studio storm. Gale Storm IS in this film, fresh from the Monogram musical blockbuster SUNBONNET SUE and perhaps some campus hi-jinks with Elyse Knox in another University set swing programmer (usually with Frankie Darro and Manton Moreland)....but I digress. STAMPEDE is a romantic western drama made with an attempt to showcase ALLIED ARTISTS as an arm of MONOGRAM that delivers bigger budget pix for the new age of 'competing with television' in the USA of 1949. Written by Blake Edwards!