Yellow Sky (1948)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

William A. Wellman

Writers:

Lamar Trotti (screenplay)
W.R. Burnett (story)

Release Date:

December 1948 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Western

Tagline:

It was a moment for being a woman for only a woman's weapon could keep her alive... now!

Plot:

Pistol-packing tomboy, and grandfather come to discover band of bank robbing bandits taking refuge in the neighboring ghost town.

Plot Keywords:

Ghost Town | Prospector | Bank Robber | Deep Focus | Beautiful Woman

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

Gregory Peck	...	James 'Stretch' Dawson
Anne Baxter	...	Constance Mae 'Mike'
Richard Widmark	...	Dude
Robert Arthur	...	Bull Run
John Russell	...	Lengthy
Harry Morgan	...	Half Pint (as Henry Morgan)
James Barton	...	Grandpa
Charles Kemper	...	Walrus
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
William Wellman Jr.	...	Boy in Hayloft (scenes deleted)

Runtime:

98 min | 95 min (FMC Library Print)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Australia:PG | USA:Approved (PCA #13224) | West Germany:12 (nf) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Alabama Hills, Lone Pine, California, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Gregory Peck initially felt he was miscast as the bank robber.

Movie Connections:

Version of Forbidden Planet (1956)

Yellow Sky (1948)

Made roughly at the time of release of the more highly acclaimed "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre," Yellow Sky never got the attention as 'Treasure...' did. In fact, for the most part it has been ignored completely, and wrongfully so. Brilliantly directed by William Wellman, along with very honest camera angles. We see all sides of the actors, not just their supposed "good sides". The cast, including Gregory Peck, Anne Baxter and Richard Widmark, all come together perfectly in highly unique fashion, and that includes everyone from Peck and Baxter all the way down to Charles Kemper and John Russell. The plot, like 'Treasure...' is about the greed for gold and the central characters' inability to trust one another because of it. Yet Yellow Sky somehow adds more to the equation, in my opinion. To me, the characters have, if not more depth, more identifiable depth for sure. The real standout, though, if there is one, is Baxter as 'Mike'. There are times in this film that she doesn't say a word and yet you can tell exactly what Mike is thinking or feeling at the time. The character's innocent confusion on what to do, what not to do, what to let happen and what not to let happen is extraordinarily acted. Emotions as intense as this portrayed successfully on screen is one of the main reasons I love films as much as I do. This is not to say, however, that there is any over-dramaticism in this film. There isn't any at all, and Yellow Sky is all the better for it. The Score, what there is of it, is magnificent in itself. First we hear a main theme at the startup, then nothing until the middle of the film when we hear a more romantic theme. First sung by Charles Kemper's 'Walrus', then on a harmonica, and later on in full musical form. It is rather subtle and not loudly played, but again, that's one of the many beauties of this film, nothing is overdone.

On another note, the DVD that FOX released this year contains the original trailer and a perfect showing of the film.