Dawn at Socorro (1954)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

George Sherman

Writer:

George Zuckerman (writer)

Release Date:

1 September 1954 (USA)

Genre:

Western

Tagline:

LAST OF THE FRONTIER GAMBLERS! (original ad - all caps)

Plot:

Gunfighter Brett Wade, diagnosed with tuberculosis, tries to get out of his former life while helping a young woman.

Plot Keywords:

Tuberculosis | Gunfighter | Beautiful Woman

Cast

Rory Calhoun	...	Brett Rutledge Wade
Piper Laurie	...	Rannah Hayes
David Brian	...	Dick Braden
Kathleen Hughes	...	Clare
Alex Nicol	...	Jimmy Rapp
Edgar Buchanan	...	Sheriff Cauthen
Mara Corday	...	Letty Diamond
Roy Roberts	...	Doc Jameson
Skip Homeier	...	Buddy Ferris
James Millican	...	Marshal Harry McNair
Lee Van Cleef	...	Earl Ferris
Stanley Andrews	...	Old Man Tom Ferris
Richard Garland	...	Tom Ferris
Scott Lee	...	Deputy Vince McNair
Paul Brinegar	...	Desk Clerk

Runtime:

80 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.00 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono | Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

West Germany:16 (nf) | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #16990, General Audience) (original rating) | USA:TV-PG (TV rating)

Filming Locations:

Victorville, California, USA

Company:

Universal International Pictures (UI)

Quotes:

Brett Wade: All right, what is it?
Doc Jameson: You know why you've been coughing so much lately? You never gave that wound time to heal properly. It's inflaming your lung.
Brett Wade: Is that a medical opinion or fact?
Doc Jameson: Oh, the way you go at it with whiskey, women and poker! It's a sucker's game!
Brett Wade: I always thought the game would end with one well-placed bullet.
Doc Jameson: Well, it still might... there are plenty of shooting days until Christmas.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Get a Life (2006) (V)

Under rated classic 50's Western

Any student of real western history will recognise the characters and part of the plot as being related to the Doc Holliday / Wyatt Earp /Clanton feud in Tombstone. Rory Calhoun is pretty obviously Doc while James Millican is Wyatt. The shootout in the stockyards is based on the OK corral and the screenwriters offer an interesting story on what happened next. Alex Nicol as Jimmy Rapp (John Ringo) is nicely portrayed and the movie moves along with a good pace of action, motivation and characterisation. Certainly a classic, considering the studio system in operation at the time it was made.A lot of effort and thought obviously went into its production. Well worth seeing.