Horizons West
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Budd Boetticher
Robert Ryan
Julia Adams
Rock Hudson
Judith Braun
John Mcintire
Photos & Videos
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Brothers Dan and Neal Hammond and their father's foreman, Tiny McGilligan, head for their ranch in Texas after fighting for the Confederacy during the Civil War. Although Neal is eager to get back to ranching, Dan has grown bitter and restless. Along the way, they stop in Austin, which has grown astronomically with the influx of Northern capital, and Dan flirts with a beautiful stranger named Lorna, soon discovering that she is married to wealthy cattle rancher Cord Hardin. Meanwhile, Neal is delighted to see old friend Sally Eaton, who seems more interested in Dan. They continue to the ranch, where their father Ira and mother Martha rejoice to see their sons again. Within a few weeks, Dan confesses to Ira that he no longer has patience for ranching. He returns to Austin to ask the town commissioner, Frank Tarleton, to introduce him to moneyed businessmen, and that night receives an invitation to a poker game with Hardin. During the game, Dan is winning until Hardin, noting Lorna's interest in Dan, ups the ante and wins a $5,000 hand. When Dan explains that he cannot pay him yet, Hardin slaps him and throws him out. Incensed, Dan goes out to the range, where a group of war deserters has set up camp. After proving his mettle by fighting two of them and finding an old Army friend, Dandy Taylor, Dan convinces the men to work for him rustling cattle. Over the next months, they sell the stolen cattle for thousands of dollars to a renegade Mexican general in the border territory of Zona Libre. By the time of his parents' anniversary, Dan is wealthy enough to present them with the paid title to the ranch. That night, Sally informs Neal that she will give him a chance even though she loves Dan. Dan, meanwhile, finds Hardin in town and, after repaying the $5,000 debt, slaps him. Hardin, noting Dan's newfound riches deduces that he is the rustler who has been stealing cattle from him and others. He and his men abduct Neal and torture him to reveal Dan's secrets, and when Lorna sees them, she races to inform Dan. Dan, backed by his men, rescues Neal and beats up Hardin. Hardin falls to the ground and grabs a gun, and when he fires, Dan kills him. During the subsequent trial, Dan is declared innocent after Lorna defends him, and later that night the two fall into each others' arms. With Lorna by his side, Dan grows greedy and begins a reign of terror throughout the state, forcing small ranchers to sign over their deeds to him, and bribing or electing all the local politicians. Soon, the small ranchers gather to work against Dan. Neal tries to talk to his brother, but when he blames Lorna for Dan's corruption, Dan punches him and throws him out. Lorna begs him to leave town before the ranchers kill him, but he insists on saving his "empire." When he learns that Tarleton is leaving for the capital for help in reestablishing the Texas Rangers, Dan brings in Dandy to attempt to intimidate the commissioner. Dandy rashly kills Tarleton, and Dan is blamed. Neal, who has recently been named sheriff, takes Dan into custody. The local judge is one of Dan's cronies and supports him, but soon a lynch mob gathers outside the jail and Dan has Tiny hide Dan in the church. There, Dan kills his old friend, then escapes with Lorna to Zona Libre. Ira finds him there, and almost has Dan convinced to give up when Neal bursts in, unknowingly foiling Ira's plan. Holding a gun to his father's head, Dan almost escapes again, but is shot by a rancher as he runs. He falls into Lorna's arms, but his last words are an unfinished apology to his father. Later, Martha and Sally watch proudly as Neal and Ira round up their new herd and head to Abilene.
Director
Budd Boetticher
Cast
Robert Ryan
Julia Adams
Rock Hudson
Judith Braun
John Mcintire
Raymond Burr
James Arness
Dennis Weaver
Frances Bavier
Tom Powers
John Hubbard
Rodolfo Acosta
Douglas Fowley
Walter Reed
Raymond Greenleaf
Dan Poore
Frank Chase
Mae Clarke
Tom Monroe
Lillian Molieri
Dan White
Edward Coch Jr.
Paulette Turner
John Harmon
Robert Bice
Tom Riste
Peter Mamakos
Alberto Morin
Tyler Mcvey
Ewing Mitchell
Forbes Murray
Everett Glass
Edwin Parker
Fred Coby
William Gould
Philo Mccullough
Jack Holmes
Alex Sharp
Monte Montague
Victor Millan
Joe Bailey
Ed Hinkle
Charles Gibb
Tommy Mann
Dean Henson
Lou Slim Gaut
Dorothy O'brien
Helen Gibson
Bert Kennedy
Paul Mcguire
Buddy Roosevelt
Claude Dunkin
Chester Jones
Crew
Irvin Berwick
Charles P. Boyle
Leslie I. Carey
Robert Clatworthy
Albert J. Cohen
Eddie Dodds
William Fritzsche
Russell A. Gausman
Joseph Gershenson
Bernard Herzbrun
Joe Kenny
Ted J. Kent
Joe Kish
Rosemary Odell
Robert Pritchard
Joan St. Oegger
Louis Stevens
Les Warner
Bud Westmore
Photo Collections
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The working title of this film was The Texas Man. Horizons West marked the feature film debut of actor Dennis Weaver (1924-2006), who acted in a number of films but was best known for role as "Chester" in the long-running 1950s television Western series Gunsmoke and as the title character in the popular 1970s detective series McLeod.
Miscellaneous Notes
Released in United States Fall October 1952
Released in United States Fall October 1952
