Dane Clark is Bob Peters, an outlaw on the run from the law who winds up in a town called Peaceful Haven. Ruth Roman as Judith Burns is on the run, too. When Peaceful Haven’s sheriff recognizes her, she hops into the driver’s seat of a stagecoach and takes off, with passenger Aubrey Milburn in tow.
The stage flips, both are injured, Judith seriously. Pretty soon, all three are at a mine run by ruthless Boss Kruger (Robert Massey). Judith is near death; Milburgn has a bum ankle; Peters figures working at a mine beats being locked up in prison.
Turns out everyone working the mine is hiding from something, and the mine is a good place to hide if you don’t mind working under Kruger’s thumb.
Kruger has an ulterior motive for keeping an obediant band of men at the ready. He’s swindled a relative out of the mine, and the relative is likely to come calling one day with some armed friends.
Review:
If you’re not familiar with 1941 “The Sea Wolf,” you’re more likely to be impressed with this film, which basically lifts the same plot from the Edward G. Robinson classic and takes it out West.
Either way, it’s a refreshingly different story for a Western. And if Dane Clark isn’t quite up to pulling off the lead role, Robert Massey is quite capable of turning in a rather possessed performance as Boss Kruger.
Particularly effective are a scene in which he’s trapped by a mine cave-in and the fistfight that serves as the film’s finale.
Directed by:
Peter Godfrey
Cast:
Dane Clark … Bob Peters
Raymond Massey … Boss Kruger
Ruth Roman … Judith Burns
Robert Douglas … Aubrey Milburn
Morgan Farley … The Judge
Walter Coy … Benson
George Stern … Tippy
Farnk Marlowe … Brandy
Tony Martinez … Peso
Robert Griffin … Kriby
Runtime: 77 min.
Memorable lines:
Tippy: “Don’t let the name of this town fool you. It’s a haven all right, but not for the peaceful. Who do you think named this town? Kruger himself. A very whimsical gentleman.”
Tippy: “There’s worse things in life than death.”
Peters: “What does that mean?”
3rd man: “Nothing. Tippy just likes to hear himself talk.”
Kruger: “I hate sneaks, Mr. Milburn. Especially gentleman sneaks.”
Kruger: “I’ll gamble on the immortality of man and take what I can while I can. And if I have to pay the devil, I have a hunch we’ll get along just fine.”
Milburn: “Dignity is a funny thing. Some men refuse to live without it.”
Peters: “Never thought you’d go crawling to Kruger like that. What kind of girl are you, anyway?”
Judith: “Not as bad as you think I am. Not as good as I’d like to be.”
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