Robert Taylor is Lance Poole, a decorated Union soldier who returns West after the Civil War dreaming of a peaceful life on his cattle ranch in the valley of Sweet Meadows.
He’s an Indian, but he’s convinced he’ll be an accepted member of the community. After all, he reasons, the country is tired of fighting, tired of war.
But all too soon, Poole finds himself locked in a life and death struggle to hold onto his land.
Seems Wyoming has become a territory, and the Homestead Act that allows individuals to stake claim to the land where they live doesn’t apply to Indians.
Louis Calhern plays Verne Coolan, the terminally-ill lawyer who hates Indians and lures sheepherders to the valley where Poole has settled.
Paula Raymond is Orrie Masters, the lady lawyer who vows to help Poole, but finds there’s little she can do.
And Edgar Buchanan plays Zeke Carmody, a sheriff sympathetic to Poole’s plight, but a man who finds himself required to enforce a law which says Indians are wards of the government and cannot own land.
Robert Taylor as Lance Poole, a decorated Civil War officer, talking about his post-war plans for Sweet Meadows in Devil’s Doorway (1950)
Paula Raymond as Orrie Masters, meeting Lance Poole for the first time in Devil’s Doorway (1950)
Review:
One of the better Westerns that’s sympathetic to the Indians in the early 1950s. No sooner has Taylor made a good living for himself on his land than prejudice against his kind threatens to take everything away from him, regardless of the fact that he won the Congressional Medal of Honor fighting for the Union during the Civil War.
Buchanan has one of his better roles as a friend of Poole’s who finds himself forced to enforce laws that treat him unjustly. Calhern has feelings for Poole, but can’t cross the racial divide to allow herself to love him.
There’s a well-filmed attack on the sheepherders by the Shoshone. A touching finale finds Poole and a small band of Indians fighting from behind barricades around his ranch, trying desperately to fight off the sheepherders, though outnumbered and outgunned.
And if the ending seems a tad implausible, it’s in keeping with the tone of the film.
Robert Taylor as Lance Poole, back from the war and getting reacquainted with old friend Zeke Carmody (Edgar Buchanan) in Devil’s Doorway (1950)
Louis Calhern as Verne Coolan, an attorney determined to open Indian-held land for homesteading in Devil’s Doorway (1950)
Directed by:
Anthony Mann
Cast:
Robert Taylor … Lance Poole
Louis Calhern … Verne Coolan
Paula Richards … Orrie Masters
Marshall Thompson … Rod MacDougall
James Mitchell … Red Rock
Edgar Buchanan … Zeke Carmody
Rhys Williams … Scotty MacDougall
Spring Byington … Mrs. Masters
James Millican … Ike Stapleton
Bruce Cowling … Lt. Grimes
Fritz Leiber … Lance’s dad
Harry Antrim … Dr. C.O. MacQuillan
Chief John Big Tree … Thundercloud
Henry Marco … Jimmy
Runtime: 84 min.
James Millican as Ike Stapleton, instigating trouble on behalf of Verne Coolan (Louis Calhern) in Devil’s Doorway (1950)
Marshall Thompson as rod MacDougall and Rhys Williams as Scotty MacDougal, trying to negotiate for use of part of Sweet Meadows in Devil’s Doorway (1950)
Memorable lines:
Lance Poole, referring to a barroom sign that reads “no liquor for Indians”: “How’d it get there?”
Marshal wZeke Carmody: “I put it there. It’s territorial law.”
Poole: “Well, you’ve got a job, Zeke.”
Carmody: “Civilization is a great thing.”
Zeke Carmody, upon learning a showdown with the Shoshone is inevitable: “I was always one of those fellas that wanted to die with my boots off. In bed, with people standing around crying over me.”
Lance to Orrie: “The color of my hide means just as much to you as it does to them out there. You found out I could be lonely for a woman like any other man, you stay on the safe side of the fence. How much does my life mean to you, Orrie? What would you give to see me live? Would you let an Indian put his arms around you? Would your conscious say he’s worth kissing?”
Cavalry officer, as Poole surrenders: “Where are the others?”
Lance Poole: “We’re all gone.”
Robert Taylor as Lance Poole, welcoming the once respected Thundercloud (Chief John Big Tree) to his ranch in Devil’s Doorway (1950)
Henry Marco as Jimmy, a young Indian boy watching the attack on Sweet Meadows in Devil’s Doorway (1950)
Fritz Leiber as Mr. Poole, trying to warn his son post-war life won’t be easy in the Indian-hating West in Devil’s Doorway (1950)
Bruce Cowling as Lt. Grimes, the cavalry officer who arrives to take control of the situation at Sweet Meadows in Devil’s Doorway (1950)
Paula Raymond as Orrie Masters and Spring Byington as her mother, coming to understand the plight of reservation Indians in Devil’s Doorway (1950)
James Mitchell as Red Rock and Robert Taylor as Lance Poole during the attack on Sweet Meadows in Devil’s Doorway (1950)
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