It’s 1842 in the Oregon Territory, and if you’re a woman who suddenly becomes eligible, watch out.
The first man to claim you — with the strength or gun skill to hold you — gets you for his.
That’s the law that’s been laid down by Gerald Montgomery (Herbert Rudley), who owns most of the land in these here parts and may as well own the area’s most desirable woman (Yvonne De Carlo as Hannah Montgomery).
One day Hannah’s assaulted by a man she can’t identify. A man named Dan Kirby gets the blame, and Montgomery has him hanged.
That’s sets the stage for Rory Calhoun’s arrival as Tex Kirby, Dan’s brother, who vows to get revenge.
In the meantime, men begin to cling around Hannah, sensing she’ll soon be free for the taking.
They figure if Tex Kirby doesn’t get Montgomery, the rampaging Indians surely will.
Rory Calhoun as Tex Kirby learns of his brother’s fate from Paca in Raw Edge (1956)
Yvonne De Carlo as Hannah Montgomery, greeting a stranger to her husband’s ranch in Raw Edge (1956)
Review:
An unusual premise breeds an unusual and somewhat hysterical Western.
The men who gather at the Montgomery ranch, just waiting to claim lovely Hannah include gambler John Randolph (Rex Reason), Pop Penny (Emille Meyer) and his son Tarp (Neville Brand).
Kirby winds up at the ranch, too. He’s waiting for Hannah’s husband to return. But Gerald Montgomery is trapped in the hills by marauding Indians. At least until a pretty young Indian woman named Paca (Mara Corday) intervenes.
She was the wife of Kirby’s brother. Now she’s a victim of Montgomery’s law, claimed by his right-hand man, Sile Doty. And she, too, wants to get even with the man who thinks might is right in 1840s Oregon.
Among the film’s highlights: The final brawl between Tex and Tarp and its rather odd outcome.
Herbert Rudley, in trouble with the Indians who promised his safe passage in Raw Edge (1956)
Rex Reason as John Randolph, a gambler hoping to wind up with Hannah Montgomery as his winning hand in Raw Edge (1956)
Directed by:
John Sherwood
Cast:
Rory Calhoun … Tex Kirby
Yvonne De Carlo … Hannah Montgomery
Herbert Rudley … Gerald Montgomery
Mara Corday … Paca
Neville Brand … Tarp Penny
Emille Meyer … Pop Penny
Rex Reason … John Randolph
Robert J. Wilke … Sile Doty
John Gavin … Dan Kirby
Gregg Barton … McKey
Ed Fury … Whitey
William Schallert … Missionary
Runtime: 76 min.
Theme Song: Raw Edge
sung by Terry Gilkyson
Mara Corday as Paca, her husband dead and free to be claimed by another man under Montgomery’s law in Raw Edge (1956)
Robert J. Wilke as Sile Doty, Montgomery’s foreman and the man who claims Paca as his own in Raw Edge (1956)
Memorable lines:
Missionary: “Might is not and never will be right.”
Gerald Montgomery: “It is here.”
Sile Doty: “What kind of work you figurin’ on gettin’?”
Tex Kirby: “Lumberjack. Trapper. Either one’s alright.”
Doty: “That six-gun won’t cut a tree as easy as an ax will. And we use a trap to get furs.”
Tex: “I’ll try to remember that.”
Tarp Penny, to his dad during an argument over Sarah: “You might be the oldest Penny, but that don’t make you top Penny.”
Emile Meyer as Pop Penny, ready to accuse his own son of cheating him at cards in Raw Edge (1956)
Neville Brand as Tarp Penny, ready to kill his dad to win the hand of a woman in Raw Edge (1956)
Yvonne De Carlo as Hannah and Mara Corday as Paca, trying to escape Montgomery’s law regarding women in Raw Edge (1956)
Rory Calhoun as Tex Kirby, about to depart for greener pastures in Raw Edge (1956)
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