Joseph Cotton stars as Kirk Denbow, the man who keeps the Denbow spread running as homesteaders eye the free land where their cattle graze.
The ranch is owned by Kirk’s uncle Matt (Minor Watson), but he lost the use of one of his legs when gored and spends most of his time reminiscing now.
Meanwhile, his son Glenn (Scott Brady) would rather wine and dine the ladies and hang out in saloons than put in a hard day’s work on the ranch.
Glenn’s attraction to the ladies leads to an incident in which he guns down an unarmed man.
In order to avoid hanging, he cons the only witness (Shelley Winters as Jane) into marrying him.
It doesn’t take Jane long to realize Glenn isn’t a man she can love. Nor is she fond of the Denbow way of thinking — that might equals right.
She finds an ally in Kirk. Even if they don’t see eye to eye on the homesteaders, at least they admire one another’s strength.
Things get complicated when newspaperman Clayton Vance whips the homesteaders into a land hungry frenzy at the same time Glenn
— having been kicked off the ranch for misbehavior — is being encouraged to rustle his own herd by a saloon girl named Lottie.
Joseph Cotten as Kirk Denbow, trying to help his cousin out of a jam in Untamed Frontier (1952)
Scott Brady as Glenn Denbow, watching his girlfriend dance with another man in Untamed Frontier (1952)
Review:
Taunt little Western that’s better than average even if one character’s actions at the end seem out of character with the way he’s been portrayed to that point.
Scott Brady nails the role of the carousing son. Ditto for Suzan Ball as the conniving saloon girl and Shelley Winters as the girl from a poor background who’s dazzled by the possibilities a marriage to Glenn Denbow offers.
Two actors who would become familiar faces to Western fans have small roles — Lee Van Cleef as Lottie’s fellow schemer and Fess Parker as one of the homesteaders.
Shelley Winters as Jane, falling for Glenn Denbow’s charm in Untamed Frontier (1952)
Suzan Ball as Lottie, encourating Glenn Denbow to rustle his own cattle in Untamed Frontier (1952)
Directed by:
Hugo Fregonese
Cast:
Joseph Cotten … Kirk Denbow
Scott Brady … Glenn Denbow
Minor Watson … Matt Denbow
Shelley Winters … Jane Denbow
Suzan Ball … Lottie
Jose Torvay … Bandera
Katherine Emery … Camilla Denbow
Douglas Spencer … Clayton Vance
Lee Van Cleef … Dave Chittun
Fess Parker … Clem McCloud
John Alexander … Max Wickersham
Richard Garland … Charlie Fentress
Robert Anderson … Ezra McCloud
Ray Bennett … Sheriff Brogan
Runtime: 72 min.
Minor Watson as Matt Denbow, trying to rein in his rebellious son Glenn in Untamed Frontier (1952)
Jose Torvay as Bandera, one of the Denbow ranch’s top hands in Untamed Frontier (1952)
Memorable lines:
Clayton Vance, ot Glenn Denbow, as he’s being released from jail: “See you at the trial tomorrow, Glenn?”
Glenn Denbow: “I’ll be there, Vance, but don’t sit up all night writing my obituary.”
Matt Denbow, to Jane, who’s about to marry his son: “It’s been my experience Miss Stevens that you can never tell about cattle, or women, until they’ve been on your range for a while.”
Glenn Denbow: “Well, this is priceless. My lilly white wife and very upright cousin have found each other. But they’ll always be a fence between them, a Denbow fence. Me!”
Douglas Spencer as Clayton Vance, the newspaperman who opposes the Denbows in Untamed Frontier (1952)
Robert Anderson as Ezra McCloud and Fess Parker as Clem McCloud, two of the homesteaders bucking the Denbows in Untamed Frontier (1952)
Suzan Ball as Lottie with Richard Garland as Charlie Fentress, the man who loves Jane in Untamed Frontier (1952)
Shelley Winters as Jane Denbow, pulling a six-gun on her new husband in Untamed Frontier (1952)
John Alexander as attorney Max Wickerham with Katherine Emery as Camilla Denbow in Untamed Frontier (1952)
Scotty Brady as Glenn Denbow and Joseph Cotton as his cousin Kirk Denbow in Untamed Frontier (1952)
){kind=link}