In 1871 a group of convicts escaped from prison in Carson City, Nevada, and took refuge near Monte Diablo Lake, in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California. They were pursued by a posse, and in the ensuing shootout a number of posse members and convicts were killed or wounded. The convicts who survived the shootout were subsequently lynched. Following this incident, the lake was renamed Convict Lake, a name which its retains to this day.
"The Secret of Convict Lake" is very loosely based upon this story. In real life 29 convicts were involved in the jailbreak, but here there are only six. The original incident took place in September, but here it is the depths of winter; one of the men freezes to death while crossing the mountains. The five survivors make their way to a small settlement by the lake, currently occupied by eight women while their menfolk are away prospecting for gold. Out of a mixture of fear and pity, the women agree to allow the convicts to use an empty cabin, and a curious relationship grows up between them.
I suspect that if the film were to be made today, the convicts would be treated in a more sympathetic manner, depicted as being not all bad and as having a more human side. In 1951, however, the Production Code, which forbade sympathetic depictions of criminals, was still in force; the only one who has any sense of decency is Jim Canfield, who turns out to have been wrongly convicted on perjured evidence. Much of the plot turns upon Canfield's desire for revenge upon Rudy Schaeffer, the man who put him behind bars. (Schaeffer is the fiancé of Marcia, one of the eight women, and the brother of another, Rachel). The other four men all turn out to be thoroughgoing villains; the youngest, Clyde, initially seems sympathetic, but turns out to be a psychopath who tries to kill one of the women when she resists his advances. Canfield finds that he needs to protect the women against his own companions.
In the fifties there was a growing tendency to shoot Westerns in colour as Hollywood saw that it could use the spectacular scenery of the American West as a weapon in its battle with the newcomer, television. "The Secret of Convict Lake" is an exception, even though it is set in a particularly scenic location. I think the reason is that it is one of those Westerns that, even though it is set in a remote rural location in the late nineteenth century rather than an urban one in the mid-twentieth, can also be seen as a film noir. ("The Ox-Bow Incident", from 1942, is another). Glenn Ford, who stars here as Canfield, often appeared in noirs such as "Gilda", "The Big Heat" or "Human Desire". Canfield has much in common with the heroes of films like these, being a basically decent man who finds himself in a position of emotional or psychological conflict, here between his desire for revenge on Schaeffer and his growing feelings for the lovely Marcia. The decision to shoot in black-and-white, with much of the action taking place at night, may have been based on a wish to make the film resemble a noir in its visual look as well as its storyline.
Gene Tierney as Marcia is perhaps a little too lovely; it seems difficult to believe that she is a woman sitting out a harsh winter in a remote settlement, far from the nearest boutique, hairdresser or cosmetics store. (She is, however, far from being the only Hollywood goddess to look impossibly glamorous in a Western setting).
The film was a critical and commercial success when first released in 1951, and seventy years on it still holds up well. It is well acted, has a well-written script and manages to generate a good deal of dramatic tension. It is well worth seeing if you can catch it on one of its rare television appearances. 7/10.
"The Secret of Convict Lake" is very loosely based upon this story. In real life 29 convicts were involved in the jailbreak, but here there are only six. The original incident took place in September, but here it is the depths of winter; one of the men freezes to death while crossing the mountains. The five survivors make their way to a small settlement by the lake, currently occupied by eight women while their menfolk are away prospecting for gold. Out of a mixture of fear and pity, the women agree to allow the convicts to use an empty cabin, and a curious relationship grows up between them.
I suspect that if the film were to be made today, the convicts would be treated in a more sympathetic manner, depicted as being not all bad and as having a more human side. In 1951, however, the Production Code, which forbade sympathetic depictions of criminals, was still in force; the only one who has any sense of decency is Jim Canfield, who turns out to have been wrongly convicted on perjured evidence. Much of the plot turns upon Canfield's desire for revenge upon Rudy Schaeffer, the man who put him behind bars. (Schaeffer is the fiancé of Marcia, one of the eight women, and the brother of another, Rachel). The other four men all turn out to be thoroughgoing villains; the youngest, Clyde, initially seems sympathetic, but turns out to be a psychopath who tries to kill one of the women when she resists his advances. Canfield finds that he needs to protect the women against his own companions.
In the fifties there was a growing tendency to shoot Westerns in colour as Hollywood saw that it could use the spectacular scenery of the American West as a weapon in its battle with the newcomer, television. "The Secret of Convict Lake" is an exception, even though it is set in a particularly scenic location. I think the reason is that it is one of those Westerns that, even though it is set in a remote rural location in the late nineteenth century rather than an urban one in the mid-twentieth, can also be seen as a film noir. ("The Ox-Bow Incident", from 1942, is another). Glenn Ford, who stars here as Canfield, often appeared in noirs such as "Gilda", "The Big Heat" or "Human Desire". Canfield has much in common with the heroes of films like these, being a basically decent man who finds himself in a position of emotional or psychological conflict, here between his desire for revenge on Schaeffer and his growing feelings for the lovely Marcia. The decision to shoot in black-and-white, with much of the action taking place at night, may have been based on a wish to make the film resemble a noir in its visual look as well as its storyline.
Gene Tierney as Marcia is perhaps a little too lovely; it seems difficult to believe that she is a woman sitting out a harsh winter in a remote settlement, far from the nearest boutique, hairdresser or cosmetics store. (She is, however, far from being the only Hollywood goddess to look impossibly glamorous in a Western setting).
The film was a critical and commercial success when first released in 1951, and seventy years on it still holds up well. It is well acted, has a well-written script and manages to generate a good deal of dramatic tension. It is well worth seeing if you can catch it on one of its rare television appearances. 7/10.