The Young Land (1959) User Reviews

Surprisingly Good B Oater

[oldblackandwhite · 6/10 · 19 August 2010]

I got The Young Land in a one of those 20 western packages and was not expecting much out of it, especially since the lead was a very young Patrick Wayne. Let's face it, no sane film maker would have given him a lead in any movie if he weren't the Duke's son. I expected him to be perfectly awful, but he didn't live up to my worst expectations. He was what used to be termed charitably as "adequate". Well, almost so.

But the movie had such good production values and such a good supporting cast for young Wayne, it was thoroughly entertaining. The best surprise in the works was a Dimitri Tiomkin score. Also excellent were the sets, the cinematography, the costumes, and the props. The down to earth dialog, the characterization, the dress, and the props all combined the give it an authentic look and feel, even though it was not actually authentic in detail. For instance, all the revolvers were correctly cap and ball models, but not the ones that were available in 1848. Amusingly, Wayne was shown loading his rifle in the muzzle, which was appropriate to the time period, but the rifle was obviously a Sharps, which was a breach-loader! Never mind-- E for effort in that department.

Wayne's supporting cast was the movie's best asset. Denis Hopper did his usual disgusting, whining psycho. He was a one-note actor, but he did that well. Yvonne Craig as Wyane's Spanish girl friend was merely decorative, but she was very good at that, I should say! Dan O'Herlihy as the no-nonsense judge dominated the proceedings in more ways than one. Ken Curtis showed that he had possessed quite a range as an actor back in the days before he turned into Festus Haggen. But the actor who really stole the show was Cliff Ketchum, as the quiet but deadly marshal, the judge's right hand man. He was truly authentic. He reminded me of one of those old time rural Texas lawmen I used to know when I was a kid -- scrawny, dried-up, past middle age guys. They didn't look like much but could be tougher than any punk who might come along.

The Young Land had good production values, a great score, a good story, colorful characters, and just the right mix of action and drama. This enjoyable oat-burner was a bargain at the 25 cents I paid for it. Which is more than I can say for some of the lasagna-burners keeping it company in that 20- western pack.

Unconventional western looks thematically forward.

[rsoonsa · 6/10 · 10 October 2002]

This is a restored version of this interesting feature, actually completed in 1957 by Buena Vista (Disney) but canned for two years until Columbia rescued and released it, supposedly based upon an historic incident, and there is a good deal to appreciate here, in particular excellent camerawork under the aegis of director Ted Tetzlaff, known essentially as a cinematographer. The scenario places the action in the newborn state of California in 1848, relating of a homicide trial with the defendant, played by Dennis Hopper, accused of murdering a local Mexican/Californian during an observed gun duel, after which he is arrested by the local unofficially appointed and unarmed sheriff, portrayed by 18 year Patrick Wayne. One of the better of a blessedly rare genre, The Didactic Western, YOUNG LAND's primary motif becomes a question as to whether the United States system of justice will serve up fair verdicts for non-English speaking citizens, with the efforts of an imported State judge (Dan O'Herlihy) to organize a proper trial inside a sheep barn being particularly engrossing as the judge is not accustomed to such rude courtroom surroundings. Thanks to a rather large budget, art director Jack Okey creates a Mexican village including a plaza, cantina, jail, and other buildings, and Tetzlaff, favouring long shots shows the players in full along with the location settings, all used to good advantage in glorious Technicolor through strong performances by Hopper, O'Herlihy, Ben Stroud, and Ken Curtis as a fugitive converted into a deputy.

American Law And Jurisprudence

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 11 June 2013]

Usually a film held up in release is a sign that nothing good will come of it eventually being inflicted on the movie-going public. But in the case of The Young Land this is not a bad little western about an incident from the early days of California after we acquired it from Mexico. As it was a forcible acquisition the native Mexican population was anxious to see how they would do under American law and jurisprudence.

The issue comes to a head when a murderous young punk played by Dennis Hopper uses his fast draw to gun down a Mexican vaquero who works for Roberto DeLa Madrid. Sheriff Patrick Wayne whose job usually is to jail drunks disarms Hopper and arrests him. Now the job is to try him and for that Wayne sends for a federal judge played by Dan O'Herlihy who is a model of judicial decorum.

O'Herlihy is not terribly impressed with Wayne as a sheriff, but gradually they develop a certain respect for each other. And Wayne also grows some in the estimation of Yvonne Lime, daughter of Robert DeLa Madrid.

The Young Land is a simple straightforward tale told thusly for the audience. It's got some thoughtful and sincere performances by its cast. Hopper stands out in his role. And it even got an Oscar nomination for the song Strange Are The Ways Of Love which lost to the far better known High Hopes.

The story has worn well and The Young Land is as fresh as it was when it was sadly held up in release.

Total stupidity....

[661jda · 2/10 · 27 March 2022]

If I would have had any clout in Hollywood in 1959, I would have drummed Dennis Hopper, Pat Wayne, and Yvonne Craig out of Hollywood - Not that those 3 set the world on fire with their acting abilities anyway. Actually, after watching Wayne, there's a good argument that he was the live action model for Woody from TOY STORY - except Woody is more lifelife. (watch him in his cowboy hat, shirt and skin tight jeans.) There is just not one thing in this movie that represents quality - acting, sets, costumes, sets, motivation. It's just a piece of crap. Considering that this film was released in 1959 - the same year as BEN HUR - it's just very difficult to see how it could even get one Oscar nomination - even for that ridiculous song by Dimitri Tiomkin.

An interesting idea for a western...as few films are set during this time period.

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 19 May 2021]

"The Young Land" is a western set immediately after California is ceded from Mexico to the United States following the Mexican-American War. Most westerns are usually set in the late 19th century...this one is in 1848. The story essentially is whether or not American justice applies to everyone, as a young punk (Dennis Hopper) kills a Mexican-American man for kicks...and he assumes no court will convict him nor will anyone care...since the victim was 'one of them'.

The appointed judge (Dan O'Herlihy) is a stickler for the law and for proper procedure...which is problematic because he only has a local sheriff (Patrick Wayne) and a US Marshall to assist him....and there are many Mexican-American vaqueros ('cowboys') and American cowboys who are bent on their own form of justice. You have no idea what's going to happen until the end...and it's a very tense setting.

As a former US History teacher, I appreciate the setting and plot. I didn't appreciate the historical inaccuracies. They are not horrible inaccuracies, but folks just didn't run around shooting each other with revolvers back in 1848. First, shootouts like you see in the film were incredibly rare. Second, at this time, revolvers of any type were exceptionally rare...only having been invented shortly before this. The same can be said for the lever action rifle used at the end...it wasn't available until about 1860. Most of the guns they use in the film were all of much later models than 1848. Now this doesn't destroy the film...it just makes it annoying for us ex-teachers. And, it could be worse, as in "The Alamo" (1960) there were TONS of repeating pistols and rifles...none of which had yet been invented!

The direction is good and the acting quite good despite there being no 'names' in the story for 1959. Dennis Hopper is great as the scummy villain...but he was definitely an unknown at the time. This is even more the case with Patrick Wayne, John Wayne's son, who plays the lead....he's good and handsome but like Hopper he added little to the film's marketability and most people wondered who the heck these folks were! Still, they were very good....and O'Herlihy as well.

By the way, while he may not have looked it, Wayne was an interesting choice in this film about race relations and prejudice, as in real life Patrick's mother was a Mexican-American and father the famous American icon.

Blah

[arfdawg-1 · 4/10 · 5 April 2014]

An American gunslinger kills a Mexican man in California immediately after the Mexican-American war.

The killer is arrested and put on trial for murder with the Hispanic population waiting to learn of American justice.

Sounds like Miami today.

Heavy handed directing. No so good acting, even though Dennis Hopper is the main character.

I never thought he was such a great actor. He prove it here.

If anything, this movie serves to prove even in 1959 the left was churning out propaganda.

An Early Civil Rights Western

[zardoz-13 · 7/10 · 27 April 2017]

"The Window" director Ted Tetzlaff's low-key but suspenseful "The Young Land" isn't your ordinary B-movie western. First, it takes place at a seminal moment during the shift in California history in the aftermath of the Mexican/American war as white Americans take over the land from Mexicans. Nevertheless, the Mexican ranchers still retain some power over things since they outnumber the Americans. The film opens in the small, dusty town of San Bartolo, California, in 1848, with a well-done showdown between a Mexican,Francisco Quiroga (Carlos Romero of "They Came to Cordura") and Hatfield Carnes (Ken Curtis of "Gunsmoke"),a racist, trigger-happy American gunslinger who has been itching for the opportunity to carve another notch on his revolver. No sooner has the dust settled than Sheriff Jim Ellison (Patrick Wayne of "The Alamo") arrests Carnes and holds him until Judge Millard Isham (Dan O'Herlihy of "RoboCop") arrives in town, with Deputy U.S. Marshal Ben Stroud (Cliff Ketchum of "Pork Chop Hill") at his side. The Norman S. Hall screenplay is literate, intelligent, and concerns civil rights on the frontier. The bulk of the film concerns the trial that occurs after the shooting, with the Mexican population observing how impartial American justice can be. Unfortunately, the clash of characters between fade-in and fadeout slackens. Nobody gives a bad performance. Dan O'Herlihy, Dennis Hopper, Ken Curtis, and Cliff Ketchum stand out in a rugged cast. Altogether, "The Young Land" qualifies as an above-average oater that addresses civil rights issue. Patrick Wayne is appropriately heroic throughout this oater. Dennis Hopper makes a superb villain. Above all, Ken Curtis has the best role, and he changes over time while the others remain essentially the same.

Fair Western

[januszlvii · 5/10 · 12 October 2020]

The Young Land was a fair western. On the negative side it was preachy. Most of the Americans looked and acted stupid, while the Mexicans all were good. That is Political Correctness ( PC) not reality. You have good and bad everywhere. On the plus dude was Dennis Hopper as Hatfield Carnes who got a Mexican into a fight and murdered him in cold blood. He was one of Hopper's nastiest characters ( there was not an ounce of intelligence or humanity in him) and he played more then a few bad guys down through the years. I actually think the best job was by Yvonne Craig as Elena de la Madrid. She was a spoiled daughter of ranchero Don Roberto who became the love interest of Sheriff Jim Ellison ( Patrick Wayne). What we see in Elena is character growth ( going from a spoiled brat to a respectable woman). Character growth is always a good thing in a movie. Again watch it for Hopper and Craig, and ignore the PC.

A Pleasant Surprise

[Uriah43 · 6/10 · 9 April 2014]

Immediately following the "Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo" in 1848 the territory known as California passed from Mexico to the United States of America. Since almost all of the people living there had been citizens of Mexico there was some apprehension among them concerning how they would now be treated. So when an American gunslinger named "Hatfield Carnes" (Dennis Hopper) kills a Hispanic man the residents of a sleepy village are extremely anxious about whether justice is served. To complicate matters this village has a very rowdy group of American outlaws who feel threatened at the thought of one of their own being tried in a court of law. On the flip side there are also vaqueros riding in from various parts of California to make sure that Hatfield pays for his crime. As a result the unofficial sheriff "Jim Ellison" (Patrick Wayne) is thrown into the middle of something that is rapidly becoming very ugly. At any rate, rather than reveal the rest of the story and risk spoiling the movie for those who haven't seen it I will just say that this film turned out to be a pleasant surprise. The acting was pretty good and I especially liked the performances of Yvonne Craig (as "Elena de la Madrid") along with the aforementioned Patrick Wayne. All in all, this movie wasn't too bad and I rate it as slightly above average.

In the newly formed state of California, a wild young Billy the Kid type (Dennis Hopper) kills a Mexican citizen. He's arrested by a young lawman (Patrick Wayne),

[dougbrode · 8/10 · 18 March 2006]

Patrick Wayne had his first starring role in this handsomely produced film - a B western with many A western trappings, including a remarkable sound track - and, though only about eighteen years old when he did the movie, comports himself well. What's most impressive is the willingness of everyone involved to tackle a then controversial theme, for this is one of those mid to late 1950s westerns that dealt with racial prejudice during an era that saw the birth of the modern civil rights movement. Of course, civil rights dates back in our history, and so the incident in the film serves as an effective metaphor for what was going on at the time when this movie was made. A wild-eyed Billy the Kid type (Dennis Hopper, doing his umpteenth version of James Dean by way of Nick Adams, the rebel without a cause as a whining weakling) shoots down a Mexican citizen in the newly formed state of California. It's up to a very young lawman (Wayne) to hold him for trial. The Mexicans in town want proof that they are equal to Anglos now that California is American, and so want to see the prisoner hung - legally. Anglos, on the other hand, want the killer to go free. Though he's dating a beautiful Spanish girl (Yvonne Craig, with delightfully revealing décolletage), he's fair-minded and refuses to take sides - holding the prisoner for the judge who will decide. That character is played by the great Dan O'Herlihy, who brings this eccentric (and ultimately pivotal) character to vivid life. The result is something exceptional, and it's a shame this film is not better known.

TRIAL AND ERROR

[davidalexander-63068 · 6/10 · 5 December 2022]

A pontificating judge and a pacifist sheriff who does not even wear a gun form the basis for the moralising undertone of this otherwise passable western. All we need is a sermonising minister and an anti-gun crusader and you'd have the total liberal mix. Boys, this is the wild west (ok, California in 1848 just after the annexation from Mexico). The gun is still the law. Kill or be killed is the doctrine. The character played by Dennis Hopper has a gunfight with a Mexican (oh, those racist undertones again!) Was it self-defence or murder? Obviously, he is faster on the draw but a lousy shot. He wounds the Mexican - twice! Then he approaches the downed figure and puts a third slug into him, killing him. Obviously, the first two shots were fired in self-defence, but the third one constituted cold-blooded murder. The trial is presided over by a liberal judge from the east who is a total stranger to the ways of the west. Sometimes you feel like shouting, "For God's sake. Judge, get out of the way and let the two sides shoot it out! Good acting by Dennis Hopper as the gun-happy gunslinger helps to rescue the movie from pedestrian irrelevance. And Festus is there too (Ken Curtus from Gunsmoke fame). I almost expected to see Marshall Dillon to come striding into the film at any moment!

It certainly is a nice thought that every era had someone in power who believed in justice for everyone.

[mark.waltz · 8/10 · 4 December 2023]

The Mexican/American War has just ended, and in this Californian territory community, all law abiding citizens are treated with respect and those who break the law are dealt with accordingly. White gunslinger Dennis Hopper kills a Mexican man and is put on trial with both Caucasian and Mexican jurors, and the very by the law judge Dan O'Herlihy presiding. O'Herlihy is very stern, in fact pompously so, but his treatment of everyone is respectful and filled with humanity for everyone regardless of race, but he's demanding of complete law and order...and peace.

Furious over being referred to degradingly as a Yank, O'Herlihy goes on a rampage against racial slurs, a powerful moment. The multi-cultural cadt includes the always welcome Pedro Gonzalez-Gonzalez, both funny and touching as the Mexican-American deputy, and Yvonne Craig as a feisty young Mexican girl is completely lovely. She becomes enamored of handsome white sheriff, Patrick Wayne, and as daughter of the wealthiest Mexican man in town (Roberto de la Madrid, future governor of Baja California in real life), she has some clout.

A sensational conversation between O'Herlihy and de la Madrid expresses the later's concern over real justice, another terrific moment. But the film's focus is on the justice at stake whether Hopper will be found innocent or guilty, and how the community will react. For a low budget western, it has a ton of wisdom in its theme and intentions, showing humanity in general at their best and at their worst, a theme that still resonates. It's always a delight to find a film that shows strong ideals, but the fear remains that the past wasn't as liberal or accepting of other cultures that a few of these characters have.