Sierra Passage
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Frank Mcdonald
Wayne Morris
Lola Albright
Lloyd Corrigan
Alan Hale Jr.
Roland Winters
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
On a train rolling through the Sierras, passenger Thaddeus Kring reminisces with a porter about the day he met Johnny Yorke, the star of his famous minstrel show: In 1865, widower Jud Yorke tells his young son Johnny that the railroad has bought some of their ranch land, and he intends to use the money for Johnny's college education. They are preparing to go to town to celebrate when three men, Yance Carter, Andy and Bart, ride up and shoot Jud for his money. Johnny furiously grabs a rifle and rides off after them, but they shoot his horse. Thaddeus and his traveling minstrel show discover Johnny unconscious by the side of the road, and after Jud's funeral, Thaddeus offers Johnny a place in his show. Thaddeus' friend, sharpshooter Sam Cooper, notes the boy's passion for revenge and tells Thaddeus that they must try to find the killers before Johnny does. Johnny performs as Sam's assistant and eventually becomes a sharpshooter himself. Twelve years pass, and Johnny is the star of the show, but is still obsessed with finding his father's killers, particularly the head man, Yance, who has a missing ring finger and a distinctive laugh. One night, Sam tells Thaddeus that Johnny has learned that Yance is a gambler, and seems to be getting closer to finding the men. Later, in a saloon, Andy tells Yance, who is upstairs playing poker with a belligerent cowboy, that Sam is downstairs. Yance knows that someone from a minstrel show has been inquiring about him over the years, and offers the cowboy money to get rid of Sam. Meanwhile, Sam introduces Johnny to Ann Walker, the pretty saloon singer, who asks him to help her get a job with the minstrel show. The cowboy then comes downstairs, and when he fails to provoke a fight with the inebriated Sam, shoots him in the shoulder. Johnny beats the cowboy up, but Sam's injuries end his shooting career, and Johnny asks him to run his ranch for him. Ann comes to visit Sam, and Thaddeus hires her as Johnny's assistant, secretly hoping she will help free the young man from his obsession. Johnny and Ann fall in love, but his preoccupation with revenge stands in the way of their relationship. One day, Yance and his men steal the payroll from a train on which Thaddeus, Johnny and Ann are riding, and when Johnny sees the men riding away, he gets off at the next stop and sets out in pursuit. After spending several months searching for the men throughout the Sierras, Johnny rejoins the show and tells Ann he is finally ready to settle down. Yance attends the show that night, however, and Johnny hears his unmistakable laugh. When Johnny takes the stage, Andy realizes that he is the man who has been tracking them all these years, and figures out who Johnny really is. After the show, Johnny goes to the saloon, where he joins Yance's poker game. The men confront each other, and Johnny draws his guns, but decides not to stoop to murder. Instead, he shoots Yance in both hands. Back on the train, Thaddeus tells the porter that Johnny, like Sam, had become the fastest gun in the West without ever killing anyone. The trains stops and Thaddeus is greeted by Johnny, Ann and Sam, who have come to take him home to the ranch.
Director
Frank Mcdonald
Cast
Wayne Morris
Lola Albright
Lloyd Corrigan
Alan Hale Jr.
Roland Winters
Jim Bannon
Billy Gray
Paul Mcguire
Richard Karlan
George Eldridge
Jimmy Ames
Crew
William Beaudine Jr.
Thomas W. Blackburn
Bobby Burns
Charles Dixon
Stephen Foster
Max Goodwin
Ace Herman
Leonard W. Herman
George Howe
Edward J. Kay
Tom Lambert
Ted Larsen
David Milton
Wayne Morris
Lindsley Parsons
Hugo Peretti
Herb Pine
Sam Roeca
William Sickner
Ilona Vas
Warren D. Wandberg
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The working title of this film was Trail Dust. Portions of the film were shot on location in Sonora, California.
