Life in the Raw
Cast & Crew
Louis King
George O'brien
Claire Trevor
Greta Nissen
Francis Ford
Warner Richmond
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
When Judy Halloway arrives at an Arizona railway station, she asks local resident H. B. Lamson about the stage to Shasta, where she is going to visit her brother Tom. H. B. offers to drive her, but when he makes unwanted propositions, the feisty Judy slaps him and climbs out of his car. Judy is alone in the desert until wanderer Jim Barry comes along and takes her to a nearby post office to retrieve directions to Tom's ranch. H. B. overhears Judy mention Tom's name at the post office, and then rushes to Tom's cabin ahead of her. There, Tom tells H. B. about Judy, who does not know that he has lost his ranch to Colonel Nicholai Petroff, a notorious gambler. H. B. warns Tom to carry through with their plans for that evening and, after Tom greets Judy, he follows H. B. to town. While H. B. and his men distract the townsfolk with a high-stakes poker game, Tom robs the express office. The robbery is witnessed by McTavish, a deranged vagabond who continually quotes scripture. After McTavish alerts the sheriff, a posse travels to Tom's cabin to question Judy, who denies any knowledge of the robbery. Later, Tom leaves his hiding place to find his sister and explains to her that he took the job to pay off his gambling debt to Petroff. After Tom promises to return the money, he and Judy flee, then take separate roads to confuse the posse. Judy again encounters Jim in the desert, and when the sheriff mistakenly arrests Jim for the robbery, Judy perpetuates the error to protect her brother. Back in town, H. B. kills McTavish, and when his body is found, Jim is accused of the murder. To save Jim from being lynched, Judy admits that he is innocent, and the couple escape. Meanwhile, H. B. arrives at Petroff's saloon and tells him that Tom escaped with the express money. The next morning, Jim and Tom finally meet and, after escaping from the town marshal, they discover that Judy is being held captive by Petroff. At the saloon, entertainer Belle protects Judy from Petroff's advances, while Jim's masquerade as a tough robber gets him into Petroff's gang. Jim then finds Judy, and Belle, who is irritated by Petroff's fickleness, agrees to help them escape. When Jim brags about being able to ride any horse, Belle supplies him with a rogue bronco, which he proceeds to ride inside the saloon. Jim then pulls a gun on Petroff and rescues both Judy and Tom, who has also been captured by H. B. Jim leads the pursuing crooks into the waiting arms of the sheriff, and after Tom is released on probation, Jim and Judy kiss as they ride away.
Director
Louis King
Cast
George O'brien
Claire Trevor
Greta Nissen
Francis Ford
Warner Richmond
Gaylord Pendleton
Alan Edwards
Nigel De Brulier
Crew
Stuart Anthony
Stuart Anthony
Arthur Arling
Sid Bowen
Duncan Cramer
Bernard Freericks
Arthur Lange
Sammy Lee
Sidney D. Mitchell
Robert Planck
Gordon Rigby
Royer
Roger Sherman
Barney Wolf
Sol M. Wurtzel
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The film's title card reads: "Fox Film presents Zane Grey's Life in the Raw," and its working titles were From Missouri and Arizona Wildcat. This was Claire Trevor's first film. According to a Variety news item, some scenes were shot at Hesperia and Lone Pine, CA.
