Ride a Crooked Mile
Cast & Crew
Alfred E. Green
Akim Tamiroff
Leif Erikson
Frances Farmer
Lynne Overman
John Miljan
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Russian Cossack Mike Balan runs a cattle rustling gang in contemporary America. His estranged wife reunites him with the son he has never seen, Montgomery Simpkins, whom he dubs Johnny. John is in his early twenties, is high-spirited and rebellious, and has been kicked out of every school he has attended. After testing one another's trustworthiness, Mike and Johnny learn to love each other. Mike proudly teaches his son the Cossack style of living, which approaches everything with gusto, including feasts, steambaths, dancing and trick riding. Johnny falls in love with Mike's beautiful niece, Trina, and she reciprocates his affections. Mike finally reveals his true profession to Johnny and vows to "go straight," but Federal agents arrest him before he is able to change. Johnny disappears. Believing his son has forsaken him and does not intend to break him out of prison, Mike develops a bad reputation in Leavenworth Prison and is constantly being put into solitary confinement. One day Johnny reappears as an officer in the U.S. Army Cavalry Corps, which trains next to the prison. He soon makes contact with his father to arrange escape plans. While working for Lt. Colonel Stuart, Johnny, a well-respected soldier, requisitions two horses and guns for his father. He finds Trina, who has been working in a Leavenworth cafe and saves her from the clutches of a crooked lawyer. With the help of Glinka, Mike's right-hand man, the escape plans are set. While Mike and his cellmate Oklahoma escape, Johnny has second thoughts about his role in the affair, realizing that his loyalty now belongs to the army. When his sergeant sends him out to lead the search party, Johnny rides to the hideout and informs the prisoners he plans to take them in. After Oklahoma shoots Johnny in the arm, Mike kills Oklahoma in order to save his son. Mike and Johnny reaffirm their love for each other, but Mike tells him they must part as enemies and knocks Johnny unconscious. Mike is chased by cavalry officers and plunges over a cliff to his death. Johnny is absolved of any wrongdoing and prepares for Westpoint examinations, with the loving support of Trina, who promises to wait for him.
Director
Alfred E. Green
Cast
Akim Tamiroff
Leif Erikson
Frances Farmer
Lynne Overman
John Miljan
J. M. Kerrigan
Vladimir Sokoloff
Genia Nikola
Wade Crosby
Robert Gleckler
Nestor Paiva
Archie Twitchell
Gaylord Pendleton
Fred Kohler Jr.
Dewey Robinson
William Newell
Leonid Snegoff
John Bleifer
Alex Woloshin
James Flavin
Michael Mark
Michael Dido
Fred Toones
Charles A. Hughes
Ernie Adams
Sam Ash
Dick Rush
Harry Fleischman
Joseph Crehan
Eddie Borden
Barry Macollum
Hal Craig
Robert Homans
Ralph Sanford
T. C. Jack
George Magrill
Lee Shumway
Tom Betterton
Eva Novak
Eddie Acuff
Ethel Clayton
Gloria Williams
Crew
Hans Dreier
George Dutton
Farciot Edouard
A. E. Freudeman
Jeff Lazarus
William Lebaron
Harold C. Lewis
William C. Mellor
John C. Moffitt
Boris Morros
Richard Olson
Ferdinand Reyher
Harold Schwartz
James Smith
Gregory Stone
Robert Usher
Dale Van Every
Adolph Zukor
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The pre-release title of the film was Escape from Yesterday. The CBCS originally listed the title as The Last Ride. According to press information, props included various Russian artifacts, including a set of pistols owned by Akim Tamiroff that once belonged to Czar Nicholas II.
