Rogue River
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
John Rawlins
Rory Calhoun
Peter Graves
Frank Fenton
Ralph Sanford
George Stern
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
The citizens of River Pass, Oregon, watch as the police escort Pete Dandrige down the main street, aware that Pete is helping the authorities capture his father Joe, a killer who has stolen $50,000. As he takes his motorboat down Rogue River toward his father's hideout at Rocky Beach, Pete recalls the events that led up to this day: Pete, a Salem police officer who is in River Pass on vacation, meets up with his free-spirited cousin, Ownie Rogers, who has had a falling out with Joe, the chief of police. That night, Pete and his fiancée, Eileen Reid, meet Ownie at a nightclub, and Ownie buys drinks for Harold P. Jackson, a scruffy old prospector known as Grifter. The next day, robbers attack the bank and escape with $50,000 dollars in gold dust. Pete and Ownie join in the chase, which ends when the getaway car slides over the embankment, killing its two occupants. Joe and his men then comb the river area on horseback, and come across Grifter's shack, where they find a small bag of gold dust. Grifter admits he took the bag from the dead crooks, and although he insists he knows nothing about the missing $50,000, Joe has him arrested. Ownie visits Grifter in jail, and Grifter tells him that he was convicted once before for a robbery he did not commit after Joe forced him to confess. Later that night, Grifter is found hanging in his cell, and near his body is a hand-written will stating that Grifter has left an unspecified amount of gold dust sealed in a number of bean cans in his home. The will stipulates that the gold is to be held in trust at the bank for two weeks, and if indisputable evidence emerges that Grifter was involved in the robbery, the bank may reclaim its portion and the rest will go to Ownie. If, however, no such evidence is produced by then, the gold will go to Joe, who must use some of the money to erect a monument in Grifter's name. Ownie is surprised when a search of Grifter's shack really does turn up bean cans containing more than $70,000 thousand dollars' worth of gold. Later, the mayor tells Joe that everyone believes Grifter could not have panned that much gold, and when he expresses concern over Joe's conflict of interest in the matter, Joe resigns. Meanwhile, at the nearby landing strip, Pete meets with Ownie, whose girl friend, Judy Haven, is arriving from San Francisco, and they specuclate that a third robber may have survived the crash. At the end of the two-week period, Joe claims the money and proceeds with the dedication of the monument, amid heckling and jeers from the townsfolk. Later, Pete tells his father that he and Eileen are going to Salem to get married and will never return to River Pass. In town, the new police chief shows Ownie a torn photograph found in the bank robbers' car, and Ownie matches it with a picture of Judy he keeps in his wallet. Ownie confronts Judy, and she confesses that she planned the robbery, adding that Grifter hid the money for them. They go to see Joe, but the men are unable to reach an agreement about the money, and when Ownie insults his uncle, Joe shoots him. Judy flees, then Pete returns to say goodbye to his father, and the dying Ownie tells him what happened. Now, at Rocky Beach, Pete and Joe are approached by the third robber, who is carrying the bank's gold, and they realize that Grifter was never involved in the robbery. The robber identifies himself as Judy's husband, and when he shoots and injures Pete, Joe drowns the man in the river. The police close in, but Joe refuses to surrender, and he is shot as he runs for his boat, leaving Pete to weep at the senseless deaths.
Director
John Rawlins
Cast
Rory Calhoun
Peter Graves
Frank Fenton
Ralph Sanford
George Stern
Ellye Marshall
Roy Engel
Jane Liddell
Robert Rose
Stephen Roberts
Duke York
Robert Knapp
Dr. W. W. Inkrote
Al Springer
Pete Castro
Mike Spooner
Bob Hobson
Walter Ramsey
Lou Murray
Jack Sibert
Sil Jacobson
Henry Rudd
Paloma
Crew
Glenn Cook
John H. Greenhalgh Jr.
Wilton R. Holm
Wesley V. Jeffries
Sam Kaufman
Irving D. Koppel
Louis Lantz
Frank Melford
Terrell O. Morse
L. John Myers
Morris Rosen
Paul Sawtell
Clifford D. Shank
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The onscreen credits include a written statement confirming that the picture was filmed entirely in Grant's Pass and on the Rogue River in Oregon, and expressing gratitude to the Sheriff's Mounted Posse of Josephine County. Sound recorder L. John Myers' name was misspelled as "W. John Myers" in the onscreen credits. According to a April 5, 1950 news item in Hollywood Reporter, Guy Madison was signed for a role, but he does not appear in the final film. A pre-production Hollywood Reporter news item reported that Gilbert Warrenton was hired as chief cameraman, but his participation in the final film has not been confirmed. Rogue River was Peter Graves' first film.
