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The Burning Hills
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Wikipedia article
'The Burning Hills' is a 1956 American CinemaScope Western directed by Stuart Heisler and starring Tab Hunter and Natalie Wood, based on a 1956 novel by Louis L'Amour.
Plot
When Trace Jordan's brother is murdered and several of their horses stolen, Trace sees by the tracks that three men are involved. One man wears Mexican spurs, one walks with a limp, and one smokes cheroots. Upon arriving in the town of Esperanza, Trace sees a destroyed sheriff's office and discovers the only law in Esperanza is Joe Sutton. He also discovers that the stolen horses have been rebranded with the Sutton brand, and their riders who match the description of their tracks work for Sutton. Trace enters Joe Sutton's (Ray Teal) ranch and wounds him in a shooting.
The enraged Sutton sends his son Jack (Skip Homeier), his foreman Ben (Claude Akins) and ten ranch hands to track down Trace before he goes to an Army fort to bring law to Esperanza. Wounded in his escape, Trace is helped by courageous half Mexican woman named Maria Colton (Natalie Wood). Unable to locate the hidden Trace, Joe Sutton enlists a half Indian tracker Jacob Lantz (Eduard Franz).
Cast
* Tab Hunter as Trace Jordan
* Natalie Wood as Maria-Christina Colton
* Skip Homeier as Jack Sutton
* Eduard Franz as Jacob Lantz
* Earl Holliman as Mort Bayliss
* Claude Akins as Ben Hindeman
* Ray Teal as Joe Sutton
* Frank Puglia as Tio Perico
* Hal Baylor as Braun
* Tyler MacDuff as Wes Parker
* Rayford Barnes as Veach
* Tony Terry as Vincente Colton
Production
Louis L'Amour said he wrote the novel for Gary Cooper and Katy Jurado. Jurado tried to buy film rights to the novel.
L'Amour's short story "The Gift of Cochise" had been successfully filmed with John Wayne in 1953 as Hondo and there was interest in 'The Burning Hills'. Warner Bros purchased the screen rights in May 1955 and assigned it to Richard Whorf to produce. Irving Wallace wrote the script and John Wayne was announced as a possible star. In December 1955 Tab Hunter was assigned to the lead.
The book ended up selling over a million copies.
Notes
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