Springfield Rifle (film)
| Springfield Rifle | |
|---|---|
| File:Poster of the movie Springfield Rifle.jpg | |
| Directed by | André de Toth |
| Produced by | Louis F. Edelman |
| Written by | Frank Davis Sloan Nibley (story) |
| Starring | Gary Cooper |
| Music by | Max Steiner |
| Cinematography | Edwin B. DuPar |
| Edited by | Robert L. Swanson |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures |
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Release dates
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Running time
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93 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $4.9 million (US rentals)[1] |
Springfield Rifle is a western film, directed by André de Toth and released by Warner Bros. Pictures in 1952.[2] The film is set during the American Civil War and stars Gary Cooper, with Phyllis Thaxter and Lon Chaney Jr.. It is described as "essentially an espionage thriller that pits a Union intelligence officer (Gary Cooper) against a Confederate spy ring."[3]
Contents
Plot
Charged with wartime cowardice, Major Lex Kearney is drummed out of the Union Army with a dishonorable discharge. His disgrace is complete, wife Erin even informing him that their ashamed son has run away.
What no one knows is that Kearney has accepted a fake discharge so that he can carry out a top-secret assignment to go undercover and find the rustlers who have been providing horses to Confederate troops.
Cast
- Gary Cooper as Major Lex Kearney
- Phyllis Thaxter as Erin
- David Brian as Austin McCool
- Paul Kelly as Lt. Col John Hudson
- Lon Chaney, Jr. as Pete Elm
- Philip Carey as Capt. Tennick
- Fess Parker as Confederate Sergeant Jim Randolph
Reception
The film was not well received by critics. Jeffrey Meyers noted that Cooper's career went down hill in the early 1950s, until High Noon opened in 1952, and labelled Springfield Rifle a "mediocre" western.[4] Rebecca Fish Ewan called the film "confusing" and said that Cooper looked "ever perplexed".[5] New York Magazine said "even Cooper can't keep this film from being just another ho- hum Western."[6] However, New York Life described it as an "exciting military melodrama of espionage and counterespionage in a frontier fort."[7]
References
- ↑ 'The Top Box Office Hits of 1953', Variety, January 13, 1954 and 'Top Box-Office Hits of 1952', Variety, January 7, 1953
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