Customer Reviews

These Thousand Hills

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4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
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These Thousand Hills is a well-made, well-acted Western that also has a great message about being true to yourself and not losing sight of what is important in life.

Don Murray stars as a young, but strong-willed cowboy who settles in Oregon in the late 1800's. Along with a fellow cowboy, played by Stuart Whitman, they attempt to make enough money to buy their own ranch. After a brush with misfortune, Murray is nursed back to health by a bordello girl played by Lee Remick. Remick's character also spends lots of time with the town's rich bully, played with gusto by Richard Egan.

After he recovers, Murray borrows enough money from Remick to buy his ranch. He then becomes a leading citizen, is befriended by the town banker, and marries the banker's daughter, completely forgetting about Remick and all she has done to help him. He also shuns Whitman when Whitman tells him of his impending marriage to the town madam.

But events overtake Murray, just as he is running for the Senate, sending him toward tragic consequences for all involved.

This movie is forthright and powerful in its exchange of ideas, and proves that Westerns can be about a lot more than just horse chases and gunfights, although it has enough action to round out the story.

It is great that this film has been released on DVD. It is worth the time for Western and non-Western lovers alike.

20th Century Fox Home Entertainment present "THESE THOUSAND HILLS" (1959) (96 mins Color), under director Richard Fleischer, produced by David Weisbart, novel by A.B. Guthrie Jr., screenplay by Alfred Hayes, musical direction by Leigh Harline, songs by Harry Warren and Ned Washington . . . . .cast includes Don Murray (Lat Evans), Richard Egan (Jehu), Lee Remick (Callie), Patricia Owens( Joyce), Stuart Whitman (Tom Ping), Albert Dekker (Conrad), Harold J. Stone( Ram Butler), Royal Dano (Carmichael), Jean Willes (Jen), Douglas Fowley (Whitney), Fuzzy Knight (Sally, the Cook). . . . . .our story takes place deep within the Oregon Territories during the late 1800s' as our leading man Don Murray is down on his luck and borrows money from Lee Remick who is his dance hall girlfriend...his quest for political gains and wealth are clouded when he meets the banker's daughter Patricia Owens...meanwhile his best friend Stuart Whitman has rustled some steers and is lynched without so much as a word from Murray who is a member of the posse...the land baron Richard Egan is real nasty in this oater, he's out to hurt Remick and Murray must make a decision whether or not to help her, thus the moral question arises with only one answer...this has all the makings of what we all love, great western storytelling with blends of film noir...gotta love it!

Specal footnote, actor Don Murray (born Donald Patrick Murray on July 31, 1929, in Hollywood, California) is an American actor...before breaking into television and movies, he attended East Rockaway High School in Long Island, New York..."Bus Stop" (1956) provided Murray with a strong role as a naive, yet forceful, cowboy romancing a singer (Marilyn Monroe), for his efforts, the actor earned an Oscar nod as Best Supporting Actor...his two subsequent features, "The Bachelor Party" and "A Hatful of Rain" (1957) both provided meaty roles, but later efforts failed to capitalize on his early promise...Murray moved into producing and screenwriting with "The Hoodlum Priest" (1961), a true story about a clergyman in St. Louis who worked with criminals, in which he also starred...his 1970 directing debut, "The Cross and the Switchblade", was an earnest but uneven feature. A second feature, "Damien" (1977), a biopic of the priest who worked with lepers in Hawaii, has never been released theatrically...in the 80s saw Murray in mostly paternal roles (e.g., "Endless Love" 1981; "Peggy Sue Got Married" 1986)....Murray had a long and varied career in TV and films, but is best known for his role as Sid Fairgate in "Knots Landing" from 1979 to 1981...Murray was the first husband of the late actress Hope Lange. They had two children

SPECIAL FEATURES:
BIOS:
1. Don Murray (aka: Donald Patrick Murray)
Birth Date: 7/31/1929 - Hollywood, California
Died: Still Living
2. Lee Remick (aka: Lee Ann Remick)
Birth Date: 12/13/1935 - Quincy, Mass.
Died: 7/02/1991 - Los Angeles, California
3. Richard Egan
Birth Date: 7/29/1921 - San Francisco, California
Died: 7/20/1987 - Los Angeles, California
4. Richard Fleischer (Director)
Birth Date: 12/08/1916 - Brooklyn, New York
Died: 3/25/2006 - Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California

Want to thank 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment for releasing "These Thousand Hills" (1959), the digital transfere with a clean, clear and crisp print...looking forward to more high quality releases from the vintage era of the '40s & '50s...order your copy now from Amazon or 20th Century Fox Entertainment where there are plenty of copies available, stay tuned once again for top notch wonderful character actors of the cinema brought back so many wonderful memories of the times when film makers cared about you who purchased a ticket and came back for more...just the way we like 'em.

Total Time: 96 mins on DVD ~ 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment #2233906 ~ (5/23/2006)

Lat Evans (Don Murray) is an ambitious lonesome cowboy who is figuring on hanging around for a while in Fort Brock, Montana... He is a good name back home... He is out to make it mean something here... He saves some money and wants to buy a ranch... So he went to the bank to see about making a loan... But Marshal Conrad (Albert Dekker) can't afford to back gamblers... For him, it's too much of a risk... He advises Lat to get himself some security--a piece of land, a deed, something to put up--then they'll talk about a loan...

But Callie (Lee Remick), the dance hall girl, who is doing it to keep him with her, gave him her savings--with the promise to pay it back-- to buy the ranch he wants...

Meantime another girl appears, the pretty Joyce (Patricia Owens)... She's the niece of the banker... Tidy, educated, she has been to college and all that... Of course Lat owes his start to Callie but he got to finish by himself... What he wants is a starched wife and a starched home and a starched reputation and Callie is spoiling his chances of getting it...

Murray is fine as the man with a future... He doubts if he goes in there his political chances are finished...

Lee Remick hasn't cared for anybody in such a long time... She's honest enough to say she's not worth risking anything for...

Richard Egan is the man who breaks his word, double-crosses his friends and beats up his woman...

Filmed in CinemaScope and color, this big-scale Western is very entertaining with enough action around...

An enjoyable movie, nicely filmed with the scenery only the American West has. This western has a good story and was made in the era when most good westerns were produced. Don Murray, Richard Egan and the rest of the cast make this a fine film. Being a western collector I have added this one to my collection. I would like to see Don Murray in 'From Hell to Texas' and Richard Egan in 'Tension at Table Rock' released on DVD which were made in the same era, two fine westerns.

well i remember seeing this at the sanger theater in pensacola,fl so its old memories now being relived when i was a very young man.