The Highwayman (1951 film)

1951 film by Lesley Selander

The Highwayman

Official theatrical poster

Directed by| Lesley Selander
Written by| Jack DeWitt (story)
Duncan Renaldo (story)
Henry Blankfort (screenplay, as Jan Jeffries)
Based on| The Highwayman
by Alfred Noyes
Produced by| Hal E. Chester
Jack Dietz
Starring| Philip Friend
Wanda Hendrix
Cecil Kellaway
Narrated by| Brian Aherne
Cinematography| Harry Neumann
Edited by| Bernard W. Burton
Music by| Herschel Burke Gilbert

Production
company

Jack Dietz Productions

Distributed by| Allied Artists

Release date

* August 12, 1951 (1951-08-12)

Running time

| 82 minutes
Country| United States
Language| English

The Highwayman is a 1951 American historical adventure film directed by Lesley Selander and starring Philip Friend, Wanda Hendrix and Cecil Kellaway. The film was shot in Cinecolor and distributed by Allied Artists, the prestige subsidiary of Monogram Pictures. It was based on the poem of the same name by Alfred Noyes.

## Plot

[edit]

The Highwayman is an aristocrat who leads a band of criminals who steal from the wealthy to distribute to the needy. Their campaign is broadened when they discover that innocents are being kidnapped and sold into slavery in the colonies. The Highwayman is betrayed to the authorities, soldiers march to set an ambush, his lover Bess sacrifices herself to give warning and he is shot down on the highway as he tries to take revenge. At the end of the film, as the last two stanzas of the poem are read, the Highwayman's ghost is seen riding up to the window of the old inn, where he and the ghost of Bess happily greet each other.

## Cast

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* Philip Friend as Jeremy
* Charles Coburn as Lord Walters
* Wanda Hendrix as Bess Forsythe
* Cecil Kellaway as Lord Herbert
* Victor Jory as Lord Douglas
* Scott Forbes as the Sergeant
* Virginia Huston as Lady Ellen Douglas
* Dan O'Herlihy as Robin
* Harry Morgan as Tim
* Albert Sharpe as Forsythe
* Lowell Gilmore as Oglethorpe
* Alan Napier as Barton
* Norma Varden as Dowager at Ball
* Robert Karnes as British soldier
* John Alderson as British Soldier

## Production

[edit]

The film was based on a poem by Alfred Noyes written in 1906. Film rights were owned by James Burkett, who sold them to Monogram Pictures in 1946. Monogram announced that Noyes would collaborate on the script with Jack De Witt and Renautt Duncan and the budget was to be one million dollars.[1][2]

Noyes said that the poem would be the last act, and that there would be a parallel storyline set in the present day about a woman who works at the tavern and has problems with her love life. Noyes wanted to do this to keep the tragic ending of the poem but also have a happy ending in the present day.[3] He arrived in Hollywood in April 1947 to inspect the script.[4]

In July 1947, the film was officially added to Monogram's production schedule,[5] but filming was delayed. In April 1950, Monogram announced that it would likely film in June with Florence Marley and Rory Calhoun starring.[6] In July 1950, Louis Hayward said that he would star in Dick Turpin's Ride based on the poem and a script by Robert Libot and Frank Burt, with Harry Joe Brown to produce. Filming was to start in September.[7]

Filming continued to be pushed back. In January 1951, Monogram announced that Hal Chester and Bernard Burton would produce and Charles Coburn would be the film's star, with the script written by Henry Blankfort (who used the pseudonym Jan Jeffries because he had been blacklisted). Filming would start on February 19 under the direction of Lesley Selander at the Motion Picture Center.[8] Wanda Hendrix then joined the cast,[9] followed by Philip Friend shortly before rehearsals and filming started.[10]

Noyes wrote in his autobiography that he was pleasantly surprised by "the fact that in this picture, produced in Hollywood, the poem itself is used and followed with the most artistic care."[11] The film was released in the same year as Columbia Pictures' Dick Turpin's Ride (reissued as The Lady and the Bandit), also based on a poem by Noyes. Portions of the film were shot at the Corriganville Movie Ranch.

Burkett went on to buy the film rights to several other Noyes titles: Midnight Express, The Walking Shadows, Beyond the Desert, River of Stars and The Last Voyage.[12]

## Reception

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The Los Angeles Times called the film "competent but undistinguished."[13]

## Notes

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1. ^ Schallert, Edwin (Nov 1, 1946). "Alfred Noyes Will Aid 'Highwayman' Project". Los Angeles Times. p. A3.
2. ^ "MILLAND TO STAR IN PICTURE ABROAD". The New York Times. Nov 2, 1946. p. 23.
3. ^ Scheuer, Philip K (Nov 24, 1946). "Even the Solvent Poets Gravitate to Hollywood: Alfred Noyes, Creator of 'Highwayman,' Is Most Recent of Ballader Arrivals". Los Angeles Times. p. C1.
4. ^ Hopper, Hedda (Apr 8, 1947). "Looking at Hollywood". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 18.
5. ^ "MONOGRAM PLANS 48 FEATURE FILMS". New York Times. 21 July 1947. p. 12.
6. ^ "Drama: 'Legal Bride,' Comedy, Set for McCambridge". Los Angeles Times. Apr 22, 1950. p. A8.
7. ^ THOMAS F. BRADY (25 July 1950). "MILESTONE NAMED TO DIRECT PICTURE: Signed by Fox for Work on 'Kangaroo,' to Be Made in Australia in the Fall". THE NEW YORK TIMES. p. 24.
8. ^ Schallert, Edwin (Jan 27, 1951). "Drama: Coburn Plays Sinister Politician; Constance Smith Stars With Power". Los Angeles Times. p. 11.
9. ^ Hopper, Hedda (Jan 31, 1951). "Doris Day Will Play Straight Drama Parts: Looking at Hollywood...". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. a7.
10. ^ Schallert, Edwin (Feb 10, 1951). "Drama: Philip Friend Will Star in 'Highwayman;' Wilde Prepares Scripts". Los Angeles Times. p. 11.
11. ^ Noyes, Alfred (1953). Two Worlds for Memory. Lippincott.
12. ^ Schallert, Edwin (Feb 10, 1948). "Five Noyes Sagas Set; Other Deals Simmering". Los Angeles Times. p. 19.
13. ^ Scheuer, Philip K. (Nov 15, 1951). "Drama: Frank Fay Lady Killer; 'Highwayman' Dashing". Los Angeles Times. p. A13.

## External links

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* The Highwayman at IMDb
* The Highwayman Catalog entry at the American Film Institute (AFI)

* v
* t
* e

Films directed by Lesley Selander

* Ride 'Em Cowboy (1936)
* The Boss Rider of Gun Creek (1936)
* Empty Saddles (1936)
* Sandflow (1937)
* Left-Handed Law (1937)
* Smoke Tree Range (1937)
* Hopalong Rides Again (1937)
* The Barrier (1937)
* Partners of the Plains (1938)
* Heart of Arizona (1938)
* Bar 20 Justice (1938)
* Pride of the West (1938)
* Cassidy of Bar 20 (1938)
* The Mysterious Rider (1938)
* The Frontiersmen (1938)
* Sunset Trail (1939)
* Silver on the Sage (1939)
* Heritage of the Desert (1939)
* Renegade Trail (1939)
* Range War (1939)
* Santa Fe Marshal (1940)
* Knights of the Range (1940)
* Hidden Gold (1940)
* Stagecoach War (1940)
* Cherokee Strip (1940)
* Three Men from Texas (1940)
* Doomed Caravan (1941)
* The Round Up (1941)
* Pirates on Horseback (1941)
* Wide Open Town (1941)
* Stick to Your Guns (1941)
* Riders of the Timberline (1941)
* Undercover Man (1942)
* Lost Canyon (1942)
* Red River Robin Hood (1942)
* Thundering Hoofs (1942)
* Bandit Ranger (1942)
* Border Patrol (1943)
* Bar 20 (1943)
* Colt Comrades (1943)
* Buckskin Frontier (1943)
* Riders of the Deadline (1943)
* Forty Thieves (1944)
* Call of the Rockies (1944)
* Bordertown Trail (1944)
* Stagecoach to Monterey (1944)
* Firebrands of Arizona (1944)
* The Vampire's Ghost (1945)
* Three's a Crowd (1945)
* Trail of Kit Carson (1945)
* The Fatal Witness (1945)
* Jungle Raiders (1945)
* The Catman of Paris (1946)
* Passkey to Danger (1946)
* Traffic in Crime (1946)
* Night Train to Memphis (1946)
* The Pilgrim Lady (1947)
* Saddle Pals (1947)
* Last Frontier Uprising (1947)
* Robin Hood of Texas (1947)
* The Red Stallion (1947)
* Blackmail (1947)
* Panhandle (1948)
* Guns of Hate (1948)
* Strike It Rich (1948)
* Belle Starr's Daughter (1948)
* Stampede (1949)
* Sky Dragon (1949)
* Rustlers (1949)
* Dakota Lil (1950)
* Rio Grande Patrol (1950)
* Short Grass (1950)
* Storm over Wyoming (1950)
* The Kangaroo Kid (1950)
* Riders of the Range (1950)
* Overland Telegraph (1951)
* Cavalry Scout (1951)
* I Was an American Spy (1951)
* Flight to Mars (1951)
* Pistol Harvest (1951)
* The Highwayman (1951)
* Law of the Badlands (1951)
* Road Agent (1952)
* The Raiders (1952)
* Fort Osage (1952)
* Battle Zone (1952)
* Flat Top (1952)
* Trail Guide (1952)
* Cow Country (1953)
* Fighter Attack (1953)
* Fort Algiers (1953)
* The Royal African Rifles (1953)
* War Paint (1953)
* Fort Vengeance (1953)
* Arrow in the Dust (1954)
* The Yellow Tomahawk (1954)
* Dragonfly Squadron (1954)
* Fort Yuma (1955)
* Desert Sands (1955)
* Shotgun (1955)
* Tall Man Riding (1955)
* The Lone Ranger (1956)
* The Broken Star (1956)
* Quincannon, Frontier Scout (1956)
* Tomahawk Trail (1957)
* Revolt at Fort Laramie (1957)
* Outlaw's Son (1957)
* Taming Sutton's Gal (1957)
* The Wayward Girl (1957)
* The Lone Ranger and the Lost City of Gold (1958)
* War Party (1965)
* Fort Courageous (1965)
* Convict Stage (1965)
* Town Tamer (1965)
* The Texican (1966)
* Fort Utah (1967)
* Arizona Bushwhackers (1968)

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