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The Young Land

Released May 1, 1959 1h 29m Western List
Reviews 22% Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Ratings
A white man (Dennis Hopper) stands trial for killing a Mexican in 1848 California, just after the Mexican War.
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The Young Land

Critics Reviews

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Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com A message film about interracial tensions, mostly known for featuring John Wayne's son Pat in the lead role and for its Oscar nominated song, Strange Are the Ways of Love. Rated: C+ Oct 5, 2012 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member Good one here recommend it, James Welch or Henderson Arkansas March 25, 2023 Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/27/23 Full Review Audience Member I thought it a good western. Patrick Wayne (John Wayne's son) stars along with Yvonne Craig (Batgirl) in a pretty tense drama. A young arrogant Dennis Hopper plays the killer with a great performance with the cast of Holly woods best. More here: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Young_Land Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/15/23 Full Review Audience Member This looked like a movie John Wayne and John Ford backed to help Patrick Wayne get into the movie business. It was produced by John Ford's son Patrick Ford. Patrick Ford produced most of John Ford's movies in the 1950's. The story is set between the end of the Mexican War and before the California Gold rush. It's a fictional story about the U.S. Government attempting to get control of the California Territory before statehood. Patrick Wayne plays an ex-Marine chosen as sheriff in a small California settlement. It's a little known fact that it was the Navy and the Marines that took the California coastal cities during the Mexican War. An Anglo-American shoots and kills a Spanish-Californian is a gunfight. Unlike the characters John Wayne would have played Patrick Wayne plays a non-violent sheriff. The story is more about America in the 1950's and 1960's than California in 1848. Does U.S. law apply fairly to white Americans and non-White Americans equally? If an incident had occurred like was shown in the movie in 1848, (and it probably did many times) there would have been no U.S Marshall and Federal Judge to send for. California at this time was notorious for vigilante justice. In fact it was invented in Old California. A vigilance committee would be formed and the killer would be lynched. The movie was also different from the other Westerns of the 1950's in that they used replicas of the type of guns used in 1848. They were all muzzle loaders and cap and ball revolvers. But there was little smoke. These old guns used black powder and made lots of smoke. Most of the actors in the movie were young and some became big stars latter on including Patrick Wayne and Dennis Hopper. Patrick Wayne's girl friend in the movie became Batgirl on TV and his deputy became Festus on Gunsmoke. The acting is not very good. But the credits and color was as good as any first rate movie of that era. The song from the credits was nominated for an Oscar. I don't know why. It wasn't that good. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/06/23 Full Review Audience Member Simple western. The young cast is appealing but their acting is not that good. The production is good however, the competent production values and a catchy Oscar nominated theme song are plusses. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/18/23 Full Review Audience Member Simple western. The young cast is appealing but their acting is not that good. The production is good however, the competent production values and a catchy Oscar nominated theme song are plusses. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/30/23 Full Review Audience Member Really not such a bad Western... I was suprised. The characters are sometimes a little annoying (the Sheriff especially) but overall the topic is handled fairly well and it's a really modern question - one that may forever stay modern - for it's dealing with how the new "American justice" is implemented in newly acquired, former Mexican California. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/27/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Young Land

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Cast & Crew

Movie Info

Synopsis A white man (Dennis Hopper) stands trial for killing a Mexican in 1848 California, just after the Mexican War.
Director
Ted Tetzlaff
Producer
Patrick Ford, C.V. Whitney
Screenwriter
John Reese, Norman S. Hall
Distributor
Columbia Pictures
Production Co
C.V. Whitney Pictures
Genre
Western
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
May 1, 1959, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 19, 2016
Runtime
1h 29m
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