The Forty-Niners (1954)

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

"The Forty-Niners" turned out to be "Wild Bill" Elliot's final western. His series was one of the last, if not the last, of the "B" series westerns. TV had come to town.The film begins with Ernie Walker (John Doucette) and Bill Norris (Lane Bradford) ambushing and killing a federal marshal. Mine owner Everett (I. Sanford Jolley) is brought in and charged with the murder. He reveals that he had hired the killers but cannot remember their names. He does recall however, the name of the man who arranged for him to meet the killers - Alf Billings. Marshal Sam Nelson (Elliot) is assigned to track down Billings (Harry Morgan) and learn the identity of the killers.Nelson runs into Billings in a saloon poker game where he is caught cheating by gambler Harry Lauter. Nelson rescues Billings and the two flee. Over the course of their fireside chat, Billing proposes that the two work together to clean up in poker games. Nelson agrees so that he can keep Billings under surveillance.As luck would have it, after arriving in the gold miner town of Coldwater, Billings spots Walker who has become the prosperous saloon owner. Billings blackmails Walker into a partnership by writing a letter detailing Walker and Norris' crimes and hiding it. Norris meanwhile has become the town sheriff and has a confrontation with Nelson. Nelson begins to suspect Walker and Norris as the killers.In an effort to obtain the incriminating letter, Walker conspires with his wife Stella (Virginia Grey) to play up to Billings with whom she had a previous relationship. Billings gets her to admit the plot by promising to "take her away from all this". A letter written by Nelson to his superiors is intercepted by Norris and Nelson's identity is revealed.Walker and Norris force Billings to try and kill Nelson. Nelson meets Billings at a deserted cabin but Billings is unable to kill Nelson and proposes that the two work together to which Nelson reluctantly agrees. On the way back to town Billings meets Norris, the two fight, Billings is wounded and.............................................For his final western Elliot didn't disappoint his fans. He had a better than usual supporting cast, a good story and enough action to satisfy his fans."Wild Bill" Elliot's western career began in earnest with "The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickcok" a 1938 serial followed by a five year career at Columbia and a further period with Republic Pictures where he starred in a number of their "A" features. Elliott's Monogram/Allied Artists series was I thought, a cut above those of most of his contemporaries.."B" plus, if you will.Still and all, it was sad to see "Wild Bill" riding off into the sunset for one last time.

The Forty-Niners is directed by Thomas Carr and written by Dan Ullman. It stars Wild Bill Elliott, Harry Morgan, Virginia Grey, John Doucette and Lane Bradford. Music is by Raoul Kraushaar and cinematography by Ernest Miller. 1849. There was gold in California. According to the Eastern newspapers the mountains and streams were full of it. People from all over the country came here by the thousands, and were called The Forty Niners. Some of them worked hard for their golden dreams - - others robbed, plundered and killed for the gold. The entire burden of law enforcement had to be done by a handful of men - - the few United States Marshals the Federal Government could spare to protect its citizens…Wild Bill Elliott goes under cover to find out the identity of some dastard killers in this pleasant mystery based black and white Oater. Backed by an Elliot voice narration throughout, it's obvious that Carr and Ullman are firmly tuning into a Dragnet for the Western crowd vibe, and it actually works. With Elliott proving to be a likable lead man and Morgan enjoying himself as a shifty card cheat and blackmailer, the material on the page is delivered with entertaining gravitas. The pace is brisk, the action plenty and there's enough twists in Ullman's screenplay to keep you guessing. Yes for sure the ending is never in doubt, this is classic "B" Western territory after all, but a good time to be had here for the discerning Western fan. 6.5/10

Wild Bill Elliott stars in one of his last westerns for Allied Artists -- basically Monogram with a budget -- in this story about a marshal hunting for someone who is killing miners for their claims during the California Gold Rush.The story is compressed a bit by having Elliott narrate the beginning of the story. However, with his low-affect acting style and the overly full writing of the narration, it comes off like a long episode of TV's DRAGNET on horseback. Add in Harry Morgan, who spent the end of the 1960s as the second lead on the current version of the show -- well, from this distance it looks like a burlesque of Jack Webb's. In reality, it was probably simply an attempt to add some up-to-date techniques to the oldest film genre.It didn't work. Elliott would retire from the cowboy B movies -- he would switch to mysteries -- and the B westerns themselves would migrate to the television screen and then would die. The mythology of the West was no longer the myth of the country. Science Fiction was already moving in.

This western was enjoyable to watch and well acted by a cast of good actors. There's a good story line that doesn't just exist as a frame work for a lot of gun fights. The story is fairly well written. The problems start with the setting. This is supposed to be set in 1849 California. Westerns have always has problems with authenticity; but this one is way off the mark. It becomes distracting at times; and takes away from an otherwise good story, and good acting. The environment of the story is almost completely wrong. 1849 California was fairly primitive with many hardships. The town in this story looks like something out of a western set in 1870's Kansas. The wardrobe is wrong for the time. The inside of buildings are wrong for 1849 California. The fire arms are way off; and many other things. But with all that being said; I'd still have to recommend seeing this film It has a certain charm. Henry Morgan and Virginia Grey turn in their usual good performances. Bill Elliott is a little stiff; but is the kind of star that made westerns of this era fun. So inspire of the problems i outlined I still enjoyed this film. I would have given it a lower ranking if it hadn't been for Harry Morgan and Virginia Grey; they were great.