Vergeltung am Teufelssee

Unusual, exceptional western has six fugitives from a Nevada penitentiary on the run from the law in a snowstorm, taking refuge in a remote woodland village inhabited only by women, mostly wives of traveling prospectors. Glenn Ford plays the falsely accused thief of $40,000 out to kill the liar who wrongly fingered him for the crime and stole off with the money himself; Gene Tierney is the crook's unknowing intended, who instead develops a passion for Ford. Interesting tale plays out melodramatically rather than as a suspense story; still entertaining however, with excellent lead performances and solid work from Ethel Barrymore as the elderly matriarch of the ladies. There's an exciting wrap-up to the whole thing (topped with a dandy fall from a mountainside), plus a narrator telling us it was all based upon a true occurrence. That seems unlikely (as rendered here), though it makes for a rugged adventure with romantic asides. **1/2 from ****

The Secret of Convict Lake is directed by Michael Gordon and collectively written by Anna Hunger, Jack Pollexfen, Oscar Saul and Victor Trivas. It stars Glenn Ford, Gene Tierney, Ethel Barrymore, Zachary Scott, Ann Dvorak, Barbara Bates, Cyril Cusack, Richard Hylton, Helen Westcott, and Jeanette Nolan. Music is by Sol Kaplan and cinematography by Leo Tover.

I came here to kill one man. I don't mind killing a couple of others if I have to.

It's winter time here at Diablo Lake, and the five convicts who have survived the escape find themselves holed up in a remote village. Their reasons for being there differ, more notable though is that the men of the village are away prospecting, meaning the village is only currently populated by women.

It's a fine bubbling broth of scenarios, each convict is different, ranging from unstable psycho type, alpha male, twitchy youngster, simpleton and on to the calm likeable one who doesn't appear to belong in this company. So with the reasons for the men being here established, narrative then jostles with the inner fighting of the convicts, and the various emotional strands of the women folk. Suffice to say there is sexual tensions, mistrust, misrule, macho posturing and of course secrets to be born out.

Violence is sporadic but potent upon arrivals (one instance especially grabs you by the throat), and with the mystery of the men's crimes a constant question, intrigue makes for an enjoyable companion. Tech credits are uneven. The studio bound feel of the village sequences which fill out 90% of the pic are an itch, making you hanker for the more expansive snowy terrains that greeted us at story beginning. However, Tover's monochrome photography is suitably mood compliant, even if Kaplan's score isn't, while the lead actors are giving good value to offset some of the histrionics elsewhere.

Perhaps not the firecracker it could have been, given all the elements involved - particularly annoying that a strong feminist bent subsides into token play - this is none the less a most interesting piece that holds attention throughout. 7/10

Those opening scenes of mushing through snow under arctic conditions made me appreciate the comforts of an easy chair and fireplace. It's an oddball Western from start to finish with a strong cast and a noirish atmosphere. Essentially a band of escaped convicts invade a small mountain village whose men are away leaving only the women. As you can guess a number of subplots evolve from the premise, the most important of which has Glenn Ford trying to clear himself of an unjust murder charge.

I love it when evil-eyed bad guy Jack Lambert has a stare-down with gimlet-eyed bad guy Zachary Scott. It's almost like a couple of Darth Vaders squaring off. There are a number of good scenes most of which involve Scott, especially when he's vamping the hapless Ann Dvorak. But, the best scene defies our expectations when the two youngsters run off to the woods. It's a chilling, well done sequence. The cast is almost an A-list, with Ford quite good as the resolute Jim Canfield when he stands up to the other four convicts. Ditto, the other performers who manage to make some difficult dramatic scenes convincing enough.

And catch that ending. It made me wonder just what does comprise a "duly constituted jury". It's an unusual resolution for its time, to say the least. I don't think I ever found out the "Secret" of the title, nor I believe do we ever see Convict Lake. Nonetheless, there's more than enough going on to fill a lively 83 minutes, and I agree with the others that the movie is generally an under-rated Western.

I just want to say that this is a better than average western with a good cast. The first half was rather slow, boring and uneventful. I was about to turn it off, but I fortunately stayed with it. The second half really came to life with lots of action, a fast moving intricate plot and soap opera-like goings on.

It's interesting that the resolution is similar to Glen Ford's oater "The Fastest Gun Alive," another good Western.

The whole cast shined. Besides Ford and Tierney, Zachary Scott and Ann Dvorak were compelling.

Though not an "A" production by 20th century Fox, it was far from the typical "B" production values. The cinematography (Leo Tover), acting, music, dialog, etc. were all top-notch.

The Secret Of Convict Lake is based on the proposition in the title, if you're a thief you think everyone steals. So when Glenn Ford who was framed for a robbery and murder leads a breakout in a Nevada prison and takes six men over the Sierras to a remote town in the foothills. Ford is looking to even the score with the guy that framed him, but the others who include Zachary Scott, Cyril Cusack, Jack Lambert, and Richard Hylton don't believe him, they believe he's hidden the stolen money there.

One of their number dies, frozen to death on a mountaintop, but the others arrive at a small settlement on a mountain lake. The men are gone and the women are led by tough old pioneer lady Ethel Barrymore. Ford has a tough time keeping the others in line, especially Scott who definitely has his own ideas.

It's pretty tough among the women as well, they haven't seen their men for weeks and some of them are looking good. For Barbara Bates especially, a young inexperienced girl who Hylton takes a fancy to. By the way in those days of The Code, Hylton's portrayal of a sex offender was pretty daring.

Barrymore and Gene Tierney are pretty good at reading character and realize Ford is not a real criminal type. How that all works out you have to see The Secret Of Convict Lake.

The film was shot in another remote Sierra town called Bishop, California and in Durango, Colorado. The cinematography is both stark, forbidding, and strangely beautiful. It happens to be based on a true story at a place called Monte Diablo Lake renamed Convict Lake as per the film.

According to Peter Ford's biography of his dad, Glenn sustained a serious eye infection during the shoot and wore a patch over the infected eye when the cameras weren't rolling. He also had a great admiration for Ethel Barrymore as actress. And he and Gene Tierney found each other's company delightful.

The Secret Of Convict Lake is a must for Glenn Ford's legion of fans.