Il segreto del lago

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

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 ****

When the film begins, a group of prisoners have escaped in the Sierra Nevadas. Most were soon caught but there are six unaccounted for...and headed towards a very, very small town. To make things worse for the folks in this minuscule town, all the men are gone...leaving everything to the women. While the women do initially get the jump on the prisoners, they cannot let them freeze to death or starve so they take them in...but keep them under close observation. There are some obvious problems...when they are healthier, this group of sociopaths are a serious risk to rape, steal or do other mayhem. Also, one of the men (Glenn Ford) is in this small town for a reason...one of the men from the town set him up to go to prison and he wants revenge. But he also is a decent man...and might be the only thing between the women and these sickos.

In some ways this film reminds me of the Gregory Peck film "Yellow Sky"....which is about a gang of thugs who harass an old man and his daughter. But this one has quite a few differences and is very good in its own right. Unusual and well worth seeing...and based, at least in part, on real events. How much was fiction and how much wasn't, I have no idea.

I first saw this peak time one Saturday night on UK ITV in the '70's and it's always stuck with me. It's a B+ Western with a good story and production, good acting and photography, and the very definition of Simple Yet Effective.

Six convicts on the run from a posse in blizzardy California in 1871, become five and then apparently stumble across a small settlement solely er manned by women. It turns out that their menfolk are away on some premise but on their way back while the good convict handsome Glenn Ford was waiting for one of them to return so he could kill him for revenge. Slimy Zachary Scott played the main bad convict manically convinced there was a fortune to be stolen somewhere. The women were in the main only lonely but the bad men were hogged up and dangerous even when not armed, and confirmed main old dame Ethel Barrymore's concern that they were wild bears and not men. The characters were all strong and strongly delineated, if made today the sex would probably be literally in your face but there'd also be a much greater sublety in everything as films are taken more leisurely nowadays. Everyone followed their correct moral paths right down to the morally ambiguous ending – however I suppose Glenn Ford should really have owned up to save the moral dilemma he put both the townsfolk and the majority of us viewers through who think it a good ending to a good little film.

From 1951, The Secret of Convict Lake stars Glenn Ford, Gene Tierney, Ethel Barrymore, Zachary Scott, Robert Hylton, Ann Dvorak, Jeanette Nolan, Helen Westcott, and Ruth Donnelly.

This is a departure from your usual western: First of all, it has strong female characters, including Ethel Barrymore, Gene Tierney, and Ann Dvorak.

Six escaped convicts are stopped by a blizzard in the Sierra Mountains. Jim Canfield (Glenn Ford) accompanies them, though he doesn't consider the other convicts buddies.

One is a slimeball, Johnny Greer, played by Zachary Scott, who is after $40,000 that he is sure Canfield stole, which is one reason Canfield was in prison, that and murder. There is also a psycho rapist and murderer, Clyde (Richard Hylton). One escapee died along the way.

The men approach a settlement, occupied by women whose men are away. They are treated decently by the women, but they are told to keep their distance. Canfield seems especially interested in Marcia (Tierney) who is engaged to marry Rudy, the brother of Rachel (Dvorak).

Canfield insists that he did not steal the $40,000 that Greer is after. He has his own reasons for being at the settlement.

As far as keeping their distance, it's difficult due to a love-hungry spinster (Dvorak) and an innocent young girl (Barbara Bates). There's bound to be trouble, and there is.

The ending is very unusual for the times, but to me satisfying.

Very good performances all around, big finale, and an effective snowstorm.