The Kentuckian

directed by Burt Lancaster
List(s):"Movie One"
Category: "Western"
Year of Release:1955
Date Added:01/17/2015
Date Watched:12/05/2018
Description:Elias Wakefield (Burt Lancaster) is a Kentucky hunter in 1820, on his way to Texas with his son Eli. When a sheriff arrests Elias on false charges and threatens to turn him over to two men who have a feud with the Wakefields, an indentured servant girl named Hannah (Dianne Foster) sets him free and runs off with them. Elias uses all the money he had to go to Texas to free Hannah from her indenture. They stop to visit Elias's brother and get stuck in the town. Elias goes into business with his brother and falls for a local schoolteacher Susie (Diana Lynn). Hannah gets a job at a tavern. But Eli isn't happy, and when he runs away from Elias, Elias and Susie realize they aren't right for each other. Hannah saves Elias again, this time when the two feuders show up again. Father, son, and Hannah take off for Texas after all. Walter Matthau is along as the bullying owner of the bar where Hannah works.
My Rating:5

Reviews for The Kentuckian

Review - Kentuckian, The

Pretty smaltzy. Lancaster's character is a dope who looses a lot of fights and gets laughed at. Even the two fights he wins, he only wins because of Hannah. She's the star of the movie, even though she doesn't get a lot of screen time. It's obvious that she's in love with Elias, but their relationship is never established, even at the end. The dialogue is pretty bad in places, and the acting along with it.

Reviewed by Roger on 2018-12-05 19:38:05

Back to the list