Yellow Sky (1948)

Written by CinemaSerf on July 9, 2022

Gregory Peck ("Stretch") leads a miscreant gang of bank robbers, who are chased by a troop of army cavalry into a deserted gold mining town that's occupied only by a young (and pretty) Anne Baxter ("Mike") and her grandfather James Barton. Desperately thirsty after their trudge across the salt flats, the men are soon suitably revivified - body and soul - and set their sights on this young lady, and on their gold. After quite a few, entertaining, scraps "Stretch" and the feisty woman gradually start to bond, and they make a deal to split their golden horde - worth some $50,000 - 50/50 . The only thing is, they have to dig it out of their collapsed mine. "Dude" (Richard Widmark) is less convinced by this plan, and as their digging continues, and a tribe of Apache - frustrated with the limitations of their reservation lives - arrive, what trust there was between the gang members becomes seriously compromised. William Wellman and photographer Joe MacDonald have worked wonders with the arid, inhospitable (Death Valley) scenario for this film. The characters allow their surroundings to compliment their predicaments well; the dialogue is sparing with plenty of action to keep the pace up. The ending is a bit rushed, and there is something of the "Calamity Jane" about Baxter's performance (without any singing) that I struggled with - but it's got an atmosphere to it that renders it well worth watching.