The Road to Denver

1955 "Face-To-Face and Pistol-To-Pistol! BROTHER AGAINST BROTHER!"
6.2| 1h30m| en| More Info
Released: 15 June 1955 Released
Producted By: Republic Pictures
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Synopsis

The Mayhew brothers flee from one Texas town to another as older brother Bill repeatedly attempts to keep younger brother Sam out of jail. Bill finally gives up on his younger brother and heads for Colorado. He gets a job and all is well until his brother shows up and takes a job that puts them on opposite sides of the law.

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Reviews

SunnyHello Nice effects though.
Billie Morin This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows
Mandeep Tyson The acting in this movie is really good.
Bob This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.
weezeralfalfa Bill and Sam Mayhew have been driving cattle to market. At the end of the trail, Sam tries out a rodeo horse, but fails. He punches someone, and the sheriff takes him to jail, where he's supposed to spend 30 days. That's too long in Bill's mind, so he ties a strong rope to the bars of the cell window, and the other end to his horse. Soon, there's a loud noise , as much of that wall lays in a heap, allowing Sam to exit. They quickly ride out of town. The next town, young Sam gets in an argument about the Civil War, punches his prospective employer and shoots the bartender. Again, he and Bill hustle out of town, with a posse following. At rest, Bill tells Sam they're spitting up, as the is tired of being involved in Sam's loose cannon episodes. It happens that both decide to head for Denver from NM, and from there westward to the gold-mining town of Central City.(Historically, there was such a town, that much shrank after the gold ran out.). Bill soon gets a job with John Sutter, who runs the livery stable, while Sam(Tom, now) gets a job as a gunslinger with the ambitious Jim Donovan(Lee Cobb), who owns the town saloon. Sutton plans on starting up a stage run from Central City to Denver. Donovan decides this would be a profitable undertaking. Instead of trying to beat Sutton to the punch, he decides to try to sabotage efforts to get the stage line running, or sabotage the stage once it gets running. Thus, he has his henchmen steal a bunch of horses that were earmarked to pull the stages. But, Bill and sidekick Whipsaw(Andy Clyde) recapture them. When Donovan learns of a significant gold shipment on the first stage run, he plans to have his men steal the gold, thereby ruining the reputation of the fledging company. Donovan arm twists Bill , who will be the stage driver, to cooperate in facilitating the heist. Bill does transfer a strongbox from the stage to a buckboard driven by Donovan's men, but when the box is opened in Donovan's office, they are in for a surprise. Bill is present at this opening, and draws on the surprised group. His gun is knocked off target, and a free for all follows, which is the most exciting 'action' in the film, as it spreads to the stairs and downstairs. Brother Sam(Tom) then draws his gun on Bill. I leave the rest of that story for you to see. ....During their stay in Central City, the brothers have a friendly competition over Sutton's unmarried daughter Elizabeth(Mona Freeman). It's soon clear which one she prefers....... To me, John Payne just seldom feels like a western star, often looking too wimpy to be such a star. Lee Cobb has it all over him, in terms of charisma. Even Skip Homeier, as brother Sam, often outshines Payne. Andy Clyde, as whipsaw provides some light humor, and 'old timer' charisma. Lee Van Cleef plays one of Donovan's henchmen.....This was filmed in Republic's Trucolor process, which supposedly degrades over time, but I didn't detect a problem here.
bsmith5552 "The Road to Denver" being a Republic Trucolor western is better made than most of westerns being made by other studios, but just routine for them. Directed by veteran Joe Kane it is rather predicable as the story unfolds.John Payne and Skip Homier play brothers Bill and Sam Mayhew. Bill is ever getting his hot tempered brother out of trouble. After breaking Sam out of jail the brothers decide to separate and go their separate ways. Bill is befriended by John Sutton (Ray Middleton) who is planning to start a stagecoach line and who also happens to have an attractive daughter Elizabeth (Mona Freeman).As luck would have it, Sam turns up in town and hires on as a gunfighter for town boss Jim Donovan (Lee J. Cobb). Naturally the brothers both take an interest in the comely Elizabeth. Meanwhile Sutton has made Bill a partner while Donovan plans to take over the new stage line. This leads to the inevitable showdown.As in most Republic westerns the supporting cast is made up of many recognizable western veterans. In addition to those already mentioned we have Andy Clyde along for comedy relief, Lee Van Cleef and Glenn Strange as Donovan henchmen, and Robert Burton, John Dierkes, Hank Worden, Francis McDonald, William Haade, Dick Alexander and Emory Parnell in various roles.Director Kane keeps thing moving and there is a dandy fight featuring the Republic stunt men. The acting is so so. Payne is one dimensional in the lead role and cannot hold up against the superior talent of Cobb, who although wasted here gives his usual great performance. Homier made a career out of playing the hot headed young gunfighter. Mona Freeman does what she can with a limited role.I think the film would have benefited from a stronger actor in the lead role.
dougdoepke Several reasons to comment on this entertaining but otherwise pretty routine Western. Scope out the saloon at the beginning. It may be the only Western watering hole I've seen with actual pink accents for inside and outside decor. How the heck did that happen in a macho horse opera. Maybe Republic had a few gallons left over from a Vera Hruba Ralston flick. Also, note how those early scenes along the sagebrush trails resemble the wistful Frederick Remington paintings of the early West. They're subdued pastels and in my book, quite striking, especially with the light snow cover unusual for any Western. Then there's Skip Homeier creating another of his cocky young punk characters he was so expert at. Working at lowly Republic would never get you an Oscar in snooty Hollywood. But in my book, Homeier was as good at etching memorable characters as any of the higher-priced talent. Too bad he eventually matured out of these roles, but here he's near his peak as the hot- headed young Sam Mayhew.The movie starts off fast, but sags somewhat in the middle—probably to accommodate the stagey skills of Broadway heavyweight Lee J. Cobb. (Notice that he has no outdoor scenes, holding forth instead from his saloon headquarters. That was probably in his contract so he wouldn't have to travel to Utah locations.) I was really impressed with the screen presence of Ray Middleton as the limping John Sutton. He's such a quietly imposing character that exudes integrity and strength. He certainly qualifies for a bigger career. Much of the movie's appeal comes from the cast, even Mona Freeman as the sweet young thing. She may be miscast, snuggling up with 43-year old Payne, but she does have a winning personality. All in all, it's a worthwhile little Western with a positive message of the sort that unfortunately they don't make anymore.
rooster_davis I'm giving 'The Road to Denver' a 7 because the story is not fantastic but it is entirely logical and watchable, certainly as much so as say a typical Western TV show. The acting is perhaps a bit better than others have said. I enjoy Skip Homeier in almost every movie he's in - he is in my opinion one of the all-time great Western character actors. Why he didn't share top billing with John Payne is a mystery to me.The story is a fairly basic one, two brothers trying to make their way in the old West but the younger one (Homeier) is just too much of a handful, causing fights and getting into trouble. The brothers argue and split up, landing on opposite sides of the law, with the older one (Payne) becoming part owner of a stage line and the younger one joining up with group of crooks trying to rob the stage and take over the business. One thing in this movie's favor is that it was shot in color, always a bonus. There are some truly beautiful outdoor scenes, and this film seems to have been shot at the onset of winter since there are also scenes with some snow on the ground. It's really a pretty movie to watch. I might normally rate a movie like this as a 6 but it gains a point because of Homeier. Get me a beer and some popcorn and I'll gladly watch this one again.