The Outcasts Of Poker Flat (1952)

A disparate group of "undesirables" are run out of the town of Poker Flat. They include a gambler (Dale Robertson), an aging prostitute (Miriam Hopkins), a drunk (William H. Lynn) and the wife of a bank robber (Anne Baxter). Traveling through the mountains to get to the next town, a snow storm forces them to lodge in an abandoned cabin. Based on the short story by Bret Harte (previously filmed in 1917 and 1937) and directed by Joseph M. Newman (THE BIG CIRCUS). This is a nice little western which focuses more on its characters rather than action. Not that there isn't any tension or conflict, there is but it's not the movie's raison d'etre. Others snowed in at the cabin include a killer (Cameron Mitchell), a young man (Craig Hill) and his pregnant girlfriend (Barbara Bates). Since the majority of the action takes place in that cabin, it often feels like a filmed play. It's different enough to be worth checking out even if you're not into westerns. I liked it a lot. The score by Hugo Friedhofer (BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES) add another layer of quality to the proceedings.