Red Mountain (1951)

Set in 1865 Colorado during the waning days of the Civil War, a gold assayer (Dan White) is killed and the townspeople suspect an ex-Confederate soldier (Arthur Kennedy) and form a posse to find him. When he's found, the posse turns into a lynch mob and the ex-soldier is saved by a mysterious stranger (Alan Ladd). Directed by William Dieterle (1939'S HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME), this historical western begins promisingly enough but it can't sustain itself and around the halfway mark turns into a dullish routine western. It's a pity because the players are good and the movie looks quite handsome with the New Mexico locations shot in vibrant Technicolor by Charles Lang (GHOST AND MRS. MUIR). But the tiresome plot of Southern loyalists fighting to the bitter end gets old real fast. In a change of pace, instead of playing the noir femme fatale, Lizabeth Scott plays the wholesome good girl which makes her less interesting as an actress. With John Ireland, Neville Brand, Jeff Corey and Bert Freed.