“A
widowed farmer travels to a new
town with his young boy, hoping to buy
a farm and settle down; but things take
a downward spiral after a disastrous
loss of their harvest, as he joins an
outlaw gang and faces danger in the
tense 1950’s Western The Lone Hand...”
AFTER THE DEATH OF HIS WIFE, Zachary Hallock (Joel McCrea: Foreign Correspondent)
takes his young son Joshua (Jimmy Hunt) to the town of Timberline, where he
hopes to change their fortunes and make a home for them both, conscious of the
need for a proper home for the boy.
Zachary arranges a bank loan and buys a run-down farm and he, his son and his
dog Cherokee begin to make repairs and cultivate the land. Josh makes friends
with young Daniel Skaggs (Wesley Morgan), whose beautiful sister Sarah Jane
(the lovely Barbara Hale) takes an interest in him and his father.
“The
Lone Hand...
an enjoyable Western
with an appealing
and tightly constructed
storyline...”
An
outlaw gang is terrorising the territory and the sheriff is killed during a
shoot-out in the town, but Zachary is keen to keep his own counsel and refuses
to wear his gun or become involved; instead concentrating on restoring his home
and planting his crops.
Local
horse breeder George Haley (Charles Drake) organises a few of the townspeople
to form The Regulators to keep law and order, and when Zachary and Josh approach
him, is he happy to allow them to choose a couple of horses from his stock in
exchange for some grain come harvest time.
But Zachary, now keen to marry Sarah and provide a mother for Josh, becomes
enmeshed in a web of violence, lies and treachery; joining the outlaws in order
to secure his family's future after disaster strikes and the consignment of
grain is lost when Josh is ambushed while driving it to town.
Shocked to discover who is behind the ruthless outlaw gang, Zachary unwittingly
puts both his own life and that of his beloved son in danger as he faces a difficult
decision in The Lone Hand, an enjoyable Western with an appealing and
tightly constructed storyline.
The Lone Hand also features: Alex Nicol as Jonah Varden; Jim (James)
Arness as Gus Varden; Roy Roberts as Mr Skaggs; and Frank Ferguson as Banker
Mr Dann.
Musical Direction is by Joseph Gershenson; Director of Photography is Maury
Gertsman ASC; Story is by Irving Ravetch; Screenplay by Joseph Hoffman; Produced
by Howard Christie; and Directed by George Sherman.
*The
Lone Hand is released on DVD in the UK, courtesy of Simply Media, on 4 July
2016. Certificate: U | Year: 1953 | Running Time: 76 Minutes | Catalogue Number:
164468 | RRP: £12.99.
"The Lone Hand… an enjoyable Western with an appealing and tightly constructed
storyline" — Maggie Woods
“A
widowed farmer travels to a new