California 1947 DVD Technicolor approx. 97 min. Optional English subtitles (close captions for HoH) Beautifully re-mastered print. Shown in its original theatrical aspect: 1.37 : 1. Region One – Payable in North America – the US, Canada, Mexico, etc.
Starring: Ray Milland, Barbara Stanwyck, Barry Fitzgerald, George Coulouris, Anthony Quinn, Albert Dekker, Frank Faylen, Gavin Muir, James Burke, Eduardo Ciannelli, Roman Bohnen, Argentina Brunetti, Howard Freeman, Julia Faye, Crane Whitley, Joey Ray, Tommy Tucker, Frances Morris, Minerva Urecal, Virginia Farmer, Dock McGill. Written by Frank Butler(screenplay), Theodore Strauss(screenplay), Boris Ingster(story). Directed by John Farrow.
Jonathan Trumbo (Ray Milland), a deserter who had been an army lieutenant, is hired to guide a wagon train bound for California during the California Gold Rush. When a woman named Lily Bishop (Barbara Stanwyck) is accused of cheating at poker in a saloon, farmer Michael Fabian (Barry Fitzgerald) invites her to join the wagon train over Trumbo's strenuous objections. Trumbo also accuses of her of cheating at cards after losing to Lily, an insult that she promises not to forget.
Lily leaves with Booth Pennock (Gavin Muir), a ruffian who injures Trumbo with a whip before departing. Lily ends up in Pharaoh City running a saloon. The town is controlled by Pharaoh Coffin (George Coulouris), a former slave trader who opposes law and order and California statehood. After Trumbo becomes involved in a saloon brawl, Lily orders him to never return to the saloon, but Trumbo wins the place in a poker game.
Lily mistakenly takes Pharaoh to be an honest man and moves into his hacienda. Coffin's men assault Trumbo, who is rescued on the trail by Mexicans and vows revenge. When his wounds heal, Trumbo returns and becomes a spokesman for statehood advocacy. Coffin's hired men kill Fabian for similar beliefs, causing Lily to finally see Coffin for the crazed villain whom he is. Trumbo forms a posse and corners Coffin, who is descending into madness, and Lily shoots him. Trumbo, in love with Lily, promises to return to the army to atone for his desertion, hoping to someday return to her.
“Mighty drama of men who were titans...and a woman who was their match!”