31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN DAY 11:THE NAKED HILLS 1956 (ALPHA)

A very obscure western.

I know, your first thought is "this isn't a horror film" and you are correct. The 31 days of Halloween are meant to be mostly horror films and has been in the past, but I am changing things up just a bit.

David Wayne is Tracy Powell, a farmer from Indiana who travels to California in 1849 during the gold rush. He comes out west with his friend Bert Killian (Denver Pyle) with the hopes of hitting it big.

After a time he becomes obsessed with gold and forsakes Bert as well as a lovely young woman he has met named Julie (Marcia Henderson). He returns to Julie after a while back in the hills looking for gold and coming back empty handed. They appear to be beginning a new life when all of a sudden Tracy gets gold fever again and simply has to go.

This crushes Julie who is now expecting a baby. Tracy hits is big, but has all of his claims stolen by a crooked banker named Willis Haver (Jim Backus). Once again Tracy heads for home and Julie isn't so accepting, but she does allow him to visit his son Billy.

One more time Tracy again tries to find gold after he has been told that everything he owned in a previous strike has been taken away, and he spends many years looking to get rich one more time.

This is a very low key western, and while there isn't much gunplay there is plenty to keep a viewer interested. Wayne's character of Tracy Powell is spot on perfect. The movie is bleak and depressing as well you keep rooting for Powell even though he always looses his claim.

This was released by Allied Artists and has slipped into obscurity. I had never heard of it until I got the disc, and for me, any obscure titles are well worth checking out. I will let you know that it was shot in Pathecolor, but the print presented here is in black and white, which better suits the film in my opinion.

So, another non Halloween film during the 31 Days Of Halloween, but it's still a good one. The rest of the cast includes Keenan Wynn, James Barton, Fuzzy Knight and Myrna Dell.