In the spring of 1949 the folks at Republic Pictures released this exquisitely photographed western in its Trucolor process. A few months later they would release a follow-up western called BRIMSTONE, which was also made in Trucolor and included some of the same cast members (Jim Davis & Forrest Tucker in key support roles, and Jody Gilbert in a minor role). Different directors were utilized but the results in these productions are strikingly similar.
In both pictures we have characters on the wrong side of the law with the possibility they may be redeemed and things turn out all right in the end. Of course, in BRIMSTONE Walter Brennan plays a corrupt patriarch who gets a little too much pleasure rustling other people's cattle and leading his boys down a dark path, but one son is interested in reforming himself. That redemption theme is also present in HELLFIRE.
This time we have Bill Elliott playing a professional gambler traveling the west. He has participated in too many crooked card games and someone comes gunning for him. A preacher ends up taking the bullet meant for Elliott. Realizing he's lucky to be alive and the irony of the situation not lost on him, he decides to change his life. He's promised the late clergyman he will fulfill a mission of building a church. He then takes up the dead man's Bible and becomes a preacher himself. It's a bit contrived I suppose, but not really. People do experience life-changing moments.
At the same time there is a female outlaw (Marie Windsor) who is on her own course of self-destruction. That is, until she meets up with Elliott and is now challenged to change herself. Yes, the plot gets a tad heavy handed in this regard, and pun intended, may be perceived as being somewhat preachy. But I don't think the main goal of the film is to convert moviegoers to Christianity, as much as it is probably to reinforce the Christian beliefs of the rural audiences who usually went to see Republic's films.
Actress Catherine McLeod who was under contract at Republic in the late 1940s and early 1950s talked very positively about her experiences at the studio. She had previously been employed at MGM, but wasn't getting anywhere because she couldn't compete with the Judy Garlands, June Allysons and Lana Turners over there. She said Republic liked to give disciplined performers who were not a household name a chance to prove themselves, occasionally in lead roles. I am sure Marie Windsor would agree with this.
Windsor specialized in portraying shady femmes in westerns and noir. During her screen career, she was not associated with one particular studio. In between studio assignments she often took parts in low-budget productions. At Republic, she had the chance to appear in several 'A' budget films; HELLFIRE was one. She would also have key second leads at the studio in other genres, such as the popular crime flick HELL'S HALF ACRE (1954).
But I think Windsor was always served better in western fare, since she could successfully offset the hardened character aspects of frontier life with her delicate physical features. When she ends up in Elliott's arms after a fatal shoot-out, she is still quite lovely, despite the terrible things her character is alleged to have done.
In both pictures we have characters on the wrong side of the law with the possibility they may be redeemed and things turn out all right in the end. Of course, in BRIMSTONE Walter Brennan plays a corrupt patriarch who gets a little too much pleasure rustling other people's cattle and leading his boys down a dark path, but one son is interested in reforming himself. That redemption theme is also present in HELLFIRE.
This time we have Bill Elliott playing a professional gambler traveling the west. He has participated in too many crooked card games and someone comes gunning for him. A preacher ends up taking the bullet meant for Elliott. Realizing he's lucky to be alive and the irony of the situation not lost on him, he decides to change his life. He's promised the late clergyman he will fulfill a mission of building a church. He then takes up the dead man's Bible and becomes a preacher himself. It's a bit contrived I suppose, but not really. People do experience life-changing moments.
At the same time there is a female outlaw (Marie Windsor) who is on her own course of self-destruction. That is, until she meets up with Elliott and is now challenged to change herself. Yes, the plot gets a tad heavy handed in this regard, and pun intended, may be perceived as being somewhat preachy. But I don't think the main goal of the film is to convert moviegoers to Christianity, as much as it is probably to reinforce the Christian beliefs of the rural audiences who usually went to see Republic's films.
Actress Catherine McLeod who was under contract at Republic in the late 1940s and early 1950s talked very positively about her experiences at the studio. She had previously been employed at MGM, but wasn't getting anywhere because she couldn't compete with the Judy Garlands, June Allysons and Lana Turners over there. She said Republic liked to give disciplined performers who were not a household name a chance to prove themselves, occasionally in lead roles. I am sure Marie Windsor would agree with this.
Windsor specialized in portraying shady femmes in westerns and noir. During her screen career, she was not associated with one particular studio. In between studio assignments she often took parts in low-budget productions. At Republic, she had the chance to appear in several 'A' budget films; HELLFIRE was one. She would also have key second leads at the studio in other genres, such as the popular crime flick HELL'S HALF ACRE (1954).
But I think Windsor was always served better in western fare, since she could successfully offset the hardened character aspects of frontier life with her delicate physical features. When she ends up in Elliott's arms after a fatal shoot-out, she is still quite lovely, despite the terrible things her character is alleged to have done.