The Walking Hills
John Sturges / US, 1949 / 78 min.
Classic from Columbia Pictures, which recently celebrated its centenary. John Sturges’ first western for Columbia, with a noir storyline set against the backdrop of Death Valley. A hidden stash of gold drives the drama, beautifully filmed by Charles Lawton Jr.
John Sturges, known for classics such as The Magnificent Seven (1960) and The Great Escape (1963), started his career as an editor and director of noir B movies at Columbia.
In 1949, he directed The Walking Hills for Columbia – the title refers to the shifting sands of Death Valley, which is plagued by sandstorms.
GreedThe story in Sturges’ first western shows several similarities to John Huston’s classic film noir The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) , in which a bunch of have-nots go hunting for gold in Mexico. In Sturges’ western, greed is likewise the driving force behind the action, and here too the story doesn’t end well.
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Special screenings
Details
Director
John Sturges
Production year
1949
Country
US
Original title
The Walking Hills
Length
78 min.
Language
English
Subtitles
NONE
Format
35mm
Part of
The Lady with the Torch
Legendary Hollywood studio Columbia Pictures is celebrating its centenary, and we’re marking the occasion with a rich programme on the company’s glory days. The films, including rediscoveries and surprising, seldom-seen B movies, show that art and commerce need not be mutually exclusive.
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