The Halliday Brand *** (1957, Joseph Cotten, Viveca Lindfors, Betsy Blair, Ward Bond) – Classic Movie Review 9604

‘Their violence seared the West like a branding iron!’

Director Joseph H Lewis’s 1956 The Halliday Brand is a rousing flashback Western making the most of a somewhat clichéd script about a rancher father, Big Dan Halliday (Ward Bond), and his two sons, nice Daniel Halliday (Joseph Cotten) and not-so-nice Clay Halliday (Bill Williams) at odds over the Indians.

Lewis directs this strong black and white B-feature with his accustomed flair and force, while Bond and Cotten add their integrity as performers.

Ray Rennahan’s cinematography and Stanley Wilson’s score are unusually imaginative and powerful, while the support performances are impeccable.

Also in the cast are Viveca Lindfors as Aleta Burris, Betsy Blair as Big Dan’s daughter Martha Halliday, Jay C Flippen, Christopher Dark, Jeanette Nolan, Glenn Strange and John Dierkes.

Bond, though properly patriarchal, was only two years older than Cotten who plays his son.

Betsy Blair (1923–2009) had been unofficially blacklisted because of her left-wing activism and ties to Communist sympathisers. She was cast as Big Dan’s daughter in case Bond’s support of the House Committee Against Un-American Activities could help revive her career.

However, despite opposing politics, she liked working with Bond.

‘It’s ridiculous that there is such a thing as prejudice,’ she said. ‘People are frightened of something different.’ The Halliday Brand is about prejudice. Big Dan Halliday has a blind hate of Indians and won’t let his children date or marry them.

Joseph H Lewis is the director of Terror in a Texas Town, starring Sterling Hayden.

The Halliday Brand is directed by Joseph H Lewis, runs 79 minutes, is made by Collier Young Associates, is released by United Artists, is written by George W George and George F Slavin, is shot by Ray Rennahan, is produced by Collier Young and is scored by Stanley Wilson.

© Derek Winnert 2020 Classic Movie Review 9604

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