The Well **** (1951, Richard Rober, Harry Morgan, Barry Kelley, Maidie Norman, Christine Larson) – Classic Movie Review 13,012

The notable 1951 drama film The Well stars Richard Rober, Harry Morgan, Barry Kelley, and Maidie Norman. Still relevant, it tackles the thorny issues of racial tensions and group behaviour in the form of a thriller.

Directors Leo Popkin and Russell Rouse’s notable 1951 drama film The Well stars Richard Rober, Harry Morgan, Barry Kelley, Maidie Norman, and Christine Larson. Still relevant, it tackles the thorny issues of racial tensions and group behaviour.

Claude Packard (Harry Morgan), a white stranger in a racially-mixed small American town, is arrested for abduction when a a five-year-old black girl called Carolyn (Gwendolyn Laster) disappears, leading the townsfolk to erupt into violence, only to band together when the girl is discovered trapped down a well. The freed Claude (Morgan), initially angry and outraged, eventually helps the sheriff, Ben Kellogg (Richard Rober), to try to release the girl from the well, as it turns out that Claude is an engineer.

An exciting drama that rarely slackens its tension is helped by the excellent performances from Morgan, Rober and Barry Kelley. The gripping script, in a pioneer tackling of the race issue, received a deserved Oscar nomination, and there is a moving score too, by Dimitri Tiomkin.

Also in the cast are Maidie Norman, Ernest Anderson, Dick Simmons, Lane Chandler, Pat Mitchell, and Margaret Wells.

It was nominated for two Academy Awards: Best Original Screenplay and Best Film Editing.

It was shot in Marysville and Grass Valley, California, and in the studio at the Motion Picture Center Studio, Hollywood.

It was released in the US on September 10, 1951

The Well is directed by Leo Popkin and Russell Rouse, runs 85 minutes, is made by Cardinal Pictures/ Harry Popkin Productions, is released by United Artists, is written by Russell Rouse and Clarence Greene, is shot in black and white by Ernest Laszlo, is produced by Harry M Popkin and Clarence Greene, and is scored by Dimitri Tiomkin.

The cast are Richard Rober as Sheriff Ben Kellogg, Gwendolyn Laster as Carolyn Crawford, Maidie Norman as Mrs Martha Crawford, Barry Kelley (billed as Barry Kelly) as Sam Packard, Harry Morgan as Claude Packard, Tom Powers as the Mayor, Robert Osterloh as Wylie, Christine Larson as Casey, George Hamilton as Grandpa Peabody, Ernest Anderson as Ralph Crawford, Dick Simmons as Deputy Mickey McClure, Lane Chandler, Pat Mitchell, and Margaret Wells.

© Derek Winnert 2024 – Classic Movie Review 13,012

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