Curse of the Lost

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Movie
German title Curse of the Lost
Original title Horizons West
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1952
length 78 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director Budd Boetticher
script Louis Stevens
production Albert J. Cohen
music Henry Mancini
Herman Stein
camera Charles P. Boyle
cut Ted J. Kent
occupation
synchronization

Curse of the Lost (Original title: Horizons West ) is an American western by Budd Boetticher from 1952 . The film addresses the problems of the southern states after the American Civil War : "Social and economic chaos [...], regional hostilities and many thousands of war veterans , many of them homeless and bitter"; this is linked to a father-son conflict and the motive of the warring brothers.

action

In 1865, after the end of the Civil War, half-brothers Dan and Neil Hammond return home with their mutual friend and foreman of their father, Tiny McGilligan. At their ranch near Austin, Texas , they are warmly welcomed by family and old friends.

While Neil and Tiny have missed the country life, Dan has intentions to make a quick buck. Mayor Frank Tarletton gives Dan access to an elite poker game through the cattle baron Cord Hardin . Dan loses not only borrowed from his friend Sam Hunter money, he must Hardin also a promissory note issue over 5000 dollars. He enjoys his superiority, since he has not escaped the fact that Dan regularly flirts with his wife Lorna.

Dan seeks out a group of roaming deserters . Through the intercession of his former comrade Dandy Taylor, who is also in the group, the charismatic Dan becomes the leader of the outlaws.

Dan gets his first money with cattle theft and illegal deals with General Escobar from the Mexican Zona Libre .

As Dan settles his betting debts, Hardin notices that his country has already been raided several times, but Hammond's friends have so far been spared.

Hardin then has Neil intercepted and beaten by his men. Lorna alerts Dan; he frees his brother and his men and shoots Hardin. Backed by Lorna's testimony, Dan's behavior is classified as self-defense by the court. Lorna and Dan admit their love.

Dan takes advantage of the current chaos of the post-war era and the lack of law enforcement officers. With the help of the judge, he looks for loopholes in the law, finds formal errors in sales contracts and threatens defaulting taxpayers. Thereby he took over some lands and got prosperity and power.

The mayor sees no other option but to call Washington for help and to re-establish the Texas Rangers . He appoints Neil as interim marshal.

Dan and Dandy try to dissuade the mayor from his plan. When he refuses, Dandy shoots him on his own doorstep.

When the judge dismisses the widow's complaint against Dan, whose voice she recognized, the citizens get upset. Determined to vigilante justice, the angry crowd storms Dan's office. Only through the courageous intervention of Neil can Dan be saved. The angry mob followed the two brothers to the prison. Dan manages to escape by outwitting Tiny and shooting him. In the subsequent exchange of fire, Dandy is killed by the citizens. Dan manages to escape to Mexico .

When Neil and his father try to trap Dan in the Zona Libre to bring him to Austin, Dan manages to disarm both of them. As he lets her walk in front of him at gunpoint, he is met by a farmer who was ambushing him; even Lorna's cry of warning could not prevent this. Dan's last words show his love for Lorna and his guilty feelings towards his father.

An unspecified time later, Martha Hammond and Sally proudly watch as Ira and Neil ride off to bring their cattle "to be the first in Texas" to take the train to Abilene .

Production notes and performance history

The film was shot from mid-February to early March 1952 under the working title The Texas Man . During that time the director was “madly in love” with the recently divorced Julia Adams, “who was really radiant and beautiful”.

The premiere took place in October 1952; The film opened in German cinemas on October 22, 1954.

synchronization

The German dubbed version was created in 1954 at Berliner Synchron GmbH under the dubbing direction by Bruno Hartwich based on the dialogue book by Fritz A. Koeniger .

A second dubbed version was made in 1986 on behalf of ARD at Taunus Ton Verwaltung, Frankfurt .

role actor Dubbing voice 1954 Dubbing voice 1986
Dan Hammond Robert Ryan Heinz Engelmann Joachim Kerzel
Lorna Hardin Julia Adams Marion Degler Regina Lemnitz
Neil Hammond Rock Hudson Gert Günther Hoffmann Rudiger Bahr
Sally Eaton Judith Braun ? Katharina Graefe
Ira Hammond John McIntire Robert Klupp Wolfgang Völz
Cord Hardin Raymond Burr Curt Ackermann Randolf Kronberg
Martha Hammond Frances Bavier ? Marianne Mosa
General José Escobar Lopez Rodolfo Acosta ? Lutz Riedel

criticism

The director said the film was not "very good []" and saw it only as the forerunner of his mafia film J. D., the killer ; he was "not yet mature enough" for the subject. He praised his performers and was "quite proud" that Rock Hudson, Raymond Burr and Dennis Weaver started their careers with Curse of the Lost . He particularly emphasized the “professionalism and talent of [his] friend Robert Ryan”.

The self-criticism of the director is often followed by the English-language criticism, while the judgments in the German-language criticism are more friendly. So called Kino.de the film as "[e] benso colorful [] as fast-paced []" Prism stated, the "realistic [] Western with psychological painting" "especially the interplay between the two main characters' herd and the lexicon of international film sums up: "Hard gunslinger heroism in the foreground of an action-packed western."

Home theater editions

  • Curse of the Lost (=  Classic Western Edition ). Koch Media, [Planegg near Munich] 2008 [Supplement with a film historical appraisal by Hank Schraudolph, English version and dubbing from 1986].
  • Curse of the Lost. In: Classic Western - Collection Box - No. 1. Koch Media, [Planegg near Munich] 2010 [English version and both synchronizations].

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Release Certificate for Curse of the Lost . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry , March 2008 (PDF; test number: 74 91D DVD).
  2. ↑ a b Curse of the Lost. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed August 4, 2020 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used 
  3. ^ William J. Helmer. Quoted from the German translation in: Joe Hembus: The stuff westerns are made of. The history of the Wild West 1540–1894. Chronology - Mythology - Filmography. Extended new edition [by Benjamin Hembus] (=  Heyne non-fiction book. Volume 19/487). Wilhelm Heyne Verlag, Munich 1996 [first edition under the title Western-Geschichte 1981], ISBN 3-453-11776-X , p. 262 f. The statement is in the historical summary “End and Consequences of the Civil War” in front of the 16 films comprehensive filmography “Western about problems in the southern states after the civil war”, which also shows the film Horizons West .
  4. ↑ a b Horizons West. In: AFI Catalog of Feature Films of the American Film Institute , accessed on August 4 2020th
  5. ↑ a b c d Budd Boetticher: The Western (=  A British Film Institute Education Department Dossier. No. 2/6). Compiled by Jim Kitses. British Film Institute, [London 1969]. Quoted here from the German translation of a longer passage in: Joe Hembus: Das Western-Lexikon. 1567 films from 1894 to the present day . [With a foreword by Sergio Leone. Extended new edition by Benjamin Hembus] (=  Heyne Filmbibliothek. No. 32/207). Wilhelm Heyne Verlag, Munich 1995 [first edition 1976], ISBN 3-453-08121-8 , pp. 207 f.
  6. ↑ a b Release Info for Horizons West. In: Internet Movie Database , accessed August 4, 2020.
  7. ↑ a b c d e f Digital attachment (as of 07/2019) to: Thomas Bräutigam : Stars and their German voices. Lexicon of voice actors. 3rd improved, supplemented edition. Schüren, Marburg 2013 [1. Edition 2001], ISBN 978-3-89472-812-0 , entry "Curse of the Lost".
  8. ↑ a b c d e Curse of the Lost. In: synchrondatenbank.de . Synchrondatenbank.de , accessed on August 4, 2020.
  9. ↑ a b c d e Curse of the Lost [1. Synchro (1954)]. In: synchronkartei.de. German dubbing file , accessed on August 4, 2020 .
  10. ↑ a b c d e f g h i Curse of the Lost (new). In: synchrondatenbank.de . Synchrondatenbank.de , accessed on August 4, 2020.
  11. ↑ a b c d e f g Curse of the Lost [2. Synchro]. In: synchronkartei.de. German dubbing file , accessed on August 4, 2020 .
  12. ↑ See: Horizons West at Rotten Tomatoes (English), accessed on August 4, 2020.
  13. ^ Horizons West. In: kino.de , section “Critic Reviews”, accessed on October 21, 2019.
  14. ↑ Curse of the Lost. In: prisma.de , accessed on August 4, 2020.