Branded (1950 film)
| Branded | |
|---|---|
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| Directed by | Rudolph Maté |
| Produced by | Mel Epstein |
| Written by |
Winston Miller Frederick Hazlitt Brennan |
| Screenplay by |
Sydney Boehm Cyril Hume |
| Based on |
Montana Rides Again 1934 novel by Max Brand |
| Starring |
Alan Ladd Mona Freeman Charles Bickford Robert Keith |
| Music by | Roy Webb |
| Cinematography |
Charles Lang W. Wallace Kelley |
| Edited by | Alma Macrorie |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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104 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $2.2 million (US rentals) |
Branded is a 1950 Technicolor western film starring Alan Ladd, Mona Freeman, Charles Bickford, and Robert Keith. It was adapted from the novel Montana Rides by Max Brand. A gunfighter on the run from the law is talked into posing as the long-lost son of a wealthy rancher.
Choya (Alan Ladd), a gunfighter on the run, is tracked down by cowboys Leffingwell (Robert Keith) and "Tattoo" (John Berkes) in the mountains. They make him a part of a scheme to bilk a rich rancher named Lavery (Charles Bickford). The plan requires a tattoo on Choya's shoulder, but as soon as "Tattoo" creates one, Leffingwell shoots him in the back.
Choya rides to Lavery's Bar M ranch and asks foreman Ransome (Tom Tully) for a job, but doesn't get it. While they fight, Lavery and daughter Ruth (Mona Freeman) ride up. Lavery feels the ranch could use another good hand, so Choya is hired.
Ruth tells the new man how her 5-year-old brother was a kidnap victim many years ago, never seen again. One day, Lavery notices the tattoo and is amazed because his long-lost son had one just like it. Choya pretends it is a coincidence, but tells a story about a childhood memory that convinces Mr. and Mrs. Lavery that he is "Richard, Jr."
Leffingwell turns up and is hired at the ranch. His plot is to kill Lavery so that Choya can inherit the ranch. A guilt-ridden Choya offers him an alternative, stealing Lavery's stock on a cattle roundup.
Ruth rides along. Choya likes her so he double-crosses Leffingwell and has the cattle money deposited in the Lavery's account in an El Paso bank. He also learns that Leffingwell is the one who kidnapped the kid, only to have a Mexican bandit named Rubriz (Joseph Calleia) snatch the boy away. He confesses to Ruth and leaves the ranch.
Choya crosses the border and finds Lavery's son has been raised by Rubriz under the name Tonio. He persuades Tonio to return to his real home. Rubriz has raised the boy as his own son, and stung by his apparent betrayal, sends his men after them. Leffingwell also gives chase but is killed in a stampede. Choya and Tonio are trapped near the Rio Grande, but rescued just in time by Lavery and Ransome.
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