The Young Land

The Young Land
The Young Land
	DVD cover
Directed by	Ted Tetzlaff
Screenplay by	Norman S. Hall ; (as Norman Shannon Hall)
Story by	John Reese, Frontier Frenzy ;
Produced by	Patrick Ford
Starring	Patrick Wayne ; Yvonne Craig ; Dennis Hopper ; Dan O'Herlihy
Cinematography	Winton C. Hoch ; Henry Sharp
Edited by	Tom McAdoo
Music by	Dimitri Tiomkin
Production; company	C.V. Whitney Pictures
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release date	May 1, 1959;
Running time	89 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

The Young Land is a 1959 American Western film directed by Ted Tetzlaff and starring Patrick Wayne, Yvonne Craig, Dennis Hopper and Dan O'Herlihy.^[1] The cinematography was by Technicolor developer Winton C. Hoch and Henry Sharp. The film was distributed by Columbia Pictures Corporation.

It is the third and final of only three films produced by Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney's C.V. Whitney Pictures; the first being The Searchers in 1956 with John Wayne and directed by John Ford, the second being The Missouri Traveler in 1958 with Brandon deWilde and Lee Marvin.

Having previously been featured in a number of his father's films, this was the 20-year-old Wayne's attempt at a leading role while he was still enrolled at Loyola Marymount University, graduating from there in 1961.

The film was scored by Dimitri Tiomkin who earned a nomination for Academy Award for Best Original Song for "Strange Are the Ways of Love" (The Young Land theme) with lyrics by Ned Washington and sung by Randy Sparks.

Plot

In 1848, after the end of the Mexican–American War and with the advent of California statehood, an American gunslinger named Hatfield Carnes (Dennis Hopper) kills a Mexican man in California. He is arrested for the murder by Jim Ellison (Patrick Wayne), a former United States marine and now sheriff with neither a gun nor a badge. Appointed by prominent local businessman and politico Don Roberto de la Madrid (Roberto de la Madrid), Ellison has designs on de la Madrid's spoiled daughter, Elena (Yvonne Craig). By-the-book Judge Millard Isham (Dan O'Herlihy) arrives in town with Deputy Marshal Ben Stroud (Cliff Ketchum) to conduct the trial. Wanted tough guy Lee Hearn (Ken Curtis) has problems of his own with the law, but is willing to help Ellison as a deputy. Carnes is placed on trial in the new Mexican Cession territory with the Hispanic populace waiting to learn if American justice will convict Carnes.

Cast

Patrick Wayne as Sheriff Jim Ellison (as Pat Wayne)
Yvonne Craig as Elena de la Madrid
Dennis Hopper as Hatfield Carnes
Dan O'Herlihy as Judge Millard Isham
Roberto de la Madrid as Don Roberto de la Madrid
Cliff Ketchum as Deputy Marshal Ben Stroud
Ken Curtis as Lee Hearn
Pedro Gonzalez Gonzalez as Deputy Santiago
Ed Sweeney as Sully / Kelly (as Edward Sweeney)
John Quijada as Vasquero
Miguel Comacho as Miguel
Tom Tiner as Charlie Higgins, Court Clerk
Carlos Romero as Francisco Quiroga
Eddie Juaregui as Drifter (as Edward Juaregui)
The Mariachis Los Reyes De Chapala as Mariachis

Home media

No less than six different releases of The Young Land were produced on VHS. Similarly, several DVD versions were released over the years, mainly as an inclusion in a multiple film "western pack". The Young Land is available on Region 0 DVD through VCI Entertainment and video on demand in standard non-widescreen format.