Some films end up being forgotten and that's the case with this excellent western directed by Michael Gordon (Cyrano de Bergerac, Pillow Talk) and with great black and white cinematography by Leo Tover (The Day the Earth Stood Still, The Tall Men, The Sun Also Rises, among many others). Inspired by a legend of the Convict Lake (Sierra Nevada, California), it tells the story of men who escaped from jail and go looking for 40000 dollars, through the snow in a lonely group of houses located on an almost unreachable valley. Glenn Ford and the great bad guy Zachary Scott are the main male characters and Gene Tierney, Ethel Barrymore and Ann Dvorak, the female. Great script, even Ben Hecht touched it, though uncredited. Dale Robertson lends his voice as the narrator, also uncredited. This film was a critical and commercial success and I am sure that it will eventually be back where it belongs, among the best westerns, in DVDs , etc.

Those opening scenes of mushing through snow under arctic conditions made me appreciate the comforts of an easy chair and fireplace. It's an oddball Western from start to finish with a strong cast and a noirish atmosphere. Essentially a band of escaped convicts invade a small mountain village whose men are away leaving only the women. As you can guess a number of subplots evolve from the premise, the most important of which has Glenn Ford trying to clear himself of an unjust murder charge.I love it when evil-eyed bad guy Jack Lambert has a stare-down with gimlet-eyed bad guy Zachary Scott. It's almost like a couple of Darth Vaders squaring off. There are a number of good scenes most of which involve Scott, especially when he's vamping the hapless Ann Dvorak. But, the best scene defies our expectations when the two youngsters run off to the woods. It's a chilling, well done sequence. The cast is almost an A-list, with Ford quite good as the resolute Jim Canfield when he stands up to the other four convicts. Ditto, the other performers who manage to make some difficult dramatic scenes convincing enough. And catch that ending. It made me wonder just what does comprise a "duly constituted jury". It's an unusual resolution for its time, to say the least. I don't think I ever found out the "Secret" of the title, nor I believe do we ever see Convict Lake. Nonetheless, there's more than enough going on to fill a lively 83 minutes, and I agree with the others that the movie is generally an under-rated Western.

Unusual Western which creates a wonderful atmosphere throughout with the gleaming black-and-white cinematography of the snowy setting; the narrative is set in motion with the appearance of five escaped prisoners (hungry, tired and with the law on their tails) at a small backwoods village, which they presently find inhabited only by the womenfolk. The former are led by Zachary Scott and, in their majority, expect to have a run of the place – but have reckoned without the resilience of the women, who have learned to defend themselves from outsiders.Besides, Scott is constantly at loggerheads with Glenn Ford: the latter had been convicted by the false evidence given at the trial by a local (the intended of heroine Gene Tierney), and Ford has come there expressly for the purpose of revenge – while Scott is eager to lay his hands on the fortune he believes Ford stole and, consequently, is hidden there! Due to a raging blizzard, the women are forced to extend their hospitality to the prisoners; however, the two groups live in isolation from one another, until the barn is accidentally set on fire and the men lend a helping hand – which breaks down the barrier if only for a little while.Two other important female roles are those of Ann Dvorak as Tierney's prospective sister-in-law (a shrewish spinster who's subsequently given the runaround by the slimy Scott – only so that he can get her to reveal the location of the weapons, which the women have hidden away) and Ethel Barrymore as, naturally, the matriarch of the settlement (bearing a strong will to make up for her fading health). Among the convicts are Cyril Cusack (the philosopher in the group) and Jack Lambert (the equally unavoidable brutish thug); another is a harmless-looking young man who goes into blackouts when contradicted and is then gripped by a homicidal fury – he strikes a friendship with the youngest in the place (Barbara Bates) but is soon forcing himself on the girl when he gets her alone…which leads him to a fight with Ford and then has to contend with the wrath of the other women, who promptly attack him with their pitch-forks! Of course, Ford and Tierney themselves develop feelings for one another – and, ultimately, the latter confesses that she doesn't love her fiancée (having accepted him only out of gratitude for the attentions he gave Tierney when down on her luck). Eventually, the menfolk of the village turn up and the convicts have to shoot it out with them (minutes only after Dvorak has disclosed the hiding-place of the money – stolen by her brother – and which Tierney has given to Scott so that he and his companions could leave!); amid all this hubbub, Ford has a showdown with his old nemesis (witnessed by Tierney). The finale is quite splendid: with the weather now calm, the posse has resumed the chase – arriving on the scene just as the townsfolk are holding services over five graves (whose occupants the former take to be the fugitives); at first, the locals were divided over whether to give Ford away or not but, after Tierney has pleaded his case, Barrymore's authority over the community ensures that everyone is of the same mind.Though essentially modest (running for a mere 83 minutes), the film is both good-looking and well-acted – very much an under-appreciated genre effort, evoking memories of such classics as THE OX-BOW INCIDENT (1943) and YELLOW SKY (1948), which ought to be on DVD (God knows Fox have done well by their vintage catalogue). By the way, I've got two more exotic Glenn Ford titles from this same era to catch up with – namely APPOINTMENT IN HONDURAS (1953) and PLUNDER OF THE SUN (1953) which thankfully, are on DVD

In "The Secret of Convict Lake" danger looms in the winter of the 1870's when escaped prisoners hide out at a colony consisting mostly of women. There's enough drama to hold your interest as the ladies unleash some of their own frustrations as they contend with some slimey characters. Of course the "secret" is another matter which I won't reveal. The exceptional cast includes Glenn Ford, Gene Tierney, Ethel Barrymore, Zachary Scott, Ann Dvorak, Jeanette Nolan, Helen Westcott and Ruth Donnelly. There's also an impressive performance from Robert Hylton an actor with potential who should have had a bigger career in Hollywood.