Wonderful character development!

Fantastic!

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

"The Window" director Ted Tetzlaff's low-key but suspenseful "The Young Land" isn't your ordinary B-movie western. First, it takes place at a seminal moment during the shift in California history in the aftermath of the Mexican/American war as white Americans take over the land from Mexicans. Nevertheless, the Mexican ranchers still retain some power over things since they outnumber the Americans. The film opens in the small, dusty town of San Bartolo, California, in 1848, with a well-done showdown between a Mexican,Francisco Quiroga (Carlos Romero of "They Came to Cordura") and Hatfield Carnes (Ken Curtis of "Gunsmoke"),a racist, trigger-happy American gunslinger who has been itching for the opportunity to carve another notch on his revolver. No sooner has the dust settled than Sheriff Jim Ellison (Patrick Wayne of "The Alamo") arrests Carnes and holds him until Judge Millard Isham (Dan O'Herlihy of "RoboCop") arrives in town, with Deputy U.S. Marshal Ben Stroud (Cliff Ketchum of "Pork Chop Hill") at his side. The Norman S. Hall screenplay is literate, intelligent, and concerns civil rights on the frontier. The bulk of the film concerns the trial that occurs after the shooting, with the Mexican population observing how impartial American justice can be. Unfortunately, the clash of characters between fade-in and fadeout slackens. Nobody gives a bad performance. Dan O'Herlihy, Dennis Hopper, Ken Curtis, and Cliff Ketchum stand out in a rugged cast. Altogether, "The Young Land" qualifies as an above-average oater that addresses civil rights issue. Patrick Wayne is appropriately heroic throughout this oater. Dennis Hopper makes a superb villain. Above all, Ken Curtis has the best role, and he changes over time while the others remain essentially the same.

Immediately following the "Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo" in 1848 the territory known as California passed from Mexico to the United States of America. Since almost all of the people living there had been citizens of Mexico there was some apprehension among them concerning how they would now be treated. So when an American gunslinger named "Hatfield Carnes" (Dennis Hopper) kills a Hispanic man the residents of a sleepy village are extremely anxious about whether justice is served. To complicate matters this village has a very rowdy group of American outlaws who feel threatened at the thought of one of their own being tried in a court of law. On the flip side there are also vaqueros riding in from various parts of California to make sure that Hatfield pays for his crime. As a result the unofficial sheriff "Jim Ellison" (Patrick Wayne) is thrown into the middle of something that is rapidly becoming very ugly. At any rate, rather than reveal the rest of the story and risk spoiling the movie for those who haven't seen it I will just say that this film turned out to be a pleasant surprise. The acting was pretty good and I especially liked the performances of Yvonne Craig (as "Elena de la Madrid") along with the aforementioned Patrick Wayne. All in all, this movie wasn't too bad and I rate it as slightly above average.

An American gunslinger kills a Mexican man in California immediately after the Mexican-American war. The killer is arrested and put on trial for murder with the Hispanic population waiting to learn of American justice.Sounds like Miami today.Heavy handed directing. No so good acting, even though Dennis Hopper is the main character.I never thought he was such a great actor. He prove it here.If anything, this movie serves to prove even in 1959 the left was churning out propaganda.

Usually a film held up in release is a sign that nothing good will come of it eventually being inflicted on the movie-going public. But in the case of The Young Land this is not a bad little western about an incident from the early days of California after we acquired it from Mexico. As it was a forcible acquisition the native Mexican population was anxious to see how they would do under American law and jurisprudence.The issue comes to a head when a murderous young punk played by Dennis Hopper uses his fast draw to gun down a Mexican vaquero who works for Roberto DeLa Madrid. Sheriff Patrick Wayne whose job usually is to jail drunks disarms Hopper and arrests him. Now the job is to try him and for that Wayne sends for a federal judge played by Dan O'Herlihy who is a model of judicial decorum.O'Herlihy is not terribly impressed with Wayne as a sheriff, but gradually they develop a certain respect for each other. And Wayne also grows some in the estimation of Yvonne Lime, daughter of Robert DeLa Madrid.The Young Land is a simple straightforward tale told thusly for the audience. It's got some thoughtful and sincere performances by its cast. Hopper stands out in his role. And it even got an Oscar nomination for the song Strange Are The Ways Of Love which lost to the far better known High Hopes.The story has worn well and The Young Land is as fresh as it was when it was sadly held up in release.