The Broken Land

The Broken Land
The Broken Land
	Theatrical release poster
Directed by	John A. Bushelman
Written by	Edward J. Lakso
Produced by	Leonard A. Schwartz
Starring	Kent Taylor; Jack Nicholson; Diana Darrin
Cinematography	Floyd Crosby
Edited by	Carl Pierson
Music by	Richard LaSalle
Production; company	Associated Producers Inc (API)
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release date	April 1, 1962;
Running time	60 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

The Broken Land is a 1962 CinemaScope DeLuxe Western film directed by John A. Bushelman, and starring Kent Taylor, Diana Darrin and Jack Nicholson.^[2]

Plot

The film is about a cowboy who rides into a small town that is ruled with an iron fist by a corrupt sheriff. He becomes involved with a pretty young town girl and some residents who are trying to oust the sheriff, resulting in a robbery, a murder and his being pursued by a vengeful posse.^[3]

Cast

Kent Taylor as Marshal Jim Cogan
Diana Darrin as Mavera
Jody McCrea as Deputy Ed Flynn
Robert Sampson as Dave Dunson
Jack Nicholson as Will Brocious
Gary Sneed as Billy
Don Orlando as Frenchy Douchette
Helen Joseph as Ruth Flynn
H. Tom Cain as Mr. Flynn
Robert Hinkle as Dave
Bob Pollard as Stagecoach Driver

Production

The film was filmed in Apache Junction, Arizona during the summer of 1961. It was financed by Robert L. Lippert's Associated Producers. It gave an early role to Jack Nicholson. Nicholson later appeared in and wrote a number of films for Lippert, including Thunder Island.^[4]

Reception

Reviewing the film in 2015 for the cinephile website Once Upon a Time in a Western, Mark Franklin wrote:

Some folks will likely want to watch this because of Nicholson's involvement. It actually marked his sixth appearance on the big screen. He'd fair better in the twin 1966 Westerns The Shooting and Ride in the Whirlwind.
As the female lead, this was an unusually large role for Diana Darrin, who normally wound up in supporting parts. And, yep, that’s Joel McCrea’s son, Jody, as the deputy who turns on Cogan because of his cruelty. Another problem with the film: Cogan doesn’t seem all that cruel.^[5]

References

^ AFI CATALOG OF FEATURE FILMS : THE FIRST 100 YEARS 1893–1993. "The Broken Land (1962)". American Film Institute.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^ "BROKEN LAND, The". Monthly Film Bulletin. 29 (336). London: 50. January 1, 1962. ProQuest 1305830569.
^ "The Broken Land (1962)". Moviefone.com. Moviefone. March 31, 1962.
^ McGilligan, Patrick (2015). Jack's Life: A Biography of Jack Nicholson. W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 9780393350975.
^ Franklin, Mark. "The Broken Land (1962)". OnceUponaTimeinaWestern.com. Retrieved June 18, 2015.

External links

The Broken Land at IMDb
The Broken Land at the TCM Movie Database
The Broken Land at AllMovie
The Broken Land at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films

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[1] AFI CATALOG OF FEATURE FILMS : THE FIRST 100 YEARS 1893–1993. "The Broken Land (1962)". American Film Institute.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)

[2] "BROKEN LAND, The". Monthly Film Bulletin. 29 (336). London: 50. January 1, 1962. ProQuest 1305830569.

[3] "The Broken Land (1962)". Moviefone.com. Moviefone. March 31, 1962.

[4] McGilligan, Patrick (2015). Jack's Life: A Biography of Jack Nicholson. W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 9780393350975.

[5] Franklin, Mark. "The Broken Land (1962)". OnceUponaTimeinaWestern.com. Retrieved June 18, 2015.

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