Allegheny Uprising

Infobox Film
name = Allegheny Uprising


image_size =
caption = Movie poster
director = William A. Seiter
producer =
writer =
narrator = Neil H. Swanson (novel)
P. J. Wolfson
starring = Claire Trevor
John Wayne
George Sanders
Brian Donlevy
music =
cinematography =
editing =
distributor =
released = 1939
runtime = 81 min.
country = USA
language = English
budget =
preceded_by =
followed_by =
website =
amg_id =
imdb_id = 0031033

"Allegheny Uprising" is a 1939 film produced by RKO Pictures, starring Claire Trevor and John Wayne as pioneers of early American expansion near the forks of the Ohio in Pittsburgh. Although the film's publicity suggested that filming was on location in and around Pittsburgh, nothing about the film itself supports the notion. Indeed, virtually every location in the film is a recognizable southern California locale, particularly the Lake Sherwood and Sherwood Forest areas.

Clad in buckskin and a coonskin cap (as he would be a decade later in "The Fighting Kentuckian"), Wayne plays real-life James Smith, an American coping with British rule in colonial America. The film is loosely based on a historical event known as the Black Boy Uprising during the 1760's.

The film, though entertaining and having since become extremely popular, initially did not fare as well. In Great Britain, the British were, by the film's release, already at war against the Nazi regime, and many felt it was the wrong time to place the British in a bad light.Fact|date=January 2008 In addition to this, the superficially similar John Ford film "Drums Along the Mohawk" had been released only one week prior to the release of "Allegheny Uprising".

The supporting cast for "Allegheny Uprising" includes Brian Donlevy, George Sanders, and Chill Wills, and the movie was written by P. J. Wolfson from the novel "The First Rebel" by Neil H. Swanson and directed by William A. Seiter. Claire Trevor and John Wayne also headed the cast of John Ford's "Stagecoach" the same year, and in "Allegheny Uprising" Trevor is top-billed over Wayne, due to her greater name value at the time.

Plot

In the Pittsburg area of America's 1760's era, colonial distaste and disapproval of the English government is starting to surface. Many local colonists have been killed by American Indians who are armed with rifles supplied by white traders. Local adventurer James Smith (John Wayne) and his followers voice this to British officials, pressuring them to make it illegal to trade weapons to the native population. Trader Ralph Callender (Brian Donlevy) and other businessmen are not happy with the new laws, seeing as it cuts into their profit. They begin to trade with the local native American population, hiding rifles and rum inside military supply trains. When the British authorities fail to do anything to prevent this, James Smith organizes his men and heads out to intercept the wagon train. Smith's spirited and bold girlfriend, Janie McDougall (Claire Trevor) assists he and his men in posing as Indian's to intercept the gun shipments.

Captain Swanson, a devout and loyal British army officer, is sent to protect the wagon train at all costs following a complaint lodged by Callender that Smith and his men are intending on robbing the wagon train, while neglecting to state that the train contains guns and liquor. Captain Swanson considers the involvement of Smith and his men as a revolt to his authority, and in retaliation he jails more than half the local population of colonists, where he holds them without trial. This sets Smith and Swanson on a collision course for confrontation.

Cast

* Claire Trevor as Janie MacDougall
* John Wayne as James Smith
* George Sanders as Capt. Swanson
* Brian Donlevy as Trader Ralph Callendar
* Wilfrid Lawson as 'Mac' MacDougall
* Robert Barrat as Magistrate Duncan
* John F. Hamilton as The Professor
* Moroni Olsen as Tom Calhoon
* Eddie Quillan as Will Anderson
* Chill Wills as John M'Cammon
* Ian Wolfe as Mr. Poole
* Wallis Clark as Sgt. McGlashan
* Monte Montague as Magistrate Morris
* Olaf Hytten as Gen. Gage
* Eddy Waller as Jailer in Carlisle

Colorization

The film was colorized in the late 1980s and released on VHS. New DVD copies are in black and white only.

ee also

* John Wayne filmography (1926-1940)

References

External links

*imdb title|id=0031033|title=Allegheny Uprising
* [http://www.tcm.com/thismonth/article.jsp?cid=138963&mainArticleId=158612 Turner Classic Movies review and plot synopsis]