The Burning Hills

The Burning Hills  Trace discovers the body of his brother Jerry and confronts Mr. Sutton, the crook responsible for his brother’s death. In self-defense, Trace shoots Mr. Sutton. Sutton sends his henchmen to hunt and kill a wounded and fleeing Trace. Maria, a half-breed Mexican girl whose father was murdered by Sutton, becomes Trace’s companion in flight.

It makes you miss the days when there were plenty of westerns.

The Burning Hills  Probably who saw this western in the fifties, would think of it as above average, in great Cinemascope and not with the typical western actors for the main roles. Tab Hunter would usually be in a western in a supporting role and Natalie Wood, besides “The Searchers” where she was still a child, did not make any westerns that I know about. But both of them came out well, and Natalie as Maria gives us a preview of the famous Maria she would be in “West Side Story”. The supporting cast is great, Skip Homeyer, Claude Atkins and Earl Holliman. If you like action scenes, shootouts and fist fights, here you will have plenty. Tab is Trace Jordan who sets up to find the killers of his brother who branded his cattle with JJ. He ends up shooting the big boss Sutton (Ray Teal) in self defense and wounded, has to run away to the hills where he is found by Maria (Natalie). Louis L’Amour wrote a lot of westerns, they are all good entertainment and so is this film. It makes you miss the good old days when there plenty of westerns at the movies.

An excellent, well-cast and well-acted western.