Richard Widmark
Richard Widmark got his start in film playing villains. His western filmography follows the trajectory of his career, beginning with supporting roles as a villain and evolving from there to heroic and leading roles. Typical of his villain work, we find his role in The Law and Jake Wade.
Widmark plays confederate guerilla turned outlaw Clint Hollister opposite Robert Taylor in the title role, Jake Wade. Clint and Jake are outlaw partners in a bank robbery. Clint is arrested. Jake hides twenty thousand dollars in loot. He decides to go-straight, becoming sheriff of a small town. He breaks Clint out of jail without disclosing the location of the money or the fact he has gone straight. Clint and his old gang track Jake to his new life, abducting Jake’s fiancée to force Jake to lead him to the loot. They reach the loot, survive an Apache raid, to shoot it out in a show down.
In The Last Wagon, Widmark plays Comanche Todd, a white renegade in the custody of sadistic Sheriff Bull Harper, accused of killing Harper’s three brothers. They join a wagon train. Todd kills Harper who is in the act of beating a young lad. The wagon train is attacked by Indians. All are killed save Todd and a handful of settlers. The murderer leads them to safety.
Widmark appeared in How the West Was Won, episode four The Railroad. He plays a ruthless railroad tycoon, Mike King, who lays track in violation of a treaty, igniting and Indian uprising. Richard Widmark’s western filmography evolves in heroic and leading roles in films including, Warlock, Alvarez Kelly, The Way West, Death of a Gunfighter and The Alamo in the role of Jim Bowie.
Richard Widmark has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He is memorialized in the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Next Week: Henry Silva
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Ride easy,
Paul
Widmark plays confederate guerilla turned outlaw Clint Hollister opposite Robert Taylor in the title role, Jake Wade. Clint and Jake are outlaw partners in a bank robbery. Clint is arrested. Jake hides twenty thousand dollars in loot. He decides to go-straight, becoming sheriff of a small town. He breaks Clint out of jail without disclosing the location of the money or the fact he has gone straight. Clint and his old gang track Jake to his new life, abducting Jake’s fiancée to force Jake to lead him to the loot. They reach the loot, survive an Apache raid, to shoot it out in a show down.
In The Last Wagon, Widmark plays Comanche Todd, a white renegade in the custody of sadistic Sheriff Bull Harper, accused of killing Harper’s three brothers. They join a wagon train. Todd kills Harper who is in the act of beating a young lad. The wagon train is attacked by Indians. All are killed save Todd and a handful of settlers. The murderer leads them to safety.
Widmark appeared in How the West Was Won, episode four The Railroad. He plays a ruthless railroad tycoon, Mike King, who lays track in violation of a treaty, igniting and Indian uprising. Richard Widmark’s western filmography evolves in heroic and leading roles in films including, Warlock, Alvarez Kelly, The Way West, Death of a Gunfighter and The Alamo in the role of Jim Bowie.
Richard Widmark has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He is memorialized in the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Next Week: Henry Silva
Return to Facebook to comment
Ride easy,
Paul
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