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The Kentuckian

The Kentuckian

  • Status: Released
  • 22-07-1955
  • Runtime: 104 min
  • Score: 5.657
  • Vote count: 51

A frontiersman and his son fight to build a new home in Texas.

Burt Lancaster

Elias Wakefield

Dianne Foster

Hannah Bolen

Walter Matthau

Stan Bodine

Diana Lynn

Susie Spann

Donald MacDonald

Little Eli Wakefield

John McIntire

Zack Wakefield

Una Merkel

Sophie Wakefield

John Carradine

Ziby Fletcher

John Litel

Pleasant Tuesday Babson

Rhys Williams

Constable

Edward Norris

Roulette Dealer

Will Wright

John Decker (uncredited)

Douglas Spencer

Frome Brother (uncredited)

Paul Wexler

Frome Brother (uncredited)

Clem Bevans

Riverboat Captain (uncredited)

Norman Leavitt

Frontiersman (uncredited)

CinemaSerf

Burt Lancaster starred in, and directed, this story of a well meaning traveller ("Big Eli") and his young son "Little Eli" (Donald MacDonald) heading to Texas hoping to make a decent living for him and his son. Along the way he encounters (and buys) an indentured slave "Susie" (Diana Lynn) who only complicates their already interesting journey as he fights his own demons with women, booze and a particularly nasty Walter Matthau ("Bodine"). It's a beautifully shot piece of cinema, this, and the mischievous charm of the star is writ large. It's too long, though - frequently sagging as the romantic elements go quickly from humorously hostile to schmaltzy just a bit too quickly. Matthau and his whip are the stuff of cinema legend though, and the young MacDomald plays his part well. Fans of Burt will love this, but I found I was bored by the half way mark as what pace it does have it doesn't really sustain.