Allegheny Uprising

Allegheny Uprising
Movie poster
Directed by	William A. Seiter
Narrated by	Neil H. Swanson (book) P. J. Wolfson
Starring	Claire Trevor John Wayne George Sanders Brian Donlevy
Release date(s)	1939
Running time	81 min.
Country	United States
Language	English

Allegheny Uprising is a 1939 film produced by RKO Pictures, starring Claire Trevor and John Wayne as pioneers of early American expansion in south central Pennsylvania. 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 Boys Rebellion of 1765, after the conclusion of the French and Indian War.

The film did not fare well in its initial release. The superficially similar John Ford film Drums Along the Mohawk had been released only one week prior. Retitled The First Rebel for the United Kingdom, it was banned by the Ministry of Information for placing the British, already at war against Nazi Germany, in a bad light.^[1]

The supporting cast includes Brian Donlevy, George Sanders, and Chill Wills, and the movie was written by P. J. Wolfson from the 1937 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 south central Pennsylvania area of colonial America in the 1760s, 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 complain 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 him and his men in posing as Indians to intercept the gun shipments.

Captain Swanson, a British army officer, is sent to protect the wagon train at all costs following a complaint lodged by Callender that Smith and his men intend 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 of the local colonists, holding them without trial. This sets Smith and Swanson on a collision course.

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.

See also

• List of American films of 1939
• John Wayne filmography (1926–1940)

References

External links

• Allegheny Uprising at the Internet Movie Database
• Turner Classic Movies review and plot synopsis