Main Cast: Tab Hunter, Natalie Wood, Skip Homeier, Eduard Franz, Earl Holliman
Release Year: 1956
Country: US
Run Time: 94 minutes
Plot
The plot of The Burning Hills is motivated by revenge, which only a few years earlier had been on the Motion Picture Code's no-no list. Cattleman Trace Jordan (Tab Hunter) seeks retribution for the murder of his brother, killed at the behest of cattle baron Joe Sutton (Ray Teal). Before long, however, it is Jordan who is being pursued by Sutton's henchmen. Accompanying Jordan on his flight is his Anglo-Latino girlfriend Maria Colton (a miscast Natalie Wood). Clearly designed to cash in on the teenaged fan following of Tab Hunter and Natalie Wood, Burning Hills is nonetheless entertaining enough to please even nonfans of the stars. The film is based on a novel by Louis L'Amour. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
When Trace Jordan's brother is murdered and several of their horses stolen, Trace sees by the tracks that three men are involved. One man was wearing Mexican spurs, one walked with a limp, and one smokes cheroots. Upon arriving in the town of Esparza, Trace sees a destroyed sherrif's office and discovers the only law in Esparza is Joe Sutton. He also discovers that the stolen horses have been rebranded with the Sutton brand, and their riders who match the description of their tracks work for Sutton. Trace enters Joe Sutton's (Ray Teal) ranch and wounds him in a shooting.
The enraged Sutton sends his son Jack (Skip Homeier), his foreman Ben (Claude Akins) and ten ranch hands to track down Trace before he goes to an Army fort to bring law to Esparza. Wounded in his escape, Trace is helped by courageous half Mexican woman Maria Colton (Natalie Wood). Unable to locate the hidden Trace, Joe Sutton enlists a half Indian tracker Jacob Lantz (Eduard Franz).
Quotes
"Tracking is the art of being able to see something that's out of place" - Lantz
