Directed by:
Richard ThorpeScreenplay:
Art CohnCinematography:
William C. MellorComposer:
Conrad SalingerCast:
James Stewart, Jean Hagen, Wendell Corey, Carl Benton Reid, Paul Stewart, Otto Hulett, James Arness, Ralph Dumke, Leif Erickson, Jonathan Hale, Richard Reeves (more)Plots(1)
In 1952, the world at large knew Marsh Williams as the developer of the US Army's M-1 carbine rifle. The film builds up to this event by detailing Williams' previous existence as a bootlegger and embittered prison inmate, sentenced to 30 years at hard labor for killing a revenue agent. After enduring the rigors of chain-gang life and solitary confinement, Williams (Stewart) gets his mind off his troubles by dreaming up a new type of automatic-gun piston. He is encouraged in this endeavor by prison warden H. T. Peoples (Corey), previously Williams' bitterest enemy. As Williams continues to develop his innovative weaponry notions, his wife Maggie (Hagen) and Warden Peoples try to overcome penal bureaucracy to win a pardon for Williams. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Cast
James Stewart
USA
Best movies:
It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
Rear Window (1954)
The Shop Around the Corner (1940)
Jean Hagen
USA
Best movies:
Singin' in the Rain (1952)
Adam's Rib (1949)
Dead Ringer (1964)
Wendell Corey
USA
Best movies:
Rear Window (1954)
The Search (1948)
The Rainmaker (1956)
Carl Benton Reid
USA
Best movies:
Pressure Point (1962)
In a Lonely Place (1950)
The Little Foxes (1941)
Paul Stewart
USA
Best movies:
The Name of the Game (1968) (series)
In Cold Blood (1967)
Citizen Kane (1941)
Otto Hulett
USA
Best movies:
Carbine Williams (1952)
Ambush at Tomahawk Gap (1953)
The Phenix City Story (1955)
James Arness
USA
Best movies:
The People Against O'Hara (1951)
How the West Was Won (1976) (series)
Battleground (1949)
Ralph Dumke
USA
Best movies:
The Desperate Hours (1955)
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
Daddy Long Legs (1955)
Leif Erickson
USA
Best movies:
The Name of the Game (1968) (series)
On the Waterfront (1954)
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Jonathan Hale
Canada
Best movies:
Fury (1936)
After the Thin Man (1936)
Strangers on a Train (1951)
Richard Reeves
USA
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Tickle Me (1965)
Unconquered (1947)
Jordan Cronenweth
USA
Best movies:
Carbine Williams (1952)
John Smith
USA
Best movies:
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The Bells of St. Mary's (1945)
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Willis Bouchey
USA
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From Here to Eternity (1953)
The Big Heat (1953)
Support Your Local Sheriff! (1968)
Gene Roth
USA
Best movies:
Arch of Triumph (1948)
Westward the Women (1951)
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John Doucette
USA
Best movies:
Strangers on a Train (1951)
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Julius Caesar (1953)
Porter Hall
USA
Best movies:
Ace in the Hole (1951)
Double Indemnity (1944)
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
Stuart Randall
USA
Best movies:
Storm Warning (1951)
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Pickup on South Street (1953)
Guy Wilkerson
USA
Best movies:
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
Gone with the Wind (1939)
Hello, Dolly! (1969)
David McMahon
USA
Best movies:
Strangers on a Train (1951)
The Spirit of St. Louis (1957)
Storm Warning (1951)