X

Join or Sign In

Sign in to customize your TV listings

Continue with Facebook Continue with email

By joining TV Guide, you agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy.

Devil's Doorway

US Army Sgt.-Major Lance Poole, a Shoshone Indian, returns home from the Civil War a highly decorated war hero, his intention being to live a quiet life on the family farm outside Big Horn in the Wyoming Territory being a cattle rancher. His family has been able to live the dream of eking out a good life off the impoverished reserve where there is little hope of that good life, in the process, while still retaining their traditional ways, being admired by the locals who know him and his family. Things have changed during his time away, anti-Indian legislation enacted in the Territory which has brought many farmers, ranchers and others to the area to homestead, which they are able to do legally on the Pooles' land since the Pooles do not have official title. With lawyer Verne Coolan being an open bigot who would not help any Shoshone even if asked, Lance turns to the only other lawyer in the area for legal advice, he learning on their first meeting that "A. Masters" is Orrie Masters, a woman. In deciding whether to partner in this fight for Lance and the Pooles' rights, both Lance and Orrie will have to address their own prejudices. If she does decide to assist, Orrie will also have to come to grips with her pledge to work under whatever the law in her overall goal of peace and liberty for all. Regardless, Coolan seems intent on destroying Lance - the face to him of Indians in general - inside and outside the law, his seeming aim to incite a range war which would give those wanting to homestead license to kill Lance and his family if the Pooles do not cooperate.

Loading. Please wait...

Content not available in your region? ExpressVPN can help you stay connected wherever you are. Get 4 extra months FREE with TV Guide's exclusive offer.

Cast & Crew See All

Robert Taylor
Lance Poole
Louis Calhern
Verne Coolan
Paula Raymond
Orrie Masters

Featured Video

Devil's Doorway
Devil's Doorway
1:47

1:47 Devil's Doorway

Awards

  • 1951 - WGA Award (Screen) - Best Written American Western - nominated
  • 1950 - NYFCC Award - Best Film - nominated

You May Also Like See All

Fanny and Alexander
The Conformist
Rear Window
Compensation

Popular Movies See all movies

Apex

1 hr 35 mins
A grieving woman testing her limits in the Australian wilderness is suddenly ensnared in a deadly game with a ruthless predator.
58   Metascore
2026 Action & Adventure, Suspense

Project Hail Mary

2 hr 36 mins
Middle school science teacher Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling) wakes up on a spaceship light-years from home with no recollection of who he is or how he got there. As his memory returns, he begins to uncover his mission: to solve the riddle of the mysterious substance that is causing the sun to die out. He must call on his scientific knowledge and unorthodox ideas to save everything on Earth from extinction... but an unexpected friendship means he may not have to do it alone.
77   Metascore
2026 Action & Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Science Fiction

Man on Fire

2 hr 26 mins
Denzel Washington stars as the bodyguard of the daughter of a wealthy couple in Mexico City who wreaks bloody revenge when she is kidnapped.
47   Metascore
2004 Action & Adventure, Suspense, Drama

Mortal Kombat II

1 hr 56 mins
This time, the fan favorite champions—now joined by Johnny Cage himself—are pitted against one another in the ultimate, no-holds barred, gory battle to defeat the dark rule of Shao Kahn that threatens the very existence of the Earthrealm and its defenders.
46   Metascore
2026 Action & Adventure, Fantasy, Science Fiction

Balls Up

1 hr 44 mins
In this raunchy, over-the-top comedy, marketing executives Brad (Mark Wahlberg) and Elijah (Paul Walter Hauser) go “balls out” and pitch a bold full‑coverage condom sponsorship with the World Cup. After their drunken celebration in Brazil sparks a global scandal, they must outrun furious fans, criminals, and power-hungry officials to salvage their careers and make it home alive.
34   Metascore
2026 Action & Adventure, Comedy, Suspense, Sports

Shenandoah

1 hr 45 mins
In Shenandoah, Virginia, widower farmer Charlie Anderson lives a peaceful life with his six sons - Jacob, James, Nathan, John, Henry and Boy, his daughter Jennie, and his daughter-in-law and James' wife Ann Anderson. Charlie does not let his sons join the army to fight in the Civil War that he does not consider their war. Jennie marries her beloved Lieutenant Sam, but they do not have a honeymoon since Sam has to return to the front. Charlie's youngest son Boy is mistakenly taken prisoner by soldiers from the North so Charlie rides with his sons to rescue Boy, while James and Ann stay on the farm. It is time of violence and war, and tragedy reaches the Anderson family.
1965 Drama, Action & Adventure