Guns of the Timberland Reviews

Ladd is the leader of a logging team in search of timber. They come upon some fresh forest land, but the local ranchers, led by Crain, implore the lumberjacks not to cut down their woods, without which the ranchers' homes will be buried in mudslides after the first heavy rain. Of course, romance develops between parties on the opposite sides, but not before the locals and the loggers take turns dynamiting each other. When Crain's ward (Avalon) is almost killed, Ladd sees the error of his ways, but his partner, Roland, is still intransigent. Eventually, Roland is killed, and Ladd leaves town with his new fiancee, Crain. This is a weak film (though a climactic forest fire does boast some good photography) that quickly becomes routine while trying hard to be exciting. Teen idol Avalon gets a couple of songs, undoubtedly to help pump up the box office. Ladd was fairly dependent on the bottle at this point in his life and it really shows, both in his bloated features and his colorless performance. Crain is the best thing in the film. Producer Spelling later became a powerful producer of TV series; Ladd's daughter, 16-year-old Alana, had her first romantic screen role here opposite Avalon. Songs include "Gee Whiz Willikers Golly Gee," "The Faithful Kind" (Mack David, Jerry Livingston), "Cry Timber" (Sy Miller).