HALF WAY TO HELL (1961)
CAST
Escobar ..................... LYLE FELICE [AL ADAMSON]
Maria ..................... CAROLL MONTOUR
Manuel ..................... SERGIO VIRELL
Joanne ..................... SHIRLEY TEGGE
Jeff Lawton ..................... DAVID LLOYD
El Chato ..................... DON CARLOS
Mr. Wesson ..................... GENE STERLING
Slade ..................... RICK ADAMS
Blackie ..................... MONTE JOE OYLER
Diego ..................... GENE WALKER
Driver ..................... JOE LANE
Guard ..................... AL SHELLY
Guard ..................... BOB REGAS
CREDITS
Directed by
Denver Dixon
Written and Produced by
Al Adamson
Associate Producer
Gene Sterling
Screenplay by
Allan Greedy
Sound by
Harry Smith Prod.
Wardrobe
Winnie Logan
Location & Supervision
Joseph Delgato
Dialogue Director
Rudy Lopez
Technical Advisor
J. Arthur Lane
Makeup by
Gene Henderson
Presented by
Victor Adamson
Filmed at Capitol Reef National Monument, Utah
and Chihuahua, Mexico
B&W, widescreen
PLOT
This is the story of the beautiful Senorita Maria San Carlos, the lovely and only daughter of a wealthy landowner, who was betrothed to Escobar, "The Mexican Self-Styled General" before the revolution. Maria, being a strong minded teenage girl who believes in marriage for love, runs away with her old girl friend from the United States. The American beauty, Joanne, who leads Maria away from Mexico and into the dense desert between the border and Joanne's home in California.
They are intercepted by a gang of American cut-throats working for Escobar, who cannot leave his own fight for Mexican freedom. Also with these men rides Manuel, who was once a servant boy at Maria's hacienda. He was sent along by Escobar to make sure no harm befalls the fair haired senorita.
The two girls are put through Hell to survive to the end of the journey. Being threatened with torture by knives, rape and even pawed in an attempted rape. During the trip,
two of the outlaws are killed and the two girls and Manuel escape with the help of an outsider, Jeff Lawton.
Manuel falls in love with Maria, but knowing of her betrothal to Escobar, stays away until he sees Escobar slap Maria, then he challenges Escobar and they have a thrilling duel with 8 ft. bull whips. Escobar defeats the younger, smaller Manuel but then realizing that forcing Maria to marry him is wrong. He releases them. The thrilling climax is where two of the outlaws capture Maria. Escobar's action to intercept them, and the smashing finish where the combined efforts of Escobar and Jeff Lawton save the beautiful girls. The picture ends with an off beat ending.
1 comment:
Thanks for this info. I'd heard about this and always wondered about it. One correction, though--Lyle Felice was not an Adamson pseudonym. He was an actual actor who also appears in a couple of other Adamson flicks.
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