The Law and Jake Wade, 1958 Is Playing on Turner Classic Movies on July 13 at 1:45 a.m. est. Closed captioned. Note that films playing after midnight actually play on the following day.
Was there ever a more suitable cowboy than Robert Taylor? I think not! Again Taylor plays the man with a hidden past, as he did in Undercurrent and Conspirator. This time he is a marshal in a small town, who owes his former companion, Clint Hollister, a menacing and dangerous man on the run, played wonderfully well by Richard Widmark. He breaks him out of jail just as Widmark had done for him a year previous. The mistake is that he finds Jake and takes him and his fiancée on a torturous trip to get the money Jake hid from a bank hold-up. Patricia Owens as Peggy, is angry and confused, when she finds out about his past, even though she had told him in the beginning that anything he had done before she met him was of no interest. There is plenty of action in this western, and the scenery is glorious. Good against evil, or bad ethics on Taylor’s part. You may wonder, what was he thinking? Supporting cast is great with Henry Silva in an early role, which shows you are great actor in the making. Old standards are Robert Middleton, who made many films with Taylor, and DeForest Kelley who went on to television fame in Star Trek. Taylor plays his part with quiet reserve, as the opposite of Widmark’s hostile and outwardly evil character. If Taylor had done any- thing else with the part the story would not have seemed as credible. I don’t think that Robert Taylor ever got enough credit for being an actor who could be anyone for anybody. Every man, a common man, therefore playing good guy or bad guy, he was always believable. Watch it, you will not be disappointed. Review by mamalv for the IMDb.
Here are some wardrobe shots from The Law and Jake Wade
I agree. Never a more suitable cowboy.
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Right.
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Hi giraffe44,
I know the horse that Robert Taylor is riding after he had to ride out of town is his own….. The horse the lady is riding in this movie…. looks like the same Horse from the movie Ambush…. Would you happen to know? I know for a fact that the horse in Ambush was same horse in Devils Doorway & Saddle The Wind. My cousin and her daughter have 11 horses, daughter does rodeo & I asked if the that horse was the same one. She said it was… Sure looks like same horse the actress is riding in The Law and Jake Wade…
Thank you,
Becky
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Robert Taylor raised quarter horses on his ranch in Mandeville Canyon. I don’t know the exact answer to your question but I do know that he preferred to ride his own horses in films. Judith
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Thank you for your reply Judith…
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