Week Seventy-Four
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"Sutter's Gold" 1936 Tommy on Right |
MOVIE NAME: SUTTER'S GOLD
STUDIO: UNIVERSAL PRODUCTIONS
EXECTIVE PRODUCER: CARL LAEMMLE
PRODUCER: EDMUND GRAINGER
DIRECTOR: JAMES CRUZE
DATE: 1935
TYPE: HISTORICAL, DRAMA
CAST:
EDWARD ARNOLD as Johan Sutter , LEE TRACY as Pete Perkin, BINNIE BARNES as Countess Elizabeth Bartoffski , KATHERINE ALEXANDER as Anna Sutter, MONTEGUE LOVE as Captain Kettleson, ADDISON RICHARDS as James Marshall, JOHN MILJAN as General Alvarado , HARRY CAREY as Kit Carson , WILLIAM JANNEY as John Sutter Jr. , TOMMY BUPP, as boy (uncredited)
SOURCE: A F I, Catalog of Feature Films 1931-1940
STORY: Johan Sutter, having fled from Switzerland to New York after being accused of murder, and his friend Pete decide to go to California and head west. They run a successful general store in Missouri until they have enough savings to continue their travels. They board Captain Kettleman's ship in Vancouver, bound for California. Stopping first in the Sandwich Islands, Pete decides to stay after the King treats them to a feast. Back on the ship, Sutter discovers that Kettleman has taken on 200 Kanakas as slaves, and tries to get off the ship, but is taken hostage. Pete decides to return and is captured also and their savings stolen. The crew mutinies, when water runs out. Sutter takes over as captain, frees the slaves and passes out the rest of the water. The ship arrives in California, and after announcing himself to General Juan Bautista Alvarado, Sutter and the Kanakas settle on land near Fort Ross. Nearly starving three years later, Sutter is offered Russian General Rotscheff's fort in exchange for yearly payments. He meets beautiful english-born Countess Elizabeth Bartoffski. She helps him herd animals to the settlement and promises to follow his career when she gets back to Russia. The settlement flourishes and Johan takes ownership of Fort Sutter. Elizabeth, bored with Russian royalty goes to California to visit Johan. He falls in love and proposes, but Pete reminds him that he has a wife and family in Switzerland. She stays on until gold is discovered and greedy prospectors rob him of everything. Elizabeth leaves Johan, who becomes destitute until his wife and family arrive, having been summoned by Pete. His wife Anna dies of tropical fever, but has bound Johan to promise to fight for the loss of his land. Years later his son a lawyer fights in court to reclaim his father's land. During this time, his daughter Annaliese becomes ingaged to Juan Bautista Alvarado Jr., and when Juan is shot at in the property fight, Johan sends them out of the country. The Supreme court returns his land and a crowd of landowners riot and kill his son, just as another announcement comes that the Supreme court reverses it's decision. Johan vows to fight for the rest of his life. Pete by his side, they go to Washington where he is tricked into believing he has won, only to find that Congress has adjourned. He collapses on the Capitol steps and dies.
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