The Secret of Convict Lake

Unusual, exceptional western has six fugitives from a Nevada penitentiary on the run from the law in a snowstorm, taking refuge in a remote woodland village inhabited only by women, mostly wives of traveling prospectors. Glenn Ford plays the falsely accused thief of $40,000 out to kill the liar who wrongly fingered him for the crime and stole off with the money himself; Gene Tierney is the crook's unknowing intended, who instead develops a passion for Ford. Interesting tale plays out melodramatically rather than as a suspense story; still entertaining however, with excellent lead performances and solid work from Ethel Barrymore as the elderly matriarch of the ladies. There's an exciting wrap-up to the whole thing (topped with a dandy fall from a mountainside), plus a narrator telling us it was all based upon a true occurrence. That seems unlikely (as rendered here), though it makes for a rugged adventure with romantic asides. **1/2 from ****