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The Kentuckian

Play trailer Poster for The Kentuckian 1955,  1h 44m,  Western/ Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist 14% 7 Reviews Tomatometer 44% 250+ Ratings Popcornmeter
14% Tomatometer 7 Reviews 44% Popcornmeter 250+ Ratings
Upstanding widower "Big Eli" Wakefield (Burt Lancaster) decides to move from Kentucky further west to Texas. He undertakes the journey with just his young son "Little Eli" (Donald MacDonald), but en route they pick up friends like indentured servant Hannah (Dianne Foster) and schoolmarm Susie (Diana Lynn), a potential love interest. This motley crew's path is difficult, and they face many obstacles, not the least of which is nasty frontiersman Stan Bodine (Walter Matthau).

Critics Reviews

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Variety Staff Variety Mar 18, 2020
The footage is long and often slow, with the really high spots of action rather scattered. Go to Full Review
James Morgan Sight & Sound Mar 18, 2020
The Kentuckian, though its plot is almost tenuous and its action slight, is a long and ambitious kind of Western. Go to Full Review
Tom Milne Time Out Jun 24, 2006
In general the direction tends to get bogged down in not very interesting characters and relationships while neglecting to deliver the action. Go to Full Review
TV Guide Staff TV Guide Mar 26, 2009
2.5/5
An occasionally brutal, but generally plodding western from Lancaster (his first as a director), who fails to pump much life into the anemic script, giving the cast little to do. Go to Full Review
Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews Mar 24, 2007
C
Burt Lancaster's only effort as solo director is this slow-moving, flat, so-so western. Go to Full Review
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The Kentuckian

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Cast & Crew

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Burt Lancaster

Director

Burt Lancaster

Elias Wakefield

Dianne Foster

Hannah

Diana Lynn

Susie

John McIntire

Zack Wakefield

Una Merkel

Sophie Wakefield

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The Kentuckian

The Kentuckian (1955) The Kentuckian (1955) The Kentuckian (1955) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Upstanding widower "Big Eli" Wakefield (Burt Lancaster) decides to move from Kentucky further west to Texas. He undertakes the journey with just his young son "Little Eli" (Donald MacDonald), but en route they pick up friends like indentured servant Hannah (Dianne Foster) and schoolmarm Susie (Diana Lynn), a potential love interest. This motley crew's path is difficult, and they face many obstacles, not the least of which is nasty frontiersman Stan Bodine (Walter Matthau).
Director
Burt Lancaster
Producer
Harold Hecht
Screenwriter
A. B. Guthrie Jr.
Production Co
Hecht-Lancaster Productions
Genre
Western, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jul 22, 1955, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Sep 16, 2008
Runtime
1h 44m
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