The Naked Hills (1956) Plot Summary Explained

Release, runtime and language

1956 · 72 mins · English

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Directed by

Josef Shaftel

Starring

Christopher Olsen, Jim Backus, Keenan Wynn, David Wayne, Denver Pyle, James Barton

Tracy Powell, an Indiana farmer, catches gold fever and rushes to Stockton, California in 1849. He abandons partner Bert Killian, joins claim‑jumper Sam Wilkins under Willis Haver, then returns six years later to marry Julie. On the night their son is born he departs again, this time with prospector Jimmo McCann. A decade of fruitless digging ends with McCann’s death; Powell reports a strike but Julie spurns him. Haver, now a banker, loans him money and strips his claim. Decades later, a sixty‑year‑old Powell comes home; his wife and son welcome him, yet he vows to prospect again next spring.