Warlock (1959 film)

Warlock
Theatrical poster
Directed byEdward Dmytryk
Screenplay byRobert Alan Aurthur
Based onWarlock
by Oakley Hall
Produced byEdward Dmytryk
StarringRichard Widmark
Henry Fonda
Anthony Quinn
Dorothy Malone
Dolores Michaels
CinematographyJoseph MacDonald
Edited byJack W. Holmes
Music byLeigh Harline
Color processColor by DeLuxe
Production
company
20th Century Fox
Distributed by20th Century Fox
Release date
  • April 15, 1959 (1959-04-15)
Running time
121 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$2.4 million
Box office$1.7 million (est. US/ Canada rentals)

Warlock is a 1959 American Western film produced and directed by Edward Dmytryk starring Richard Widmark, Henry Fonda, Anthony Quinn and Dorothy Malone. The picture is an adaptation of the novel Warlock by American author Oakley Hall. The film is both set and filmed in Utah.

Fonda portrays Clay Blaisedell, a freelance marshal in the fictional town of Warlock with implacable methods of dealing with troublemakers, while Widmark portrays Johnny Gannon, a former outlaw who eventually becomes the town's deputy sheriff. A subplot centers on Blaisedell's club-footed assistant, Tom Morgan, played by Quinn, who has sublimated his relationships and ambition into a warped devotion to Blaisedell, the only person Morgan thinks does not look down on him for his disability.

As in the earlier film Wichita (1955), the conflict of the law with the outlaw runs parallel to the resentment of the town's own leadership.

Warlock was released on home video in various formats, including VHS and DVD, the most recent DVD version issued in 2005. In 2019, Twilight Time issued a limited edition of the film on blu-ray disc. The release, limited to 3,000 copies, features a new high-definition transfer of the film, and includes the original trailer and an isolated film score.