MovieChat Forums > River of No Return (1954) Discussion > Claim

Claim

posted 18 years ago by krp-7
5 replies | jump to latest

This may or may not deserve its own thread so forgive if it doesn't, but there was a very important point that was not addressed.

Westin said that he had filed the claim when he got to town. The two men that would have contested his right on the claim had been killed by the Indians and he had been shot and killed by Mark.

Westin was going to file the claim together with Kay. But he when he got to town he did not go back to the farm as planned. He was unaware that the party had left the homestead on the raft, so I would presume that he had heard a rumor about the Indians being on the warpath and assumed that, with no rifle, everyone had been killed, including Kay, and dedided that there was no reason to go back. (This is only speculation, but that is my assumption)

If he had thought that Kay had been killed by the Indians then he would not have filed the claim in both names (and it may not have been legal to do so anyway in that era). They had not yet been married so she would not necessarily inherited his claim. However there was no one else that was still alive that could have an outright reason to claim it as their own.

If the claim goes back to "public domain" so to speak then anyone that could file the survey measurements would be able to have the title to it, wouldn't they? And they could get that from the paperwork that he had filed which would either be in his coat pocket or with his personal effects in his hotel room. Would Kay have the right to collect his personal effects?

Married or not, I think that Kay would have as much right as anyone to claim ownership of the claim, and thus be the owner of a gold mine. JLamarLove stated in another post, that she went with Matt at the end because she had no place to go, but I am wondering about that, because if she has the right to the claim, then she could go anywhere she would please.

And if she decides to stay with Matt and Mark, then they would be rich from farming AND prospecting.

Any comments?

[–] eliostar1 17 years ago

The reason he didn't return was that he was a jerk. Anybody could have made a claim afterwards, she would have little reason to do so because it would be too much for her to handle. Like most westerns, she rides into the sunset with the hero.

[–] kimpunkrock 17 years ago

I enjoyed reading your comments.

kim

http://www.tcm.com/mediaroom/index.jsp?cid=186977

The Truth is out there.

[–] bebop63-1 14 years ago

I was wondering about this very same point as well. But if Kay had the right to the gold mine claim, why did she go to work singing in the Council City saloon then? And another situation requiring explanation - how did Matt Calder acquire a horse and buggy plus a lot of stuff when he didn't have a cent to start with? Was he given Weston's personal effects (e.g. money) and other possessions that the latter might have had, as compensation for WEston's attempt to shoot him?

[–] loughsprng 14 years ago

Well when they first arrived in town and went to the general store the owner told Matt to take what he needed. I just always assumed he'd gotten all those things "on credit".

[–] moewadle 12 years ago

Yes, Bebop63, the Mitchum told the store owner he needed everything that his credit would get him and the store owner told him to take what he needed. So, he got everything on credit and pulled the wagon with his own horse that had been retrieved from the death of Westin.