Count Three and Pray (1955)

Count Three and Pray is a 1955 CinemaScope western film starring Van Heflin, Joanne Woodward (in her film debut) and Raymond Burr. It was based on the story "Calico Pony" (also the working title of the film by Herb Meadow). It premiered in Woodward's home town, Greenville, South Carolina, at the Paris Theatre.

Synopsis

Former brawler and womanizer Luke Fargo (Van Heflin) returns from the American Civil War to his Southern hometown a greatly changed man. Following his traumatic experience at the Battle of Vicksburg, he has become a minister, intent on rebuilding the town's only church. He is greeted with disbelief by his friends, including Matty (Nancy Kulp), and with outright hostility by the rest of the townsfolk, as he alone in his community had fought on the Union side. Particularly opposed to him is Yancey Huggins (Raymond Burr), who sees a threat to his iron-fisted control of the town.

Actors