#1. Red Dust (1932)

Storyline: Conditions are spartan on Dennis Carson's Indochina rubber plantation during a dusty dry monsoon. The latest boat upriver brings Carson an unwelcome guest: Vantine, a floozy from Saigon, hoping to evade the police by a stay upcountry. But Carson, initially uninterested, soon succumbs to Vantine's ostentatious charms...until the arrival of surveyor Gary Willis, ill with malaria, and his refined but sensuous wife Barbara. Now the rains begin, and passion flows like water...—Rod Crawford <puffinus@u.washington.edu>

Plot Keywords: foreman, prostitute, surveyor, wife, servant, employee, passionate ...

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#2. The Iron Horse (1924)

Storyline: Springfield, Illinois. Brandon, a surveyor, dreams of building a railway to the west, but Marsh, a contractor, is sceptical. Abraham Lincoln looks on as their children, Davy Brandon and Miriam Marsh, play together. Brandon sets off with Davy to survey a route. They discover a new pass which will shave 200 miles off the expected distance, but they are set upon by a party of Cheyenne. One of them, a white renegade with only two fingers on his right hand, kills Brandon and scalps him. Davy buries his father... Years pass. It is 1862 and Lincoln signs the bill authorizing construction of the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railways. Marsh is principal contractor and Miriam is engaged to Jesson, the chief engineer... Crews of Chinese, Italians, and Irish work to build the railway while resisting Indian attack. When the pay train is delayed by Indian ambush, the Italians go on strike. Miriam persuades them to return to work... Marsh needs to find a shortcut through the Black Hills. To finish on time, he needs to shorten the route by 200 miles. Bauman, the biggest land owner, wants the route to stay the same - through his land. Marsh has entrusted Jesson with finding the new route. Bauman has Ruby, a saloon girl, persuade Jesson to do otherwise... Davy, now a pony express rider, recalls his father's discovery. He sets off to find the pass. He goes alone, except for Jesson...—David Steele

Plot Keywords: surveyor, contractor, engineer, renegade, landowner, fiancée, gritty ...

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#3. Murder, He Says (1945)

Storyline: Trotter pollster Pete Marshall is trying to find a missing coworker. In a rural town he stumbles onto the roughian Fleagle family. Bert and Mert would just as soon "splatter" snoopers with their rifles. However, Ma Johnson focuses the family energies on finding cousin Bonnie Fleagle's $70,000 bank job stash, somewhere around the large old rickety house. Claire Matthews, the daughter of a man implicated in Bonnie's bank job, also comes in search of the money to try and clear her father's name. Marshall and Matthews team up to try and decode Grandma Fleagle's strange deathbed clue but with Mr. Johnson attempting to poison people and Bonnie Fleagle showing up herself after a prison escape, it's anybody's guess as to who will find the money first.—Gary Jackson <garyjack5@cogeco.ca>

Plot Keywords: surveyor, mother, son, brother, grandmother, escaped convict, outlandish ...

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#4. Ride Clear of Diablo (1954)

Storyline: Railroad surveyer Clay O'Mara goes after rustlers who murdered his father and brother. Along the way, he first arrests then teams up with outlaw Whitey Kincade, who helps Clay, only to see how long the tenderfoot lasts. Outwitting several attempts on his life engineered by the crooked lawyer who set up his family, O'Mara and a wounded Kincade face the gang. Kincade wanted to protect O'Mara and redeem himself, and goes down shooting.

Plot Keywords: sheriff, surveyor, lawyer, gunslinger, chilling, suspenseful, colorado ...

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#5. White Feather (1955)

Storyline: The year is 1877. Against the backdrop of the challenging peace treaty negotiations between the Washington government and the proud Native-American tribes, the young civilian surveyor, Josh Tanner, arrives in the turbulent state of Wyoming. To pave the way for settlers to move in the territory, Colonel Lindsay is in charge of the peace mission; however, even though most tribes are receptive, Little Dog, the war-hungry son of the Cheyenne leader, Chief Broken Hand, threatens to put in jeopardy the delicate negotiations. And, as if that weren't enough, Tanner falls in love with Appearing Day, the beautiful sister of Little Dog, and fiancée of the battle-scarred tribesman, American Horse. Now, the two Cheyenne warriors prefer to die fighting. Is all hope lost?—Nick Riganas

Plot Keywords: surveyor, military officer, native american, warrior, love interest, beautiful woman, melodramatic ...

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#6. Buckskin Frontier (1943)

Storyline: Jeptha Marr has built the town of Pawnee, Kansas, and established a successful freight company. He sees his fortunes at risk due to the encroachment of a new railroad, spearheaded by Stephen Bent. Marr sends his right-hand man Gideon Skene to disrupt Bent's activities. Bent takes an unusual tack in dealing with Marr's opposition: he woos Marr's daughter Vinnie. But the unscrupulous forces of a third opposing figure, the ruthless Champ Clanton, create an uneasy alliance between Bent and Marr.—Jim Beaver <jumblejim@prodigy.net>

Plot Keywords: surveyor, railroad engineer, business owner, assistant, daughter, investor, engaging ...

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#7. Canadian Pacific (1949)

Storyline: After finding a vital pass through the Canadian Rockies for the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway, Tom Andrews tells his boss Cornelius Van Horne that he is resigning to marry the girl he loves, Cecille Gautier. From Cecille, Tom learns that fur trader Dirk Rourke fears the coming of the railroad because it threatens his hold on the Indians and other trappers. Tom and Rorke have a bitter fight over Cecille, and Tom asks her to wait for him, as he has to go back and finish his job with the railroad. Aided by Dynamite Dawson, Tom finds evidence of Rourke's work against the railroad construction and almost loses his life when Rourke fires into some crates of dynamite Tom is unloading. The construction camp's doctor, Edith Cabot, gives her own blood in a transfusion to save Tom's life. Cecille, realizing that her father is working with Rourke against the railroad,rides off to warn Tom. Rourke intercepts her and tells her that Tom is in love with the lady doctor, but she bullwhips him and gallops off.—Les Adams <longhorn1939@suddenlink.net>

Plot Keywords: surveyor, doctor, fur trapper, girlfriend, native american chief, demolition expert, spectacular ...

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