Review of Heaven with a Barbed Wire Fence

This is the story of an eclectic group of people trying to get to various destinations to the west, by hitchhiking and empty boxcars. One naïve young New Yorker, Joe Riley(Glenn Ford) has spent all his savings from 6 years of work, as a NYC department store clerk, on a parcel of land in Arizona, dubbed Shady Grove, site unseen. He takes the elevator to the observation deck of the Empire State Building, to say goodbye to NYC, then thumbs rides with trucks and cars west. Eventually, he runs into young drifter Tony Casselli(Richard Conte), as well as a young refugee from the Spanish Civil War: Anita Santos, played by first-billed Jean Rogers. Her parents having been killed in the war, she hopes to find her uncle in California, if the immigration authorities don't catch up with her in the meanwhile, as she is an illegal immigrant(No clue how she got into the US). They commander an empty boxcar as their temporary home and means of transport. Later, they are joined by 50ish Raymond Walburn, as a hobo ex-Professor of paleontology. When present, the charismatic bug-eyed Professor usually dominates the conversation......... Along the way, they stop at a hobo camp, where aggressive Ward Bond, as Hunk, tries to rape Anita, but is beaten on by Joe and the cane of The Professor. Later, Tony tries to steal some food for the group, but is shot in the leg, after a guard dog announces his presence. He is taken to a hospital, where The Professor pays for his care. Unfortunately, it is decided that his infected leg must be amputated to save his life(Remember, there as no commercial penicillin yet available). .......Undoubtedly, the most interesting segment occurs when they enter a Russian Pub. Serendipitously, The Professor encounters the owner(Margorie Rambeau, as Mamie), who is an old flame from long ago. He decides to stay on, no doubt providing some of the entertainment. The local sheriff(played by Irving Bacon) happens to be there, and somehow(?) sizes Anita up as an illegal immigrant. Thus, he wants to put her in jail, and also somehow connects Joe with her, as abetting her crime. Thus, he wants to put Joe in jail for 5 years, as well! But The Professor brings up the point that, if Anita marries a US citizen, she automatically is eligible to be a US resident. Thus, Joe is asked if he will marry her, right now. Very hesitantly, he agrees, as he doesn't want to spend 5 years in prison. The ceremony is performed by a Russian Greek Orthodox priest. Lacking a ring, a makeshift one is provided by the sheriff. Shy Joe almost has to be forced to kiss the bride. Soon thereafter, Joe tells Anita that he doesn't love her, and that they can get a divorce if she wants. During the party, she runs upstairs, writes a farewell note to Joe, and somehow(?) manages to slip out of the building without being noticed!........Joe continues westward toward his farm. He gets off at a little station, and walks to his 'Heaven', which turns out to be more like Hell. He finds a ramshackle house, and bare earth, instead of a shade grove. ......Very strangely, Anita shows up, and asks Joe if he still doesn't love her. Sheepishly, he says that he does. Their problem is that they have no money to fix up the house, nor to get started trying to grow some crops. Nonetheless, they are not totally cowed by their situation(They might mortgage their farm to get some money to start things).They have to cut up the barbed wire(fix the house and figure out what they can grow to sell) to create their own little 'heaven'.......This was the first feature-length film for both Glenn Ford and Richard Conte. Thus, even though he was the leading man, Ford was 4th on the list of players. I didn't detect any hint of greatness in his acting. It was the older supporting actors that most impressed me........Saw on FMC.