It mixed many sources in its eclectic delivery: Biblical Old Testament references (e.g., The Tower of Babel, Moloch), the skyline of Manhattan (inspired by Lang""s 1924 visit), H.G.Wells"" 1895 novelThe Time Machine, Art Deco designs of the 1920s, the angular sets, labyrinthine passages, and bold lighting ofThe Cabinet of Dr.Strings are suspended in air played with soaring bows.Discs or wafers resembling objects in space appear and disappear.As the music builds, sparkling bits of fireworks dance and explode in a metamorphosis of light and color." He plans to desert the town, but is persuaded to stay by "frontier gibberish" from an old bearded prospector type named GabbyJohnson(Claude Ennis Starrett, Jr.The two had not officially signed on at the start of the trip, but joined on the trail outside St.Louis:I signed nothing.If I had, I""d stay.You""ll remember I joined your train after you left St.Louis.Even though they are in the midst of hostile Comanche Indian country ("They""re around somewhere - I can feel ""em," says he wagonmaster), Dunson intends to head South toward cattle-friendly Texas and the Red River to start his own cattle herd with a bull and cows:I""m startin"" my own herd.In the film, Dean formed a friendly bond with the other two characters: Wood as confused teenaged Judy, and Mineo as a strange, adoring boy named Plato - the film""s sacrificial lamb by film""s end.