3 Godfathers (1948)

Three bank robbers, a baby and a lot of sand.  Think they'll manage?

Intro.

I went back to holiday films the day of Christmas Eve in order to watch one that I usually forget about but still enjoy - 3 Godfathers.  It's a take on the story of Christ, with enough religious allusions to keep any analyst happy.


Overview
Robert Hightower (John Wayne); Pedro, "Pete" (Pedro Armendáriz); and William, the Abilene Kid (Harry Carey Jr.), are three cowboys who come into the town of Welcome, AZ and rob the bank just a few weeks before Christmas.  They make a good break for the border too, with the Kid getting shot in the shoulder.  But Marshall Buck Sweet (Ward Bond) is on their trail with a posse in no time and a game of chess plays out as both groups try to get to the few water towers in the middle of the Arizona desert.  Bob, Pete and the Kid make it to the first tank, but find that the Marshall's boys have beat them to it via the railroad.  The posse follows the railroad to the next stop, Apache Wells, but the three outlaws decide to double back and head to Terrapin Tanks.  They barely make it, having run out of nearly all their water and baking in the sun.  The Kid isn't doing well without water and when they hit a massive windstorm, they have to take shelter and lose their horses in the night.  They walk the rest of the way, but find that someone has dynamited the tank and destroyed the well.  A wagon is there without horses and in it they find a woman about to give birth (her husband died chasing after their stock).  Pete helps deliver the baby as Bob and the Kid squeeze some barrel-head cactus to get some water.  The three men talk to the woman once the baby's born and it's clear that she isn't going to live through the night.  With the last of her strength, she names her child Robert William Pedro Hightower after his three new godfathers, who have agreed to save him.  After she dies, the three men try their best to care for the child, which means heading to the nearest town - Welcome.  Still without water, Pedro and the Kid both die on the way, and Bob barely makes it into the town before collapsing at the Marshall's feet.  But what will become of little Robert William Pedro and his sole godfather?

Highlights

There are a lot of reasons I like this movie.  The first is that it's a tribute film; the movie was originally made back in 1916 and starred Harry Carey, who was friends with director John Ford.  After Carey's death in 1947, Ford dedicated his remake of the movie to Carey.  The beginning shot has a rider coming up a ridge and pausing in moonlight, with the words "In memory of Harry Carey, Bright Star of the Western Sky".  Even better, Carey's son, Harry Carey Jr., is in the film as well, and it marks his introduction to film (probably in a main role, as he had already appeared in a few films, including the only one to feature both of the Careys - Red River).  This time the film's in technicolor and has a bit of a different storyline (though I can't comment more as I haven't seen the 1916 original). 

Not only did Ford make such a fine film, but he called on a lot of his regular actors and actresses: John Wayne, Ward Bond, Harry Carey Jr., Mildred Natwick, Jane Darwell, Hank Worden and of course, Ben Johnson (see my Ben Johnson fangirl blurb here), all of whom give good performances.  Harry Carey Jr. does a great job in this role - this is, in truth, how I always picture him too, as a young kid with a good heart even when he gets mixed up in some trouble.  It's sort of an iconic trio that the three make that appears in many Westerns.  Bob's the leader, the planner, the one who's been around before and has to make the decisions.  William is both in name and character "the Kid", young, more or less innocent (he was just the lookout), shy and in need of protecting.  And Pete is sort of the in-between guy with some knowledge and a past no one really knows (what? He was married and has kids somewhere??), but he's the one to keep looking on the bright side or cracking jokes.  The premise is pretty simple too, as each group (the lawmen and the outlaws) try to outfox each other.  But what makes this Western different is the baby.  Well, it starts before the baby, as Ford sets up these "outlaws" to be the heroes.  We get the feeling they're not too terrible from their general kindness towards the folks in town and how Bob and Pete take care of the Kid.  And we start rooting for them as we see them struggle across the desert.  So it's natural that we keep cheering for them once they decide to throw away their money and their freedom (and quite possibly their own lives) to save this orphan.  It's their redeeming act and the extenuating circumstances that come up in Bob's trial.  That decision to honor the woman's request that they save her child is the real turning point of the film.  It's a very human decision to have to make and it's what separates the good guys from the bad.

Having the story take place in the West is a perfect setting, as the West is often associated with rebirth and opportunities to start over in life.  To further that image of rebirth are all the allusions and parallels to the story of the birth of Christ.*  First we have these three men who find a child.  The same child ultimately saves them too.  When the men are trying to figure out where to go with the child, the closest towns all coincidentally have Biblical names - Damascus, New Jerusalem and Cairo.  This might be minor, but the men are also denied water from three tanks before finding the child (sound like being denied at three inns?).  The men also find a family Bible in the baby's wagon, and consult it for answers.  When Bob is about to give out, he opens the Bible and reads a passage about Christ asking for a donkey to be untied and brought to him so that he may ride into town on it (I think that's the passage about Palm Sunday).  Sure enough, a donkey appears and helps Bob and the baby get into town.  But the biggest part of the parallel is that the story takes place just before Christmas; Bob arrives in town late on Christmas Eve.       

Finally, a word on John Ford, my favorite director.  Ford strove for authenticity in his pictures, often shooting on location.  There are stories about how he'd get actors roaring drunk at night then wake them up at the crack of dawn to do a scene when their character would have to have a hangover.  In 3 Godfathers he waited until a real sandstorm came and forced everyone to bear the weather in order to film the scene.  Also important to Ford was to have some sort of civilization even in the harsh wilderness, and often used rituals to illustrate it.  Most of his Westerns contain a wedding, a social dance, or a funeral.  3 Godfathers is no different, as the men hold a funeral for the woman, with the Kid singing "Shall We Gather at the River" (which, I swear, must have been Ford's favorite hymn of all time).**  It brings a certain feeling of order and familiarity to the otherwise brutally harsh West.  It's a reminder of compassion in the face of cruelty as well, just as sure as there's a heart of gold beneath the rags of a bank robber. 

Review and Recommendation

Although not as famous as many of his Westerns, I'd argue that 3 Godfathers is a great example of Ford's work.  A simple yet elegantly told story has all the right aspects to make it a great film.  Fine acting, good story lines and brilliant directing make it one of my must see - not just around the holidays, but at any time of the year.

*I was going to make a comment about the three wise men and how they were following that "Westward leading" star.  Although that's a good thought for the fact that the film takes place in the West, the men go in just about every direction but West until Bob has to return to Welcome with the baby.

**Harry Carey Jr. has an amazing singing voice.  I really wanted to say that.  Also, he sings a "lullaby" to the infant, which sounds great till you realize he's singing "Streets of Laredo," an old folk song about a dying cowboy.  Surely you'll know some of the chorus: "so beat the drum slowly and play the fife lowly, sing the death march as you carry me along.  Take me to the green valley, there lay the sod o'er me, for I'm a poor cowboy and know I've done wrong."  He doesn't sing all of that to the baby, but he knows the song and his singing it is kind of like him singing about his own death.  One of the many details that makes this film worth seeing.

Shane (1952)

Heads up - this post is rather long and full of rambling about Westerns.  If you don't like the genre, feel free to skip it!

Intro.
Okay, so you know those films you've heard of for years that are supposed to be the standards of a genre?  Like, Gone with the Wind is supposed to be a standard for epics or love stories or The Sound of Music is supposed to be a standard for musicals?  When it comes to Westerns, I've seen a lot of the standards, mainly from the classic era (Stagecoach, High Noon) and some from the spaghetti Western era (The Good, the Bad and the Ugly).  Now one Western I've always heard about but have never seen was Shane.  It's been on my DVR for longer than I'd really like to admit, and I wanted to watch it as part of my now-abandoned theme for November (November was supposed to be cowboys, but that didn't really happen). Anyway, even the write-up in TV Guide said that Shane was a four-star masterpiece with rare characterizations of depth and poignancy.  Who could resist a film like that?

Overview

One of the best parts of Shane is that the story is pretty easy to follow.  It's iconic, really - a drifter rides up to a homestead, offers to help work the farm, then finds himself drawn into ongoing feud between the homesteaders and the ranchers who want their land.  The ranchers are led by the biggest bull in the area, Rufus Ryker (Emile Meyer) and the homesteaders find a leader in Joe Starrett (Van Heflin) [the homesteader who has drifting gunman Shane (Alan Ladd) working for him].  Joe's wife Marian is a strong influence on both men and we wonder at her wonderment, and her son Billy's adoration, of this tall, silent stranger, Shane.  The boiling dispute between the ruthless ranchers and stubborn farmers comes to a head when Shane comes to blows with one of Ryker's big men, Chris Calloway (Ben Johnson).  Homesteaders get their homes burned, livestock killed, all the awful stuff you can imagine so they saddle up and prepare to get out of Dodge, so to speak.  But Joe wants to make one last stand to protect what is rightfully and legally his.  It's about a lot more than land at this point, but what Joe doesn't know is that Ryker has hired a really fast gunman to take care of the homesteaders.  Even after learning this, he's determined to go off and fight, but Shane fights him instead, keeping Joe alive while Shane goes in his place to the final showdown.  Will he live?  If so, will he ever be able to settle down and live a "normal" homesteader's life?  Or will he be forced to wander between the winds (oops, wrong Western!)?

Highlights  

First of all, I loved the simplicity (and I mean that in a good way) of the story.  Like I said, it is classic and I believe part of the reason the film is such a staple or essential movie, is because it takes such a popular Western storyline and makes it work really well.  That being said, I wish I had seen Shane much earlier in my Western film experience, as I feel like it could be a good basis to which you can compare other films because there are a lot of fundamental ideas, plot points and characterizations that are honed and done well here.  I could write a book about all the films that it reminded me of, but that would be a book, not a blog post.  Two things really made the film good - fine acting and beautiful camerawork.  Now, John Ford is my favorite Western director and his cinematography is amazing.  He literally based some of his storyboards on Remington paintings (don't believe me? Watch She Wore a Yellow Ribbon).  The shots here are just as beautiful and well constructed and give a good feel for the isolation of the homesteaders and the rough life they have on their settlements.  The landscape is just as violent as the men who control it.  (More on violence later)  As for the acting, I couldn't believe that the top credits went to Alan Ladd and Jean Arthur when really I found myself paying more attention to Van Heflin.  He's incredible - in this sense, he becomes the everyman, the hard-working American trying to build a life for his family.  He's the stuff of legends.  His transformation from a quiet, peaceful man to one who wants to face certain death to preserve his principles is inspiring.  It all really comes to light at the cemetery when the homesteaders bury their dead before leaving their homes for good in fear of Ryker.  It does make you wonder about his intentions - is he really doing it for principle or so that his wife and son will look at him the way they admire Shane?  What makes a man a real man in country so rough?  What makes a man at all?  And if a man survives by countering violence with violence, isn't he just as wild as the country around him and unfit for things like a wife and a home?

I did enjoy Shane's showdown with Chris and then his later showdown with Ryker's hired gun and the aftermath of that shootout, but it still begs this same question about violence.  I think that violence, especially the really long fight between Ryker's men and Shane and Joe, is more pronounced in this film than in earlier or even other fifties-era Westerns.  It isn't on the same level as say, The Wild Bunch, but it is different and Shane is a different kind of hero.  He reminds me a lot of Ethan Edwards in The Searchers (1956) which really showed the older men who tamed the West with guns and violence had fallen from their place as heroes.  Tolerance, principle and the urge to settle and to build shaped the new heroes, who usually weren't as good with a gun.  This changing form of the Western cowboy hero is fascinating (to me, anyway) and really interesting in light of what was happening in the 1950s.  I don't know as much about Shane, but The Searchers was actually written and influenced by the decision of Brown vs. the Board of Education.  Prejudice was losing ground.  Gentler, less violent and more tolerant heroes were in.  Shane was just prior to this, but was also in the midst of events like the McCarthy hearings and the Korean War.  What role does a cowboy play in all of this?  Why is Shane our hero now?  He puts the good of the homesteaders before himself, using his skills against the wilderness to protect society as every classic cowboy hero does.  And what does it say about us that we cannot take this hero into our fold?           
     
Now a word about a character that really struck me in Shane.  I'm talking about Chris Calloway, Ryker's big talking lead man who gives homesteaders a lot of heat and a few punches.  This whole idea of subverting the usual hero type is also reflected in Chris.  At first I hated his character, but I think part of that was for a wholly unrelated reason (more on that below).  But one moment changed it all - after their awful, throw-down fight, it is Chris who comes to tell Shane about Ryker's hired gun, something I don't think he was supposed to do (I can't really remember clearly right now, but I remember feeling that Chris was crossing some sort of line with Ryker).  He's awful and mean and ornery, but yet he feels like he has to give Shane fair warning.  Maybe it's out of respect for a man he sees as just as capable of violence, or maybe it's because Chris isn't as evil as Ryker.

Before I go any farther with this very long and rambly sort of analysis, I have to make a small confession.   I know a lot of people are like this, so I'm going to admit it freely here.  I have a lot of trouble watching actors and actresses I like play characters that are cast against their type.  I have some back up here - Jimmy Stewart only played a bad guy once in his whole career (After the Thin Man, 1936) because he was so beloved by audiences for his guy-next-door, everyman heroism.  As for me, I love Ben Johnson.  He usually played the good guy too, as one of the sidekicks in an old John Wayne picture (love him as Tyree in Rio Grande) or the lead in my all-time favorite Western, Wagon Master.  He did a lot of stunts too, as he was born to the saddle - in Rio Grande, that's really him and Harry Carey Jr. riding and jumping as they each stand up on two horses.  He even won an Oscar for his role as the town patriarch in The Last Picture Show (a role he only accepted once his dialogue was rewritten to get rid of all the cursing, mind you!).  So imagine my surprise when I saw my favorite cowboy actor as a mean-talking, fight-starting bad guy in a black hat!**  Anyway, after I got past my initial shock, I tried to put those other thoughts and feelings aside and focus on his role in the picture.  And you know what?  He's fantastic. 

Last Thoughts and No Recommendation (for now)
I am now a bit lost - where was I before I went on my Ben Johnson fan fest?  Oh, so all in all, Shane was sort of mediocre to me.  In critical evaluation, I can see its merits and its rightful place as an essential Western.  But I didn't really get what so many other reviewers are talking about - namely this "love" between Marian and Shane.  I'm pretty sure I missed something and as such, I need to rewatch the film.  It could also be that I have trouble watching Jean Arthur because something about her voice annoys me.  Usually I can tune it out (the annoyance, not her voice), but other times it is still grating.  That and I just didn't get enough of her character; I felt like I didn't get to understand her that well (another reason to rewatch!).  I am doubting my own taste now, since I feel like I should like Shane and write a lot more about how wonderful it is.  So before I recommend it or go on anymore and embarrass myself with a lot more random Western movie facts (and I have plenty), I'm going to close this post with a question to you guys - those of you who read this far!  Does anyone have any thoughts?  If you've seen it, do you recommend this film?  Why or why not?

Some afterthoughts:
** I feel like I should mention that the whole white hat/black hat thing isn't infallible.  Even John Wayne wore a black hat now and again; heck even Gene Autry wore a black hat once in a film (granted that was the weirdest I'd ever seen him look).

*** Okay, one last completely unrelated Western fact - did you know that Ben Johnson was an extra in the musical Oklahoma?  I know, it's hard to believe.  If you watch carefully, you'll see him...and then also see him clearly exit once the dancing starts. 

Ride Lonesome (1959)

Wait, are you sure I haven't seen this film before?

Intro.

November was going to be my month dedicated to Westerns, though with my time constraints lately, it's quickly into a grab-bag sort of month.  However, I've loved Westerns for many years, and there's something that still attracts me to the myth of the American frontier.  I should clarify though, that I watch mostly older Westerns from the pre-spaghetti Western era.  That may change as I try to find Westerns I have not previously seen to review on this site, so keep checking as I explore more wide open spaces, cowboys, cattle barons, train robberies and all that the West will allow you to dream.

Overview

Ride Lonesome opens with our hero, bounty hunter Ben Brigade (Randolph Scott) riding alone in the rocky desert of the West.  He tracks down criminal Billy John (James Best) and manages to outbluff Billy's help and then arrests him.  They get to a way station for the stage only to find that the guy who runs it is off trying to catch his runaway horses.  His wife is left at the station, and she's pretty handy with a shotgun.  So are the two guys waiting at the station with her - Sam Boone (Pernell Roberts) and Whit (James Coburn).  They've also been tracking Billy John because the state has offered amnesty to anyone who brings him in, and the two guys want a clean start in life.  They decide to throw in with Brigade without saying why, but motives don't really matter when the stage station is attacked by Indians.  The group have no choice but to push on to Santa Cruz, including Mrs. Carrie Lane (Karen Steele).  But Brigade takes them the long way, knowing that taking longer will give Billy John's brother a chance to catch up with them.  As we learn, that showdown with brother Frank is what Brigade's really after, and his plan for revenge (and the reason behind it) is shocking.

Highlights
I tried to describe this movie the other day and realized that both what I liked and what I didn't like was one in the same - Ride Lonesome feels like every Western you've seen left out in the sun too long.  It's boiled down to the essential core.  I mean, you can't find a story that is used so often in Westerns - that of a man wronged and seeking revenge.  What also struck me was the plight of Sam and Whit, who want a chance to start their lives over.  That's the legend of the West as a place to start over, to build something on new land.  So although the film feels predictable and very similar to so many other stories, what it does best is cut right to the core.  No frills, and you won't find a single unnecessary word of dialogue.

The introduction to the film on TCM mentioned how well the camera captured the small characters against the massive wilderness from distance shots.  I agree it's beautiful camerawork, but that idea of man vs. nature on a size scale can be traced way back in Western history.  John Ford is famous for doing just that in most of his Westerns.  So I'm not sure if they meant it was original or if it was following in the tradition, but either way it is very well orchestrated.

Finally, the characters were pretty standard as far as Westerns go, but Randolph Scott was very good in his role.  I haven't seen him in many films, but I know he was famous for his Westerns and I'm glad this was the one I watched.  He really carries the film.  I have to say, I really loved that Carrie not only wielded a shotgun, but didn't shy away from using it.  And yes, Pernell Roberts is in this, just before his days as the eldest Cartwright son on Bonanza.  He's great too and actually delivers some of the best lines in the film, including one about how it took him and Whit a whole week till they found out what that word 'amnesty' meant.  He also echoes the Ringo Kid from Stagecoach (1939) when he says "there are some things a man just can't ride around."
 
I could probably sit here all day and draw parallels between Ride Lonesome and any number of other Westerns like Stagecoach.  What's interesting though is that this is one of the earliest in the string of anti-Westerns.  Although it embodies much of the classic Hollywood Western (think John Ford), it starts turning towards the anti-hero and takes an unflinching look at morality.  It isn't about justice; it's about vengeance.     

Review and Recommendation
Ride Lonesome is very much your typical, all-around Western.  It features great scenery and a good performance by Randolph Scott, but it's also very typical.  I'd say if you've never seen a Western or knew anything about the genre, this film would be great to add to your short list of films to see.

Man from Music Mountain (1938)

Because a shoot-out in an underground gold mine is always a good idea. 

Intro.

When I started this blog back in January, I was still able to get a cable channel that showed a Gene Autry film every Sunday.  I moved and lost that channel, but I do have a collection of Gene's films that I've been saving for a rainy day.  Despite being a sunny day, I just needed something sweet, simple and fun.  I had heard of Man from Music Mountain and while chuckling at the name, decided it was the perfect way to unwind.   

Overview
Man from Music Mountain begins with the opening of Boulder Dam.  Power line routes are being laid out, and any land around those lines promises to profit.  Two shady businessmen decide to take advantage of the situation and start selling land in Gold River, including a stake in the nearby mine to every landowner.  Many entrepreneurs take the deal, but upon arrival, discover that Gold River is an abandoned ghost town.  Gene Autry runs into these folks on their way to town and realizes that he knows the no-good land baron, Scanlon (Ivan Miller).  Autry tries to get Scanlon to stop the scam, but it doesn't work.  Meanwhile Gene's sidekick, Frog Millhouse (Smiley Burnett), is taken in by the deal and winds up with some land and a stake in the mine.  Gene's invested now, so he agrees to help the townspeople as they try to make the best of the situation.  They all still believe that the power lines will come through, but Gene has his doubts.  When they discover the mine's been worked dry and abandoned some twenty years ago, Gene and Frog hatch a plan to plant some gold dust from Gene's father and start a rumor that the mine's really profitable.  That of course makes Scanlon very upset and he tries to first discredit Gene, and then to buy back everyone's shares while they still think it's a hoax.  The rumor starts a gold rush and the town grows, which really helps the early settlers, but makes Gene really nervous.  Anyway, it all ends with a shoot-out in the mine and a very fortunate discovery!

Highlights (and a quick story)
As with most of Gene's earlier films, the music is fun and the story is pretty lighthearted.  I had some issues first with the slightly racist joke made by an African-American woman who works at Gene's ranch (still much better than Carolina Moon).  And while I applauded the fact that there were two very ambitious women in the earliest settlers who open their own salon, they weren't in keeping with the usually strong female leads that often featured in Gene's films.  Sure they ran their own business and managed to give Gene a manicure (more on that later), but they still relied on the men for everything and didn't fight their attentions.  I missed June Storey's competition with Gene or Irene Manning's use of a rifle to defend herself.  But in all honesty, they are still not the maidens strapped to the railroad tracks by an evil villain with a black mustache.  They choose to strike out on their own as "modern pioneers" and handle their difficulties with a laugh and a smile.  "Modern Pioneers" is a great title too, as this is a typical thirties Western, where the good guys are the hard-working cowboys and the bad-guys are tech-savvy crooks.  I swear in all these films, there's usually a group of cowboys who get run off the road by some vehicle (bus, truck, you name it) and then later the cowboys prove that horses are better because those same vehicles get stuck in the mud or in a river or in a ditch somewhere.  It's a great triumph of the hardworking homesteaders against the rich and mighty. 

The musical accompaniment was also well done.  Not only do we have Gene's usual singing ranch hands (was that asked in their job interview?  Can you rope a steer and then break into three part harmony?), but there's also Polly Jenkins and her Plowboys, a western band lead by a woman.  Gene gets to do a few of his own numbers of course, the best being "Goodbye Paint" which is actually really depressing because it's about a cowboy saying goodbye to his dying horse.  Anyway, I wanted to take a minute and talk about Gene Autry as a singing cowboy and what that meant for the Western film genre.  I know I've mentioned it before (like in Public Cowboy #1), but the addition of a singing cowboy to films helped make Westerns appeal to women, thus increasing the audience and helping save what would have been a dying genre.  But there's an interesting genre mix going on when you take a traditionally masculine genre like a Western and add in a typically feminine genre like a Musical.  I almost fell over laughing when Gene goes to visit the women in the salon and finds himself subjected to a manicure.  When his friends come in and start making fun of him, he is quick to his feet and shoots a warning at them, then forces them to also get manicures.  It's like a hold-up in a beauty salon all with the song, "Burning Love."  The perfect marriage of Western and Musical, with a subtle wink to the name, the "Lavender Cowboy."  It made me reconsider the gender coding of the parent genres and wonder about some underlying homosexual innuendo.  It seems funny that Gene is so quick to defend his right to get a manicure (even if the manicurist is a very pretty woman).   

And that leads me to my brief story.  At work, we had been talking about how films are marketed to female audiences - very few are when you think about it, and the ones that are still stereotype women.  One of my coworkers brought up a good point that in the new Twilight films, men are being objectified the way women have been for centuries.  I got to thinking about how this changes the audience and the marketing of these films and realized that on a similar level William Holden had also done this in the film Picnic.  I mean, that whole film revolves around him being shirtless and causing all the women to go a bit nuts.  But on a different level, Gene's films could also be argued to have been marketed to men and women equally.  When I brought this up, Catherine looked at me and said "so was he a Chippendale cowboy?"  I'm not too sure what Gene would've said to this, but I had a good laugh.  No, there was no shirtless-ness (he was still an idol of kids, remember) and definitely no kissing!   Anyway, the point of the story is that if we really want to consider targeted audiences, it goes back further than just glittery vampires.        

Review and Recommendation 
A solid film on many fronts, Man from Music Mountain is a pretty typical B-Western.  It's a fun ride if you don't take it too seriously.  The ending might make you groan a bit, mainly because the women turn into airheads, but whatever.  It's Gene Autry and he sings and gets fabulous nails.  What more could you want?

P.S.  Sad but true: I couldn't make out the year on this film's title screen, so I tried to guess as I watched.  Based on Gene's appearance, his sidekick and supporting cast and the general feel, I guessed 1938.  Turns out I was right.  I'm not sure whether or not to be proud of this....

The Lusty Men (1952)

Bulls, broncos, cowboys, cowgirls, horses, heartbreak, fortunes; the only thing missing is Ben Johnson.

Intro.

I've loved Westerns for a long, long time.  There's something about the wildness found in the West and the wildness found in man's heart.  I'm more of a fan of the simpler times, films where you knew good from evil, and violence was acknowledged but not glorified.  So it's hard for me to pass up an old black and white Western from the fifties, which is why last week found me curled up eating popcorn and enjoying The Lusty Men. 

Overview

The film introduces itself with a rodeo announcer, commenting on and explaining events like bull-dogging and bronc riding.  Next up in the chute is a cowboy well known in the rodeo circuit - Jeff McCloud (Robert Mitchum), but his luck is about to run out as he gets thrown and stomped.  He limps away, not just from the arena, but away from the entire life.  Jeff hitches his way back to his boyhood home, a place he hasn't seen in some 18+ years.  The small homestead is owned by a bachelor who keeps getting offers to buy the place from a young married couple.  They can't afford the down payment, but he lets them come by and daydream.  They stop by and meet Jeff, and the husband, Wes Merritt (Arthur Kennedy) recognizes him from his glory days in the rodeo.  Wes and his wife, Louise (Susan Hayward) take Jeff back to the ranch where Wes works and help Jeff get a job.  It doesn't last long though, as all of Jeff's stories about winning quick fortunes in the rodeo give Wes the idea to enter in the local rodeo, despite Louise's worries for his safety.  With Jeff training him, Wes does astonishingly well his first time out, and wins a handsome amount of money.  He and Louise decide to start rodeo-ing so that they can earn enough money for their homestead, with Jeff's help.  Each rodeo becomes a strain on their marriage as Louise wonders just how long Wes's luck will last.  On their way they meet fellow rodeo competitors and their wives and soon learn about the other side of the life - that the thrill often keeps them coming back again and again, but the fear is ever present in the wives.  Sure enough, Louise is ready to call it quits once they have enough money, but Wes can't walk away from the rodeo life.  What it comes down to is a kind of showdown between Jeff (who has some unrequited feelings for Louise) and Wes, which ends in both tragedy and triumph.

Highlights
Susan Hayward and Robert Mitchum give some standout performances, perhaps not their career best, but well worth watching.  I only wished I could have seen them develop their relationship more.  The story itself is very good and a has a good showcase of rodeo life (even with all of the stunt doubles and obvious faked close-ups of the actors bull riding).  Robert Mitchum feels at home in a Western (like in The Red Pony), and adds a certain strong-but-silent ruggedness to the film.  What I meant in the tagline is that the film was great, but to be a real rodeo film, I could have used a bit more authenticity.  Don't get me wrong, the rodeo scenes were great, but part of me wished that Ben Johnson, who won both an Oscar and a World Rodeo Championship in Roping, could have been there.  I could write a whole post about why I love Ben Johnson, but that's for another day.  In the meantime, check out this article. 

Despite the camerawork to make it look like the actors were riding broncs, there are some beautifully crafted scenes.  The one that struck me the most was after Jeff limps away from the arena in the beginning.  His saddle slung over his shoulder, he makes his way across the open, deserted arena, trash blowing past him like modern tumbleweeds.  It's solemn, isolating and sad.  It also makes me wonder if this was what inspired one of the scenes from the later Steve McQueen rodeo film, Junior Bonner (which does have Ben Johnson, though he's older and not doing any trick riding).  In any case, that same sense of loss is conveyed.  It's almost every kid's dream to be a cowboy or a cowgirl, and to lose that dream in the blink of an 8-second ride is crushing.  Meanwhile, to add to that same sense of loss, we hear in the background of the film a familiar Western song - a variation of "Oh Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie."  I've not only watched a number of Westerns (many of which feature this song), but I also listen to Western music (which is much different from Country music) - groups like Sons of the Pioneers and Riders in the Sky and artists like Tex Ritter, Gene Autry and Rex Allen.  But in this film, the song is a commentary almost on Jeff's life and his ultimate decision of what to do in the end.  I promise not to spoil it.  But I knew the ending was coming, yet I still hoped that it wouldn't happen.  In Jeff's words, "there never was a horse that couldn't be rode; there never was a cowboy that couldn't be throw'd.  Guys like me last forever."  How very true.

Before I sign off, I want to just think about what was going on in this period of Hollywood history.  In 1952, America was in the middle of the Cold War and fighting in the Korean war.  Extreme conservatism ran the country, from McCarthy right through to the Breen office.  Western movies and television shows thrived.  Like I said before, these were films where good and evil were easy to distinguish.  Jeff becomes the ultimate classic Western hero - the lone individual sacrificing his own happiness for the sake of traditional society (in this case, the marriage of Louise and Wes).  He's among the last of his kind, because the mid- to late fifties would introduce the anti-hero in the Western and bring an end to such romantic idealism.  It's always interesting to me to think about how a film was defined by its time period, and The Lusty Men is no exception.  

Review and Recommendation   
While not my all time favorite Western, The Lusty Men is nevertheless one of the most memorable and enjoyable.  A good story, solid performances and the novelty of rodeo events will keep you entertained.  I recommend it to any Western fan or any Robert Mitchum fan - you won't be disappointed!
 
P.S. Wagon Master (1950) is my favorite Western, followed by a very close second of She Wore a Yellow Ribbon.  You may also want to check out the film where Ben Johnson his Oscar for Best Supporting Actor: The Last Picture Show (1971).    

Westward the Women (1951)

Intro.

I've been putting off writing this review for awhile, not because it's difficult or that the film was bad, just that I'm not quite sure what to make of it.  I've written a lot about women in Westerns - both in my college film classes and on this site.  A few years ago I read an article called "Westward the Women: Feminising the Wilderness" by P. Evans.  In it, Evans discussed the role of women in traditional American Westerns: women were the "civilizers and tamers of male wildness and independence." So when I heard that the title film was on television, I decided to catch it.  

Overview

Westward the Women starts with a new settlement in California made up entirely of men.  Anxious to turn their now tamed land into homes, they recruit the settlement's leader, Roy (John McIntire) and a seasoned trail guide, Buck (Robert Taylor) to go to Chicago and recruit women to become their wives.  They sign on 150 women and begin the long, arduous journey back by covered wagon.  There's a wide variety of women too - two French women, an Italian mother and son, I think even a German woman (I swear I heard German somewhere).  The women bicker at times, but really have to pull together to overcome Indian attacks, attacks by the other men leading the group, extreme heat, dangerous roads, some deaths and one miraculous birth.  Once they finally make it to the settlement, the women refuse to go in unless they have some clean clothes, so the only two men who made it through all the way with them go to the town and get what they can.  A short while later, the women ride in, their heads held high.  A dance is held to get everyone acquainted and one by one the couples are married. 

Highlights

There are some unforgettable characters in the film, most notably the oldest of the women, Prudence.  She acts as a mother and caregiver, but not without a lot of sass.  But I have to say, the women as a group really become one entity.  It makes it all that much more chilling after the big attack when they call out all the names of the dead.  It's a chilling reminder that Buck was right - about a third of the women would die on the way. 

One part that I loved was how, before they set out West, the women get to go to a wall of photographs and pick out their future husbands.  It's really interesting because they got to choose!  Much of this movie reminded me a bit of the John Ford film Wagon Master (my favorite Western of all time).  In that film, there is a scene where the Mormon wagon train is invited to join an Apache tribe for an evening, and during that time there is a "squaw dance" - a tradition wherein the women have the right to choose their partners.  But I digress.  The main reason I noted the similarity is because of the outsider feeling - that this band of women are really the outsiders of normal, civilized society.  While the men wanted only "good women" recruited, they did not say "normal" or "well-respected" women.  True, they are virtuous to a fault, but they also want out of the traditions of city life in Chicago and this makes them unusual for women of their society.  There's quite an interesting collection of women just outside the norm on the train - a overly flirtatious French woman, a young woman who has gotten pregnant out of wedlock and is escaping from the shame she's faced, two women who are better shots than Buck, and even Prudence with her bull-headed, domineering presence that will leave any man afraid of her.

The three men left to lead the train after the other male guides take off (there's a rule not to talk to or bother the women, but that rule doesn't last long).  They're left with an old man (Roy), a man in his prime (Buck) with his doubts about the women, and a young boy who joined only because he wanted to go to California (Ito).  It reminds me of many other Westerns, this trio of men who seem inadequate for such a hard task - think Red River or Rio Bravo, for instance.  But what really stands out is how much Buck changes in his attitude during the film.  He comes to realize that not only are these women stronger, but as they are determined to prove themselves and push onward no matter what, they become the best and hardest working train he's ever led - of men or women.  These women have a tremendous sense of purpose and resiliency in the face of heartbreaking loss.  In the end, Rob  too settles into marriage, making Evans' point about women taming men's wildness.  But these women go beyond that - they can tame men, but they can also survive the brutal West without men.

Review and Recommendation
One of the best Westerns I've seen, this film walks a very fine line between very conservative gender types and very feminist types.  I had a friend in college who decided she hated Westerns because women were always portrayed in a horrible, weak manner (she had only seen one Western).  I wish I could tell her now to watch this film.  Even though the ending gives way to the social norms of the 50s, what happens in that cross country journey is amazing.  It would be interesting to see the film made today - I don't think it would have nearly the same impact.  I definitely recommend this film to any Western enthusiast, Western critic or really anyone who wants a good story.  Because when those women take up rifles and stand their ground with such temerity, all you can do is stand up and cheer.

Check out more info and some much better reviews at IMDb.com.

Rachel and the Stranger (1948)

Intro.

You know you are addicted to old movies when, after a very busy period that leaves no time for film-viewing, you go through a serious withdrawl.  Such is my case recently, as circumstances have kept me so busy I haven't been able to watch much of anything, let alone write a review.  So finally I got some time and decided to watch a film I'd never heard of before - it's called Rachel and the Stranger, which to me sounds like a kid's movie about the dangers of talking to strangers or perhaps a follow up to Sarah and the Squirrel.  It's far from both of these things luckily, and quite an enjoyable film.

Overview

Rachel and the Stranger is a pretty typical Western drama/comedy.  Rachel (Loretta Young) is a woman working off her father's debts as a bond servant.  Recent widower and father David (William Holden) decides that he needs a wife to care for his son Davey (Gary Gray), so he first buys her and then legally marries her, but only for convention as they will be living under the same roof.  Things get off to a rocky start as Rachel is treated more like a servant and outsider who is constantly compared against David's late-wife Sarah.  Everything changes though when David's long-time friend Jim (Robert Mitchum) - the typical free-spirit backwoodsman - comes to visit with the announcement that he's looking to finally settle down and find himself a wife.  Jim's bright spirits and good nature are a big contrast to the coldness Rachel's been getting from David, so it's only natural that she responds to Jim's growing attentions.  David begins to grow jealous and realize that he has married such a wonderful woman, not just a bond servant.  The two men come to blows when Jim suggests buying Rachel from David, and Rachel, so upset at the idea of being bartered for, ups and leaves.  It isn't safe though, as the local Indians are starting to raid nearby farms and set cabins on fire.  When their own cabin is targeted, all of the characters must come together.  And it's there under fire that true feelings finally bring a good ending to the film.

Highlights

I don't know where to start.  One of the reasons this film listing caught my eye was also one of the best parts of the film - the cast.  Holden, Young and Mitchum are great together!  Solid acting on all parts, even if it is a bit unusual to see William Holden in a Western.  Gray is also a lot of fun to watch and gets the feeling across that he misses his mother and really resents Rachel for taking her place.  I also enjoyed the initial interaction between Jim and David - Jim returns to learn of Sarah's death and in only one quick exchange we get an entire backstory between the men:  Jim loved Sarah and wanted to marry her, but as he was too wild and outgoing, she married David, a simple farmer.

The story is simple, but very well done in this film.  It did remind me of so many other films, but I think what is special about Rachel and the Stranger is that it so succinctly tells the story and each scene is very rich - there's one part where Jim and Rachel are singing and you see David in the background with Sarah's metronome, obviously still grieving.  It's so well told without too much explanation that you have to both laugh and cry at times (not to mention cheer out loud when Rachel finally gets a clean shot off with her rifle!).  I think the storytelling and cinematography reminded me of Angel and the Badman, Loretta Young's performance reminded me of her role in The Bishop's Wife, the relationship of Jim and David reminded me of Ethan and Aaron Edwards in The Searchers, and the general plot reminded me of everything from North to Alaska to The Grass is Greener and River of No Return (all of which I recommend!)**.

Finally, a few last points from my fangirl perspective.  First of all, Robert Mitchum gets to sing in this film (HOORAY!!!)  He has a great voice and he's just all around fantastic.  He is obviously enjoying his role in this film and I was delighted that he sang a few songs.  Also, William Holden is great - and shirtless in one scene (I had no idea he had so much chest hair).  I can clearly see now why so many women went crazy for him back in the day.  Finally, Loretta Young gets to kick butt with a rifle and instead of running off to civilization for help, as she rides back to the cabin under fire and starts to shoot alongside the men.  Talk about a woman turning into a strong female lead!  She does a complete 180 from the shy fragile servant and that in itself is what the film is really about.

Review

Although the storyline may be familiar, Rachel and the Stranger delivers a fine overall performance.  A wonderful cast and entertaining scenes keep the pace light and enjoyable.  I would definitely recommend it to anyone interested in a good old-fashioned Western that doesn't take itself too seriously.  

**A word of caution - of the films I listed, I would suggest reading up a bit on The Searchers before watching it for the first time.  If you watch it without any sort of reference or understanding, it comes across as a crass Western that comes dangerously close to comedy and can be very off-putting to some viewers.  There is a reason for almost everything in a Ford Western, even the humor.

River of No Return (1954)

Intro. 

Do you ever have those days that are so long and so tiring that all you want is to curl up with a good book or lose yourself in a good movie?  That's the way I felt the other day.  I came home and collapsed and flipped through some saved movies until I came to River of No Return.  Ironically, I had just finished the book You're Nobody 'Til Somebody Kills You by Robert Randisi.  It's the latest entry in his Rat Pack fanfiction murder mystery series.  I hate to say it, but  I am completely hooked on these books.  This one had Marilyn Monroe being stalked and Dean Martin hires the hero, Eddie Gianelli, to protect her.  Anyway, in the book, Marilyn tells Eddie she feels as safe with him as she did with Robert Mitchum when they were shooting River of No Return in the Canadian Rockies.  Of course, my thought was "I'd feel safe with Robert Mitchum too!"  Which meant, when I needed a good film to watch after my exhausting day, I had to pick this one.

Overview
Matt Calder (Mitchum) plays a farmer reunited with his young son Mark (Tommy Rettig) in a new, gold-hungry mining town.  The two make it back to their riverside farm and try to get used to each other again when a raft with two people on board gets into trouble near their house.  Matt helps the couple reach land only to find that the man is a gambler, Harry Weston (Rory Calhoun) who has won a gold mine in a poker game.  His wife Kay (Marilyn Monroe), who immediately doesn't get along with stoic, conservative Matt,  bonds quickly with curious, good-natured and innocent Mark.  As Harry lacks any rafting skills, he cannot go any further down the river to the main town to file his new claim.  He instead holds up Matt and steals his only rifle and only horse, leaving the father and son defenseless against the Native Americans, who have already started burning houses nearby.  Kay stays behind to care for Matt, who has been knocked unconscious by Harry.  After Harry leaves, Matt awakens and takes Mark and Kay onto the raft, narrowly missing an attack from the Native Americans.  They watch helplessly as their home is burned and Matt vows to kill Harry.  From there the threesome travel through the roughest parts of the river called "River of No Return," nearly drowning, fighting chills and fever, eating what little they can find or catch and generally trying to get along with each other but failing.  We find out that Harry and Kay aren't married yet and that the reason Matt was away from Mark and his mother was that he was in jail for shooting a man in the back.  Mark overhears this, causing another problem in this already troubled group.  Matt and Kay continue to hold some contempt for each other, and no sooner does it start to ease then Matt tries to force himself on Kay.  He gets interrupted by an attack from a mountain lion, but the damage is done.  At long last the trio survive the worst rapids and make it safely to the town.  Matt allows Kay to see Harry first, to talk to him and try and stop the two men from a fight.  Harry pushes Kay aside and goes after Matt, only to be shot and killed.  I won't give it all away, but it's one of the best ending scenes I've seen...well, right up until the last two minutes.

Highlights

One of the things that this movie does well is how the characters are formed.  Just when you think Matt is an alright, square kind of guy he goes and tries to rape Kay.  What?  I know, I was yelling at him the whole time.  But it keeps his character interesting, and his anger is clearly still just below the surface.  The other thing that works is the dialogue.  I was just talking about this film earlier and said that it's frustrating because the characters talk about things that don't matter and don't talk about things that do matter.  We're left wondering about Matt's dead wife.  Does he blame himself for her death?  Does he think Kay looks like her and that's why he has trouble with her?  Those are questions that should be answered by the acting, not the telling, which I think both Mitchum and Monroe do very well.  And the ending - I won't give anything away, but how it all comes full circle is pretty wonderful.  Not to mention pretty daring for the time too.

A Few Complaints

I've read a few mixed reviews on this film, and I have to say I have a few mixed feelings too.  The aspects I liked also bothered me a bit too.  For example, I loved the dynamic ending, but I felt that after the killing of Harry the film should have ended with Kay in the saloon singing the title song.  Instead there is a minute or two after her song that are too simple, too neat and too Hollywood.  I think they put it in to appease some viewers who probably had an issue with the way the shooting happened.  Or perhaps it was just to go with conventions of the day.  It would be interesting to see it now  in a remake, although no one today could probably convey that same inner turmoil and complexity Mitchum did.  And no one can even come close to being Marilyn Monroe.

And finally, just to appease my fangirl nature, I have to say that I was at first disappointed that Robert Mitchum doesn't get to sing in this film.  Marilyn Monroe does as a saloon entertainer and also as a sort of mother for Mark.  I know it would have been out of character for Matt to join Kay in singing, but part of me wished he had, even if only for the closing credits.

Review
What's great about this movie is that these are not average, well-adjusted people.  They are broken, weary and just trying to survive the elements and each other.  They don't form this perfect, happy little family.  It's a rare Western drama that is subtle and deep just as much as it is sweeping and dramatic.  Although there are some problems with plot and sometimes even with the characters (not to mention those awful last two minutes), I feel that this is a fine movie and I recommend it.  It was perfect to unwind and enjoy such a great leading man and leading lady in a fairly good and well-rounded film.

Johnny Guitar (1954)

Intro.

I've been looking for Westerns with women in strong leading roles, so when I read the summary of Johnny Guitar, I knew it was a film I had to see.  The write-up called it a "cult classic" of director Nicolas Ray, and starred Joan Crawford and Mercedes McCambridge as feuding businesswomen in the old West.  With supporting actors like Ward Bond, Ernest Borgnine and John Carradine, I was sure it would be a real treat.

Overview

Johnny Guitar (Sterling Hayden) has been hired by saloon-keeper Vienna (Joan Crawford) to come out to her establishment in the middle of nowhere Arizona.  On his way, he witnesses four men hold up a stagecoach.  He no sooner gets to the saloon when a posse comes in with a dead body - the man killed in the holdup.  The dead man's sister happens to be Emma Smalls, who owns the bank and practically all of the town.  She also has a deep hatred for Vienna, and demands Vienna to give them the men who robbed the stage.  As it turns out, Vienna is friends with four "outsiders" - cowboys who aren't quite criminals but also aren't quite the upstanding-citizen type.  These cowboys, led by The Dancing Kid (Scott Brady), are the prime suspects, but Vienna won't turn them over.  Unfortunately the Kid and his group come into the saloon at that point and a real stare-down leads to a lot of hot tempers, drawn guns and a lot of yelling (the yelling is mostly from the always fantastic Ward Bond who plays Emma's friend and ranch-owner McIvers).  McIvers finally gives Vienna and her crew 24 hours to clear out and the dispute fizzles out.  Vienna decides to send her crew away, lets the Kid and his gang (who really didn't rob the stage) get off to their hide-out and waits for the posse to come for her.  She isn't leaving.  Apparently, neither is her saloon-singer Johnny, who we learn is not only a former gunslinger, but her former lover.  Johnny is clearly still in love with Vienna, but she has yet to forgive him for leaving her five years ago.  The Kid and his gang decide to rob the town bank during the dead man's funeral, and as Vienna is in the bank at the time (and left unharmed), she is accused of being their leader.  Emma leads the town posse after the boys and then after Vienna.  It all ends with a lot of action, including arson, fistfights, a hanging, a shoot-out and a final showdown between the two women.

Highlights & Other Points

First of all, I have to point out the supporting cast.  Ernest Borgnine was great as the trouble-making selfish cowboy Bart.  You both hated and liked him.  I also liked seeing Ward Bond, even if his character was rather one-dimensional and not on nearly long enough.  Some other familiar faces included Frank Ferguson as the Marshal and Paul Fix as Eddie.  And of course there is the scene-stealer, John Carradine.  His death scene is wonderful as he utters that it's the first time everyone paid attention to him.  I also read on IMDb that Joan Crawford had originally wanted Claire Trevor in the role of Emma Smalls.  I kind of wish she had, as it would've been wonderful to see her and John Carradine together again.

I've read several reviews for this film on the Turner Classic Movies website, and I'm not too sure what to think.  Some people seem to love this film while others despise it.  There are a few areas that need to be pointed out - first the color.  There is color EVERYWHERE in this film.  And not just a variety of colors, but big, bold, outstanding colors.  I did notice though that it depended on the people - Joan Crawford is the larger than life saloon-keeper, already a rarity because she is a woman in such a position.  Her attitude is as bold as her wardrobe; also, she doesn't start wearing dresses until after she and Johnny get back together.  On the other side are the townspeople lead by Emma and McIvers.  After the bank robbery, which triggers a lot of fast moving action, the posse is all dressed alike in their funeral clothes, sort of like a dark, somber army.   

Aside from the clothes, the most noticeable feature of this film is the acting.  It feels too forced, too over-the-top.  In fact, as I watched I couldn't help but feel like this was a stage play and the actors needed to do everything possible to make their emotions palpable.  There is very little subtlety here.  I'm not sure if it is intentional or not, but in many ways the movie reminded me of a melodrama.  It was most evident in the scenes between Johnny and Vienna, who go to emotional extremes over their lost-then-rekindled romance.  I can't help but wonder if the obvious issues the two main women have with relationships might be a result of going against the standard genre rules (I mean, women toting guns?  Leading a posse? Running a town?).  The saving grace was that each time Vienna and Johnny got a bit too carried away, some action happened that changed the plot.  Still, it is hard to look past the feel and style of the film, although I did read that the over-stylized nature and over-dramatic plot both inspired Sergio Leone's Once Upon a Time in the West.  Sounds like another review waiting to happen!

Review

I think if you watch Johnny Guitar knowing that it is Western Melodrama, you might be more open to it.  It's not the worst film I've seen, but also not the best.  What it lacks in acting, movement and overdone love scenes it makes up for in action, plot and leading ladies.  And honestly, any Western with two such strong female leads is so rare, it's worth watching at least once.

Fun fact: Joan Crawford and Mercedes McCambridge fought not only on-screen, but off-screen as well.  According to some reports, Joan Crawford even took all of Mercedes' wardrobe and threw them out along an Arizona highway!  Good thing those guns on set weren't loaded for real!  Read more at TCM.com. 

The Harvey Girls (1946)

Intro.

This past week the sun finally came out and it felt like spring for the first time this year. And although last month was supposed to be dedicated to musicals, this is the time I really feel like singing.  So a few days ago I watched a film that had been recommended by a friend of mine - The Harvey Girls.  It was bright, enjoyable and perfect for this time of year (or any time, really).

Overview

The Harvey Girls is based on the line of restaurants founded by Fred Harvey in the 1870s which grew along the quickly expanding railroad line, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe.  The all-female wait staff was known for good looks, good manners and good food and brought a sense of civilization to the West.  These are the girls that Susan Bradley (Judy Garland) meets on a train bound for Sandrock, where she is to meet her mail-order husband.  After quite a breath-taking entrance to the town (hence the Oscar-winning song, "On the Atchison, Tokpeka and the Santa Fe"), Susan meets her intended husband Hartsey (Chill Wills) and the two realize that it isn't going to work out.  The main reason is that Hartsey had local dance-hall owner Ned Trent (John Hodiak) write those beautiful, tender letters to Susan.  Susan joins The Harvey Girls and soon their restaurant becomes a big rival to the dance hall, leading to a lot of confrontations, hold-ups and dance-offs between the Harvey Girls and the saloon girls, led by none other than Angela Lansbury.  Susan and Ned also have their own face-off, but in a sort of Pride and Prejudice way, as Susan realizes what Ned's intentions really are.  It all wraps up with the classic "this town isn't big enough for the two of us" scene where the train has to take the losers to the next town down the line.

Highlights

The music in this film is fantastic - proof that the Oscar for Best Song was richly deserved.  I also really enjoyed the color and choreography of all the dance numbers.  All the care and hard work shows in such a polished film.  Not only is Judy Garland outstanding in her singing and acting, but her co-stars shine as well. It's great to see her reunite with Ray Bolger (who has a great dance number!), and wonderful to watch her sparring with Angela Lansbury (who, believe it or not, makes a great mean-girl-turned-sympathetic-rival).  We also get some good humor from Chill Wills and Virginia O'Brien, as well as an early role for the graceful dancer Cyd Charisse.

I think what really got to me about this film was how great it was to see such strong female leads.  In typical Westerns, it's usually the men that do all the fighting, but here it's the women (okay, so some of the men set fire to the restaurant, but that's not direct confrontation).  Part of it goes back to the unusual pairing of the Western and Musical genres - something so traditionally masculine and something so traditionally feminine.  Here the male lead, Ned, is much more subdued and poetic while Judy Garland is the one throwing punches.  It's pretty neat to see such an unusual switch, but that's another topic for another day. 

Review
In Westerns, both women and music have long been regarded as signs of progress and civilization, and the Harvey Girls bring both to the little town of Sandrock.  Not only that, but they also bring great songs, dances, food and a lot of heart.  The Harvey Girls is a great film that anyone can enjoy, and I recommend it as a must-see Musical.

P.S. The story of Fred Harvery is pretty neat - you can read more here at the Kansas State Historical Society.

Boots and Saddles (1937)

Intro.

I know I've probably mentioned this before, but I love the television channel Encore Westerns.  I love it not for the lesser known movies or reruns of Gunsmoke, but because every Sunday at noon they have a salute to Gene Autry, and play one of his films.  I know it isn't a well known or even very popular station with people my age, but one of my simple pleasures is to curl up with a cup of coffee on Sunday mornings and watch another Gene Autry Western.  They have commercials for it to, and my favorite shows clips of Gene singing and throwing punches as the voice-over calls him the original American Idol.  It's easy to see why so many young boys and girls looked up to him.

Overview

Boots and Saddles is a pretty standard Gene vehicle, and like his other pre-WWII films, it's heavy on the singing, followed by equal parts comedy and action.  This time Gene's the foreman of a ranch whose owner has just died.  The owner's pre-teenaged son Edward is coming from England to collect his inheritance, but unbeknownst to Gene, the boy intends to sell the ranch.  Gene and Frog then face two problems - first is to get the prim and proper boy to fall in love with the West and the ranch.  Second is to find a way to make the ranch more profitable so that they can pay off the owner's debts.  Jim Neale (played by Bill Elliot) wants to buy the ranch to raise horses to sell to the Army.  Gene takes his idea and sets out to sell the ranch's horses to the Army instead.  A lot of good humor results from a series of misunderstandings when Gene mistakes the Colonel's daughter for his maid and Frog gets mistaken for a new recruit.  It all winds up with a race between Neale's horses and Gene's horses - Neale's riders wear black hats and Gene's wear white (naturally).

Highlights

Gene does sing a few great numbers in here, namely the song that lends itself to the title, "Take me Back to My Boots and Saddles."  Gene also serenades the colonel's daughter Bernice (played by Judith Allen) with "The One Rose (That's Left in My Heart)."  He is nicely backed up by the locals in both songs, unlike the comedic song "Why Did I Get Married?" that he sings to Bernice once he figures out who she really is.

The other point worth mentioning is the relationship between Gene and Bernice.  She's upset with him because he's just a cowboy, and her boyfriend happens to be Neale.  They start out on a bad foot because Gene and his boys block the road with all their horses, preventing she and her father to pass on their surrey (which makes for some funny Western road rage).  Well, when Gene shows up and mistakes her for the maid, she plays along.  She even tells him that the Colonel is deaf and likes it when people shout at him (which, of course, Gene does, causing the Colonel to think Gene is hard of hearing).  Later Gene goes to pick Bernice up for a date and she tells him she has to clean the room first.  He discovers a family photo of she and the Colonel and realizes what he had suspected is true.  So he gets even by finding all kinds of things needing to be cleaned, including how awful the floor looks and how she'd better scrub it.  It's a funny give and take that adds not only humor but a good dynamic to the film, even if it is a bit stereotypical. 

Review

Definitely one of Gene's better pre-WWII pictures, Boots and Saddles is very entertaining and wholesome, with some good, clean fun.  Yes, it's dated and pretty old-fashioned, but the film doesn't take itself seriously and neither should its viewers.  I recommend it as a good, solid singing cowboy film that doesn't disappoint its genre or Gene's fans. Oh, and Champion of course steals the show, making the film even better.

Public Cowboy #1 (1937)

Intro.

Public Cowboy #1 is probably Gene Autry's most referenced film.   I did a research paper on early Westerns a few years ago, and I remember reading countless articles all of which mentioned this picture.  So it was a real treat to watch it last week.  All the hype is due - not only is this an entertaining vehicle, but it clearly demonstrates (better than most of Gene's pictures) the role Gene holds as a hero of the working class during the Depression.  He represents the farmers and ranchers who are hit the worst and his fight soon becomes the fight of all men and women of the time.

Overview

Gene plays a deputy sheriff out in cattle country, where the older sheriff has raised him like a son.  The film opens with the two of them good-naturedly helping their ranching neighbors to round up some strays.   The ranchers have been complaining because of some mysterious rustling - it seems that their cattle are disappearing without a trace.  We as the audience learn that the cattle are being stolen by the Chicago and Western packing company headed by a guy named Shannon.  He's got airplanes passing over head and radioing the packing truckers when and where there is an unguarded herd.  The truckers drive in, kill the cattle and ship them off in minutes, leaving the ranchers on horseback completely baffled.  The sheriff is outwitted as well, so the town votes him out of office and brings in a "modern" police force that promises to use new scientific methods to capture the crooks.  However, the rustlers didn't count on Gene's determination to solve the case the old-fashioned way and give the Sheriff back his pride.  He manages to do just that with the help of Frog's home-made shortwave radio, a funny undercover job and a pretty female newspaper editor named Ann (played by Helen Morgan).  The final show-down is a triumph not only for the ranchers, but for audiences of any generation feeling the pressures of change and technology.

Highlights

Gene, as in most of his pre-WWII films, has a lot of singing in this film. All of the songs are worth mentioning, but especially good were "Old Buckaroo" and the haunting "Wanderers of the Wasteland," the latter of which opens the film on somewhat of a somber note.  My favorite song though is "The West Ain't What it Used to Be," which Gene sings to Ann once they've met and later adds to in an attempt to serenade her.  I've typed up the lyrics, and here's a sample that backs up the whole sentiment of the film - that the West, both in the physical sense and in the mental image of America's promise, has changed.  Whether or not we can call this progress positive is another subject that isn't mentioned.

"There's a New Deal in the West today,
Where the antelope used to play,
I met a deer this very day,
Oh, the West ain't what it used to be."

"There ain't much left of the West no more,
The cowboys all turned troubadour,
A gal I know is an editor,
Oh, the West ain't what it used to be."
-music and lyrics by Fleming Allen

One of the topics I've written about before (and have read a good deal about) is the portrayal of women in Westerns.  Usually they are marked as the innocent, fragile beacon of civilization that must be protected.  However, with the development of a less rough-and-tough hero (I mean, come on, he sings after all) there's a shift towards making women much stronger, more independent characters.  Ann is the epitome of that - she not only writes for the newspaper, she runs the whole office.  She works harder and is more stubborn than her male counterparts.  She represents the best aspects of progress, and while Gene doesn't fit in with her world (as evidenced by him constantly knocking things over in the newspaper office), he does respect her.  When he teases her about her strong work ethic, he says "I guess I'll have to learn how to cook then."  All I want to say is "yes, Gene.  Yes you will."

While Ann may represent the good side of progress, the rustlers and Shannon represent the bad side.  All of the fears of the time are played out here - the fear of losing land and livelihoods and the fear that technology will put the working man out of business.  The film clearly references the very popular crime drama genre of the day - calling the packing company "Chicago & Western" alludes to it being run by gangsters (as well as Shannon wearing dark tailored business suits).  Even the title is a play on the James Cagney hit, The Public Enemy (1931).  Cowboys can not only beat bank robbers and horse-thieves, but they can also take down modern criminals, something the new police-scientists can't accomplish.  It's clear from the beginning that this is a fight Gene has to win - he has to preserve that last part of American fortitude and the can-do spirit, even in the most difficult of times.  His triumph is our triumph.

Review

I love Westerns, as you probably have guessed by now.  And of all the Gene Autry films I've seen, I think that Public Cowboy #1 is definitely one of, if not the absolute, best.  It isn't just about how the story works or how the cinematography looks - this is a film that captures the feeling of a certain time and place and endures because that feeling is universal.  So I definitely recommend this film, especially if you are a fan of how film reflects history or how the Western evolved.

As I read this all back over, I realize how serious this post sounds.  So let me leave you with a more lighthearted thought: I've heard a lot about the funny debate in the past few years about who would win in a fight - ninjas or pirates.  Well, let me end by saying my money's on the cowboys.

If you're interested in reading more, there's a great article by Lynette Tan called "The New Deal Cowboy: Gene Autry and the Anti-Modern Resolution."  If you think all B-Westerns are lousy oaters, then this article may change your mind!      

Carolina Moon (1940)

Intro.

Some days, you just need a good movie to cheer you up.  That's how I was feeling today, so I decided to watch a movie from my Netflix instant play list.  Turns out they've posted quite a few Gene Autry films, so I'm pretty much in fangirl heaven.  I chose Carolina Moon mainly because it was from 1940 (one of Gene's best years) and co-starred June Storey and Mary Lee.  While the singing was superb, the storyline and the over-done Southern cliches were not.

Overview

The film begins with Caroline Stanhope (June Storey) and her grandfather (Eddy Waller) on their way North to a rodeo, where they hope to ride their prize thoroughbred and win enough money to pay the back taxes on their plantation.  At the rodeo they meet Gene and Frog, who tell them that a thoroughbred can't compete with cow-ponies.  Of course, our guys are right and when the grandfather loses a large bet, he is forced to sell Gene his horse in order to pay.  Unfortunately, Caroline has other ideas and gets the family (and the horse) back to Carolina and leave Gene and Frog holding the bag.  Well, the boys head South (despite Frog claiming there's no such place as Carolina).  Once there, it's clear that the Stanhopes aren't the only ones in danger of losing their plantation.  Gene and Frog naturally decide to help (mostly Gene, because he's obviously falling for Caroline).  The main problem is a guy named Henry Wheeler (Hardie Albright) who wants all the owners to sell him their plantations so that he in turn can sell them for a profit to a lumber company.  Gene and Frog figure it out after a fox-hunt, a Steeplechase, and a challenge to a duel.  Anyway, just when you think it's worked out (the plantation owners sell their timber rights and are able to keep their land), the bad guys add one more twist.  I won't give it away, but let's just say that lumberjacks vs. cowboys makes for one great fight!

Highlights

I couldn't help but laugh during this film, both at the intentionally funny parts and the not-so-intentional parts.  There were good points, but also a few very bad ones.  On the one hand, Gene is great.  He's funny and handsome and at the top of his game.  His singing is just as great as his other films, and there is plenty of it.  Worthy of note are the title song, as well as "Dancing Dreams That Won't Come True", "Say Si Si" and a great one by Mary Lee: "Me and My Echo."  There are some great action scenes too - I already mentioned the fight between cowboys and lumberjacks (good money on the cowboys, of course!) and the race sequence where Gene rides in a Steeplechase.  And he's right, he does look silly in that jockey cap!   Gene and Frog manage to have some great comedy bits too, especially at the rodeo where Frog's trying to pick up a girl.  Finally, to wrap up the highlights was Gene's final showdown with Wheeler.  I didn't think Gene could really intimidate people, but somehow he pulls it off here: "I've heard that word honor ever since I've been here.  We have it out West too.  Only we handle them a little different.  We just start shootin'." 

The hard parts to watch revolved around the Southern cliches.  Although the highlight there was how Mary Lee stopped the fox hunt!  Still, the Southern Colonel obsessed with telling stories of the Civil War and the poor portrayal of African-Americans was too over the top.  I think I finally had enough when Frog tried to disguise himself as a "Mamie."  Really, Frog?  I had to remind myself that this film was in 1940 and I'm in 2010, but it's still troubling to watch.   

Review

This was one of the few times where I wasn't sure just how I felt about a movie.  I think overall, Carolina Moon is not one of Gene's best films.  The golden parts are the singing, the few action scenes and the comedic banter between Gene and Frog.  Other than that, it feels dated and unusual.  I missed Gene being out West and look forward to the next film that takes him back to the prairie.

Western Jamboree (1938)

Intro.

Gene Autry first began appearing in films in 1934, and needless to say, he didn't have much experience.  His acting was stiff and uncomfortable, but he could always save the day with a good fistfight and an even better song.  Through the years his acting improved immensely and his voice smoothed out to transform him from a yodeling cowboy to a crooner of the West.  Western Jamboree is near the early to middle part of his career, so there is some fine singing and decent acting.

Overview

Western Jamboree focuses on two storylines with Gene as the connecting thread.  He's a foreman on a ranch that is about to be taken over by a new owner.  The previous owner had discovered natural gas containing  much sought after helium, on the property just before he died, so with him gone the men who filed his claim are trying to discover the pipeline and take it over.  Meanwhile, Gene's friend Haskell (played by Frank Darien) has a problem - his grown daughter is newly engaged and coming back home from the East in order to see her father and introduce him to her fiancee and soon to be mother-in-law.  The only problem is, he's told her that he owns a dude ranch when the truth is that he's been doing odd jobs and barely scraping together enough money to put her through school.  So Gene decides to get his local friends to pose as high-society guests and turn the ranch into a dude ranch.  Haskell's daughter Betty loves the whole place, but her fiancee and his mother (both very arrogant socialites) hate it.  Gene tries his best to pass off the place as a real dude ranch, but when the bad guys try to move in on them for the gas and then the ranch's true owner turns up, the cover's blown and a fight for the ranch begins.

Highlights

Gene has some great songs in here.  I mentioned in an earlier post that Gene's films tend toward music, comedy or action.  This one is heavy on the comedy and then on the music.  He does a great rendition of "Cielito Lindo" as well as the beautiful "Old November Moon."  And perhaps the best number bookends the picture, "When the Bloom is on the Sage."  Gene opens the film with that song, and the ensemble closes the film with it.  As for the comedy, there's never a dull moment.  In addition to Smiley Burnett's routines, there is the additional comedy inherent in the "masquerade" - Gene's friends are local folks who prefer saloons to society parties, so when they try to act high-class, you can't help but smile.  It reminded me a bit of the film Higher and Higher (which is adorable and you should definitely watch sometime!).        

Review

An enjoyable Gene Autry film, Western Jamboree is a fun movie.  It's never dull or slow, but also not as polished as his later ones.  All in all, good, clean entertainment and a wonderful soundtrack make it a standard but lovable picture. 

Want to read more?  Check out IMDb.  Also, I just found GeneAutry.com, possibly the most awesome website ever.  Seriously, any website that features a place to submit questions called "Ask Champion" just makes my day.

The Red Pony (1949)

Intro.

At long last, the mail has been going out regularly, so my new Netflix DVD arrived.  The film was added a long time ago, but in light of my "leading men we adore" theme, I had to include a film with Robert Mitchum.  About a year ago I had seen only a clip of this film (of course it was the incredibly sad part) and knew I'd need to see the whole thing eventually.  I'm glad I did too.  The film is based on the Steinbeck novel, which was published in 1945.  Steinbeck himself wrote the screenplay for the film, and his writing style shows in the rich but minimal-dialogue scenes.

Overview

This is not an epic or a sweeping tale of the West.  It does not have a cast of thousands.  It is a brilliant, small film simply about a boy and his first pony.  Tom Tiflin is the little boy in this film, played by the adorable Peter Miles.  Tom gets his first pony, a beautiful red colt.  He is determined to care for it and train it with the help of his grandfather (played by Louis Calhern) and his family's only hired hand, Billy Buck (Robert Mitchum).  He can talk to these two men more than he can to his father Fred (Shepperd Strudwick), who only wants to sell the ranch and go back to the city.  Myrna Loy plays Tom's mother, who loves her father and his ranch and wants to stay.  As much as the family seems to be falling apart, they have to come together when the colt breaks loose during a rainstorm and winds up with a deathly cold.  Despite all attempts to save him, the colt dies, leaving Tom brokenhearted with only Billy Buck to take it out on.  In the end, Billy's prize mare births a colt, which he gives to Tom, and the family begins to put their pieces back together.

Highlights & History
I couldn't get enough of these characters.  Each one is so well written and well acted, that I felt as though it should have been a series, not a single stand-alone film.  I wanted to see Tom grow up and watch his parents get back together.  The simplest stories are often the most touching, and such is the case here.  It's about a lot more than a boy and his horse - it's about the loss of youth and the discovery that death is real.  It's about the end of part of an American dream.  Tom's grandfather talks about the end of "Westering" and how once men hit the ocean, that dream died.  I'm going to detour here a bit for some background.  In 1890, the Census Bureau said that the American frontier was closed - no more expansion was left.  For the years that followed, right up through the 1930s, there was a certain anxiety about our national identity.  We were a country of pioneers, but there was nowhere left to explore.  The nostalgia of the West grew from that period, giving rise to great writers and later to great films.  It's interesting that the same themes would reappear after WWII when the book was written, but that same nostalgia and sadness is very present in the picture.

Now, as for the rest of the film, fine performances by the whole cast.  Robert Mitchum is good in this role.  In 1949 he was still taking less-risky roles.  He had just done some jail time in 1948, so afterward he avoided those gritty, bad guy roles.  It was the same year he made Holiday Affair as well (and the same reason).  His career didn't suffer too much from his record though, and even gave him more of a tough-guy image that led him to roles like Cady in Cape Fear.  Still, as the good-guy cowhand Billy, he does a fine job and is wonderful to watch with Peter Miles.  I should also mention the outstanding performance by Louis Calhern.  He's so much fun to watch and more fun to listen to - his voice and the way he delivers his lines is in the great tradition of storytellers.  I could almost picture him as Mark Twain.  And I knew he looked familiar - turns out he's been in quite a few great films, including High Society (1956).

Review

An understated classic - that's the label I would give The Red Pony.  It's told simply and honestly, with great attention to character.  It also boasts some nice cinematography and an incredible score by Aaron Copland.  A must see for many reasons, this film is one of the great American stories.

As always, check it out on IMDb.  I also found a book review about the end of the American frontier - I really want to read it now.
     

Night Stage to Galveston (1952)

Intro.
Another of Gene's last Westerns, Night Stage to Galveston also feels more like a longer verison of one of his TV episodes.  It's based on a little-known and interesting piece of Texas history.  After the Civil War, Texas legislation had tried to pass a bill for three companies of Rangers, but when funding failed, they instead put together a group of State Police.  As in most states, these State Police weren't trusted, leading to distrust among the residents.  This sets the stage for Gene's picture.

Overview
Gene is one of the now-retired Texas Rangers, along with his friend Pat Buttram.  They are working with Colonel Bellamy, who runs a newspaper with his daughter Ann.  The town's been getting pushed around by the local State Police, who pretty much throw anyone they don't like in jail on false charges.  When they kill a local rancher, Gene goes after them and shoots one of them in self-defense.  He and Pat take in the dead rancher's little girl Cathy (Judy Nugent), and take her back to the Colonel.  Gene, Pat and the Colonel come up with a plan to contact all of the old Rangers and have them gather as much proof of police corruption as possible.  It almost works until the State Police steal the affadivts, kidnap Ann and Cathy and beat up the Colonel.  It all culminates in a rip-roaring stagecoah hijacking by Gene and the re-establishment of the Rangers!

Highlights
As in most of his post-WWII films, there is less singing and more action.  The plot is better than some of his later work, and the feature songs in this picture are great.  Gene sings "Heart as Big as Texas" (one of my favorites!) and the theme of the movie, "Eyes of Texas" is a great, old Texas Ranger song.  If it sounds familiar, it could be because the song was also used in the TV series Tales of the Texas Rangers and later was rewritten a bit as the theme song for Walker, Texas Ranger.

The supporting cast is great in this film as well (outside of Pat Buttram's chauvinistic lines about a woman's place).  Colonel  Bellamy is well played, as is the character of Cathy.  Little Cathy (played by 12 year old Judy Nugent) is quite a scene-stealer and has a big part to play.  Aside from hiding several times and overhearing the police plotting, she is also kidnapped with Ann and escapes by climbing out of a chimney.  She gets Gene to come save Ann, then later on she saves the Colonel when he gets shot in the arm and ruptures his artery.  Finally, Gene's horse Champion shares top billing with Gene.  This film highlights what a beautiful horse he is during all of the great chase scenes.

Review
Gene's films usually lean towards comedy, singing or action.  This one is heavy on the action, but has some comedy and singing too.  If you can get past Pat's shenanigans, then I think you'll really appreciate this film.  It's good, solid entertainment and a fine example of the singing cowboy Western.

Want to read more?  Check out the Official Website of the Texas Rangers here.

Apache Country (1952)

Intro.
Encore Westerns had a great Gene Autry double feature today: Melody Ranch and Apache Country.  I watched both, even though I had already seen Melody Ranch (but the second viewing was just as good!).  I have to admit, I was a bit apprehensive about Apache Country.  As a fan of Westerns, I am painfully aware of sometimes awful treatment of Native Americans in motion pictures.  I haven't seen many films where they are not the bad guys, and fewer still where they have been portrayed as complex, important characters.  This picture struck me because the Apaches are the very people Gene is protecting, and they are respected.  The main Apaches in the film are not main characters, but important to the plot.  In a timeline sense, this film came after Gene had already been on his TV show for about 2 years.  He's a bit older than his early classics, but he can still pull a few punches (and sing a few melodies!).

Overview
This film reminds me of a longer, more polished version of one of Gene's TV episodes.  The plot is fairly simple - Gene is chief of scouts for the Army, and his latest assignment is to go undercover in the town of Apache Springs to find out who's been inciting Apache uprisings to cover up real train robbers.  The easy part is finding out the couple behind the outlaw ring - the hard part is proving it.  Lucky for Gene and his sidekick Pat Buttram, they run into Carolina Cotton (playing herself), a gal who runs her late father's medicine show.  Carolina can out shoot and out yodel everyone in the territory, and she and Gene become fast friends.  He entrusts her with a coded report that will expose the outlaw leaders, but the leaders get wind and try to ambush her when she joins a wagon train to the nearest fort.  Gene and Pat ride in just as the bullets start flying, and of course they all get the bad guys.

Highlights
What this film lacks in plot, it makes up for in the character of Carolina Cotton.  She is unstoppable!  Not only is she running her own business, but she's joining up with Gene and Pat to help them in a pretty dangerous situation.  Gene pays her quite a compliment too when he says that next to her father, she's the best they could have asked for.  It's so refreshing to see a woman in a Western who is her own person, not dependant on anyone, able to shoot and fight better than any man.  And she's not the usual old, bitter spinster with a gun - she's gorgeous!

Carolina sounds great when she sings too, and just as terrific when she and Gene sing together.  He doesn't sing as much in this picture, probably because he's too busy chasing train robbers and punching out bad guys.  But he does manage to sing a beautiful version of "Cold, Cold Heart."  The Cass County boys are also along for the ride, providing some nice backup for both Gene and Carolina (although they really should have had more screen time).

Finally, the Apaches that tour with Carolina perform some traditional dances for us, and Gene narrates their actions.  He pays respect to their traditions and helps those around him understand the symbolism of the Eagle Dance and the Buffalo Hunt.  It's very different from other cowboy-and-Indian movies, and makes me happy Gene did it.

Review and Recommendation
There are a few reviews out there that say this film is only mediocre.  It really is a usual, run-of-the-mill oater, but still entertaining.  There are a few good reasons to see it.  If you think that Native Americans are never portrayed well, you should see this picture.  If you think women are never strong Western characters, then this film will prove you wrong.  All in all, not Gene's best, but far from his worst either.