Westerns
This is my project to watch all major westerns, and some not so major, starting with the first sound films. To avoid losing focus, I'll be looking at movies set in the Old West (no modern westerns, therefore), and without fantasy, horror or science fiction elements. Comedies or musicals won't be the focus either, although I'll watch a few.
I have tried to rate them in the context of the time they were made, so for example I won't penalize early talkies for their more theatrical style of acting. Because of this you'll see, for example, that I have given the same rating to the 1929 and 1946 versions of The Virginian, even though the 1946 version is clearly more modern in its cinematic storytelling.
A rating below 5 means that I actively dislike the movie. 5 means reasonably entertaining but nothing more. 7 is a good movie. 8 and 9 are really good movies, and 10 is a masterpiece.
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I have tried to rate them in the context of the time they were made, so for example I won't penalize early talkies for their more theatrical style of acting. Because of this you'll see, for example, that I have given the same rating to the 1929 and 1946 versions of The Virginian, even though the 1946 version is clearly more modern in its cinematic storytelling.
A rating below 5 means that I actively dislike the movie. 5 means reasonably entertaining but nothing more. 7 is a good movie. 8 and 9 are really good movies, and 10 is a masterpiece.
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- DirectorIrving CummingsRaoul WalshStarsEdmund LoweWarner BaxterDorothy BurgessA charming, happy-go-lucky bandit in old Arizona plays cat-and-mouse with the sheriff trying to catch him while he romances a local beauty.Storyline: Army Sergeant Mickey Dunn sets out in pursuit of the Cisco Kid, a notorious if kind-hearted and charismatic bandit of the Old West. The Kid spends much of his loot on Tonia, the woman he loves, not realizing that she is being unfaithful to him in his absence. Soon, with her oblivious paramour off plying his trade, Tonia falls in with Dunn, drawn by the allure of a substantial reward for the Kid's capture -- dead or alive. Together, they concoct a plan to ambush and do away with the Cisco Kid once and for all.
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This has historical interest as the first talking western and the first talking movie with outdoors scenes. You can see in several scenes that the filmmakers were eager to show off the possibilities of the new sound techniques, like when having a group of characters singing or when frying eggs and bacon.
Apart from that, the story itself is interesting, although the action slows down too much in the middle of the movie. We get a lot of flirting and talking, until we get to the unexpectedly harsh twist ending. I have read that the technical limitations of the early sound recording may have resulted in avoiding the kind of action scenes we are used to in later westerns.
The acting, when viewed with modern eyes, is still stilted in a silent-movie kind of way. But there is some charm in this story, and also a sensation of authenticity in some details that come from being filmed close to the actual historical period.
Rating: 6 of 10 - DirectorVictor FlemingStarsGary CooperWalter HustonMary BrianA good-natured cowboy who is romancing the new schoolmarm has a crisis of conscience when he discovers that his best friend is engaged in cattle rustling.Storyline: Molly Wood arrives in a small western town to be the new schoolmarm. The Virginian, foreman on a local ranch, and Steve, his best fiend, soon become rivals for her affection. Steve falls in with bad guys led by Trampas, and the Virginian catches him cattle rustling. As foreman, he must give the order to hang his friend. Trampas gets away, but returns in time for the obligatory climactic shootout in the streets.
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Very early "talkie" western, and Gary Cooper's first sound film, the one that started him as a big star. It follows Owen Wister's classic novel of the same title, although in a more streamlined fashion. All the big moments in the book are here, but the book is a sprawling epic, and in the movie everything is more rushed, including the romance between the foreman and the schoolmarm. In general, there's much more time for character development in the book.
Here, the narrative is always direct and to the point, never losing sight of what needs to come next to get to the end. The scenes are short, in a blunt style that reminds of the silent era rather than of more modern movies, but that's part of the charm when you watch it now, almost a century after it was filmed. Nevertheless, Victor Fleming makes good use of the newfound ability to use dialogue to tell an effective story.
The quality of the prints that have reached us is not perfect, but good enough to appreciate this early western, from just when Hollywood was starting to use synchronized recorded sound.
Rating: 7 of 10 - DirectorRaoul WalshLouis R. LoefflerStarsJohn WayneMarguerite ChurchillEl BrendelBreck Coleman leads hundreds of settlers in covered wagons from the Mississippi River to their destiny out West.Storyline: Breck leads a wagon train of pioneers through Indian attack, storms, deserts, swollen rivers, down cliffs and so on while looking for the murder of a trapper and falling in love with Ruth.
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This epic 1930 western is a feast for the eyes, well ahead of its time in its beautiful cinematography. The high budget allowed plenty of extras and shooting on location, and Raoul Walsh takes full advantage of that fact. The Big Trail just looks better that other talkie westerns of its time. If we wanted a precedent, we would have to look back at the silent western The Covered Wagon, which takes a similar approach in telling the story of the pioneers traveling along the Oregon trail. We could almost call the films semidocumentary, because of how they try to show the full dimension of the journey, giving them an epic quality. But even The Covered Wagon can not match the stunning widescreen cinematography of this film.
Apart from its looks, this film is remarkable for being John Wayne's first starring role. He was so young here that if I hadn't been looking for him I might not have recognized him. Apparently, the director Raoul Walsh was responsible for choosing John Wayne as the young actor's artistic name. This is therefore the start of Wayne's extraordinary career as a western lead actor.
The storytelling and acting is modern too. None of the silent-style acting of other films of the time, which look stilted to modern eyes.
One would have guessed that this film had everything to succeed, but bad luck made it a box-office failure (most theaters were not prepared for widescreen films, and the Great Depression made it impossible to adapt for this film). John Wayne would not star in another major western for almost a decade.
Rating: 9 of 10 - DirectorKing VidorStarsJohnny Mack BrownWallace BeeryKay JohnsonIn this version of the Billy the Kid legend, Billy, after shooting down land baron William Donovan's henchmen for killing Billy's boss, is hunted down and captured by his friend, Sheriff Pat Garrett. He escapes and is on his way to Mexico when Garrett, recapturing him, must decide whether to bring him in or to let him go.Storyline: In this version of the Billy the Kid legend, Billy, after shooting down land baron William Donovan's henchmen for killing Billy's boss, is hunted down and captured by his friend, Sheriff Pat Garrett. He escapes and is on his way to Mexico when Garrett, recapturing him, must decide whether to bring him in or to let him go.
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Another very early talkie western, King Vidor's version of the story of Billy the Kid.
It was a big production, filmed on location. The landscapes look great. Apparently, it was also filmed in widescreen version, but that has unfortunately been lost.
The storytelling is mostly gritty, although interspaced with comic relief scenes with the supporting cast and some singing. I found the combination strange, but it did not prevent me from enjoying the movie.
The two male leads do a good job, although Johnny Mack Brown, who plays Billy the Kid, is not really a kid here, but a grown man. I particularly enjoyed Wallace Beery's performance as an understated, surprisingly good-natured Pat Garrett. Kay Johnson is not given much to do, since the romance is rather routinary
The Kid had a nice badass moment when he lights a cigarette from the collapsed burning rafters of the roof.
Quite entertaining, and without the stilted interpretations that some of the early talkies have.
Rating: 7 of 10 - DirectorWesley RugglesStarsRichard DixIrene DunneEstelle TaylorA newspaper editor settles in an Oklahoma boom town with his reluctant wife at the end of the nineteenth century.Storyline: When the government opens up the Oklahoma territory for settlement, restless Yancey Cravat claims a plot of the free land for himself and moves his family there from Wichita. A newspaperman, lawyer, and just about everything else, Cravat soon becomes a leading citizen of the boom town of Osage. Once the town is established, however, he begins to feel confined once again, and heads for the Cherokee Strip, leaving his family behind. During this and other absences, his wife Sabra must learn to take care of herself and soon becomes prominent in her own right.
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A large, sweeping, ambitious epic. Other westerns show the colonization of the American frontier. This one is not content with that. Throughout the whole life of the characters, it also shows how it became "civilized" and joined the rest of the nation. That this all happens within the same lifetime goes to show how fleeting the Old West was.
The initial part of the movie is spectacular in depicting the Oklahoma land rush of 1889, although it can't compete with the stunning widescreen cinematography of The Big Trail, filmed the year before. But this still does well, taking advantage of its big budget. The same goes for its depiction of the growing boomer town.
The movie does show some dated racial attitudes, both of the time it depicts and also of the times the movie was made. They are not far from each other, since the events depicted go from 1889 to 1930, the year the it was filmed. In some other ways, the movie shows an attitude towards race that is rather progressive for its time.
The acting is occasionally theatrical rather than natural, mainly when it comes to Richard Dix. For me, this is a feature of these early talkies, and it's not really a problem. For Dix's character it even seems appropriate, given how larger than life and flawed he is.
I have to say I have a weakness for movies as ambitious as this one, showing the whole life of the characters. It has some moving moments and it reflects the hopes and beliefs of the time, the way a still young and energetic nation saw itself and its own history. The last part may seem rushed, but that is the price you pay for squeezing so many years of story into two hours. If you can see it in the context of its time, it's a very enjoyable movie. Contemporary audiences agreed, since it was a box office and critical success. It won the Best Picture Oscar. Curiously, it would take 60 years until another western got Best Picture, bypassing the whole golden age of westerns.
Rating: 8 of 10 - DirectorArmand SchaeferStarsJohn WayneNancy ShubertLane ChandlerA man framed for murder escapes prison and goes west, where he joins a gang with the real killer involved.Storyline: Imprisoned for a murder he did not commit, John Brant escapes and ends up out west where, after giving the local lawmen the slip, he joins up with an outlaw gang. Brant finds out that 'Jones', one of the outlaws he has become friends with, committed the murder that Brant was sent up for, but has no knowledge that anyone was ever put in jail for his crime. Willing to forgive and forget, Brant doesn't realize that 'Jones' has not only fallen for the same pretty shopgirl Brant has, but begins to suspect that Brant is not truly an outlaw.
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John Wayne had had a great breakout opportunity with the leading role in The Big Trail. Unfortunately, that expensive production failed at the box office, and after that Wayne spent the decade working on Poverty Row movies, including a good number of B-westerns like this one.
You notice the low budget, and also the short running time, less than an hour. Technically, the movie is not sophisticated, but it does tell a solid story. There's a lot of action and the horse stunts are quite good, better than the fistfights.
It's also another opportunity to see a very young Wayne before he became famous. His physical presence is there, but he still had to learn a lot fo the technique and confidence that made him a legend.
Rating: 6 of 10 - DirectorGeorge StevensStarsBarbara StanwyckPreston FosterMelvyn DouglasA romanticized biography of the famous sharpshooter.Storyline: In a sharpshooting match, the manager of a Cincinnati hotel bets on the fellow who's been supplying the hotel with quail...who turns out to be young Annie Oakley. Result: Annie is hired for Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show (which is faithfully re-enacted in the film). She's tutored in showmanship by champ Toby Walker. But when Annie wins top billing, professional rivalry conflicts with their growing personal attachment, leading to misunderstanding and separation.
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This very loose biography of the famous sharpshooter Annie Oakley plays like a decent 30s romantic melodrama, rather than a western. The connection with the western genre is of course Buffalo Bill's show, who as the actual old west started vanishing gave easterners a taste of it, in the form of a lavish extravaganza.
Barbara Stanwyck is charming as the talented female sharpshooter, and the two gallants who compete for her affection initially seem like they are going to be villains, but both turn out to be decent people.
Apart from the old style romance, the movie gives you a chance to see a reconstruction of what Buffalo Bill's show might have looked like. Judging by the early pictures and films of the actual show that have survived, they did a reasonable job.
Not much of a western, but a pleasant entertainment.
Rating: 6 of 10 - DirectorCecil B. DeMilleStarsGary CooperJean ArthurJames EllisonWild Bill Hickok and Buffalo Bill Cody attempt to stop an Indian uprising that was started by white gun-runners.Storyline: With the end of the North American Civil War, the manufacturers of repeating rifles find a profitable means of making money selling the weapons to the North American Indians, using the front man John Lattimer to sell the rifles to the Cheyenne. While traveling in a stagecoach with Calamity Jane and William "Buffalo Bill" Cody and his young wife Louisa Cody that want to settle down in Hays City managing a hotel, Wild Bill Hickok finds the guide Breezy wounded by arrows and telling that the Indians are attacking a fort using repeating rifles. Hickok meets Gen. George A. Custer that assigns Buffalo Bill to guide a troop with ammunition to help the fort. Meanwhile the Cheyenne kidnap Calamity Jane, forcing Hickok to expose himself to rescue her.
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This Cecil B. DeMille movie has all the trademarks of that director. It's a big and spectacular look at the Old West. Perhaps there's a bit too much emphasis on creating an epic and not enough on telling a good story.
To be clear, I don't mind that it takes so many liberties with historical facts. When I watch a movie I don't necessarily need a history lesson, and I can forgive a movie taking liberties in order to tell a good story.
However, there is little subtlety and emotional weight in the storytelling. In the first half, things happen to move the story along, without necessarily making much sense.
Gary Cooper, not my favorite among the western genre's big stars, is aloof as Wild Bill Hickok. No one can deny his cinematic presence, though. Jean Arthur brings some fun to her role as Calamity Jane. I have seen some reviewers praising her performance, but the problem is, she never seems convincing. Lead actresses of this era were expected to be beautiful, romantic and sensitive, and that's fine when they play a beautiful, romantic and sensitive woman, which is most of the time. But Calamity Jane? Can we buy Jane Arthur as dissolute, unconventional and wild? The script gives her more to do in this movie than most actresses get in westerns of this period, but she still has to spend the movie mooning after a disdainful Gary Cooper to provide the conventional romance.
I feel like I'm being more negative than the movie deserves. It's just the it doesn't always live up to its ambition. Once you accept that you can't take the story too seriously, you can enjoy it as harmless entertainment. In fact, it finds more focus in the second half of the movie, which is quite fine.
Rating: 7 of 10 - DirectorJoseph KaneStarsGene AutrySmiley BurnetteJudith AllenYoung Englishman inherits ranch which he wants to sell, but Gene's gonna turn him into a real westerner instead..Storyline: An English boy visits a ranch he has inherited in the American West. There he is welcomed by the ranch foreman, who had promised his late friend that he would make a real Westerner of his son. However, the boy intends to sell the ranch, which is deeply in debt.
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As part of my western-watching project, I wanted to watch some B-westerns, including one with the original singing-cowboy, Gene Autry. B-westerns were usually around an hour long, or less, and they were projected in theaters as the first part of a double feature, preceding some A-movie. Normally they were not sophisticated stories and looked to please younger viewers.
So, what I found in this one is quite pleasant fluff. Less than an hour long, and featuring several songs and comedy routines, the plot is straightforward and direct. The young English lord arrives dressed like Lord Fauntleroy and despite some initial snottiness quickly turns out to be a nice kid. The foreman (Gene Autry) doesn't have to work much to turn him into a "real Westerner", as he promised the boy's father he'd do. Soon Autry and the youngster are involved in a plan to avoid having to sell the property by turning it into a horse ranch and supplying the army. They have the inept help of the foreman's comic relief sidekick (Smiley Burnette, who is actually better at singing than at comedy... seriously, his was the best song of the movie).
So there's several songs, including some nice country yodeling by Autry, comedy, the unavoidable romance for Autry and a plot involving a rival horse breeder out to sabotage them and win the contract with the army, culminating in a horse race to prove to the officer in charge of supplies whose are the best horses. You can't ask for more in less than an hour.
The comedy is only occasionally funny and the plot is simplistic, but the movie does feature some impressive scenery and skillful horse stunts.
So, not at all a great movie, but I'd say this one accomplishes quite well what it sets out to do as a B-western.
Rating: 5 of 10 - DirectorLesley SelanderStarsWilliam BoydGeorge 'Gabby' HayesRussell HaydenBelle Starr has returned from time in prison only to face a hail of bullets, along with rescue by Hoppy and the Bar 20 gang.Storyline: Belle Starr has just returned from prison to take over her ranch where her foreman Ringo who is rustling cattle. He is after the herd and has planted his man Twister there. When Hoppy finds the cattle stampeded by Twister, he secretly marks them hoping this will lead him to the rustlers and their buyer.
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Seeing that there were few A-westerns in the 30s until the explosion of 1939, I have watched a few B-westerns of that time to see what they were like. This one I chose as representative of the Hopalong Cassidy film series. There were 66 of these films. Just in 1938, seven of them were filmed. When B-westerns phased out in the late 40s, the star William Boyd bought the rights and the films were again successful on TV, spawning a TV show. Hoppy was sure a household name at that time in the US.
So what's the film like? Well, while still clearly being a B-western, it has better production values than most, with gorgeous scenery. This one is 68 minutes long, slightly longer than the typical B-western.
The story is straightforward and filled with action, as expected of these films. There's a lot of shooting. Almost every character got shot at some point. It does get a bit convoluted at the end, but not much. Hoppy is not on screen all the time, but relies on his supporting cast to drive the story forward, unlike other B-western stars of the time.
Not great drama, but a sure way to keep the kids happy at the theater with some cowboy action, while they waited for the main part of the double feature.
Rating: 6 of 10 - DirectorHenry KingIrving CummingsStarsTyrone PowerHenry FondaNancy KellyAfter railroad agents forcibly evict the James family from their family farm, Jesse and Frank turn to banditry for revenge.Storyline: Jesse James and his brother Frank swear revenge on the St. Louis Midland Railroad after a company representative kills their mother. The boys begin robbing rail passengers and soon expand their activities to include banks. However, when some of the gang are killed after a tip-off, Jesse considers going straight.
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Another big factor in the A-western renaissance of 1939. This had a high budget, was filmed in vibrant technicolor and had star power. It was also a big box office success, more so than Stagecoach, for example. It became the third highest-grossing film of the year, behind Gone with the Wind and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. It was the first western Fox had made since the advent of the sound era, and its success and popularity convinced the studio to keep making them. To be clear, there were plenty of westerns made in the 30s, but the vast majority were B-westerns by Poverty Row studios. 1939 was the year when the foundation of the Golden Age of the Western was laid, giving the genre critical and aesthetical respectability.
Although there are some spectacular action scenes shot on location, the movie is mostly a character-focused drama. The are not those sweeping panoramas you see in other westerns, and the west depicted here is not as wild.
The cast is strong, and despite Tyrone Power dashing interpretation of the titular character, Henry Fonda often steals the show in his supporting role of Frank James, Jesse's older brother.
It's a romanticized version of the character, with little interest in historical accuracy. Following the Hollywood premier of the picture, Ms. Jo Frances James, a descendant of the film's subjects said, "About the only connection it had with fact is that there once was a man named James, and he did ride a horse."
It's a good movie, with serious themes, although the pace can be a bit uneven with parts where it struggles to keep up the tension. I was interested in the theme of how the outlaw character who was initially sympathetic could be gradually degraded by the violence of the path he had chosen, and I wish it had been explored more.
Rating: 7 of 10 - DirectorJohn FordStarsJohn WayneClaire TrevorAndy DevineA group of people traveling on a stagecoach find their journey complicated by the threat of Geronimo and learn something about each other in the process.Storyline: A simple stagecoach trip is complicated by the fact that Geronimo is on the warpath in the area. The passengers on the coach include a drunken doctor, two women, a bank manager who has taken off with his client's money, and the famous Ringo Kid, among others.
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1939 was a breakthrough year for the western genre, and if there is a single movie that could be pointed as the gamechanger, it's Stagecoach. Its box office success and artistic merit changed the way the genre was perceived and paved the way for the Golden Age of the Western.
John Ford had not directed any westerns since the silent film era, but he sure returned to the genre with a bang.
Stagecoach manages to be at the same time an action-packed thriller and a character study of a group of people locked together in an enclosed space. As far as I know, it's the movie that created what we could call the ark genre, a group of very different characters locked together and forced to cooperate to survive. Through their interactions in that extreme situation, their characters are gradually revealed, in a way that reminded me of a theater play, or of other great movies that would come later, like 12 Angry Men.
Apart from the character study, the scenery is spectacular and the action during the climax of the movie is thrilling, with excellent stunts.
This was also the breakout role for John Wayne, arguably the most legendary actor in the western genre. In 1930, Wayne had had the chace to be the lead in a great western movie, The Big Trail. Although it's an excellent movie, it unfortunately flopped in the box office, and that set the genre back and sent Wayne to a decade-long purgatory in B-list westerns from minor studies with very low budgets. Ford, however, had not forgotten that actor and wanted him for his big return to the genre. The director had to resist very strong pressures from the producers to have Gary Cooper instead, who, unlike Wayne at that time, was a box office draw. Ford would not budge and finally had his way. Wayne would interpret the Ringo Kid in a surprisingly vulnerable and gentle way, well accompanied by Claire Trevor as the prostitute Dallas and a very strong cast. The movie would be a big success and made John Wayne a star.
Rating: 10 of 10 - DirectorLloyd BaconStarsJames CagneyHumphrey BogartRosemary LaneDuring the Oklahoma Land Rush, the lawlessness is exacerbated by the McCord gang's feud with the Kincaids, who are trying to bring law and justice to the region.Storyline: During the Oklahoma Land Rush, McCord's gang robs the stage carrying money to pay Indians for their land, and the notorious outlaw "The Oklahoma Kid" Jim Kincaid takes the money from McCord. McCord stakes a "sooner" claim on land which is to be used for a new town; in exchange for giving it up he gets control of gambling and saloons. When Kincaid's father runs for mayor, McCord incites a mob to lynch the old man whom McCord has already framed for murder.
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You won't find this film on many "best westerns" lists, and it seems to be regarded mostly as an oddity, a rare chance to see Cagney and Bogart in cowboy hats. And I'll admit that it's a simple story and not one of those huge productions with outstanding cinematography (although it uses its outdoors scenes to good effect). However, I was utterly charmed by it. Mostly because of Cagney, who is simply superb.
When you have two all-time great actors, you need to make good use of them, and this movie does. Cagney is full of energy and seems to be having fun with this outlaw with a heart of gold role, and making us have fun with him. With his interpretation, he elevates this film. Bogart, in a supporting role, is humorless, cold and evil. He is not given as much to do as Cagney, but he has great presence whenever he is on screen. They may not be in their typical gangster roles, but the Old West setting allows them to do their thing. Only with horses. And cowboy hats.
We do get an Oklahoma land rush scene, certainly not as spectacular as the one we got eight years previously in Cimarron, and some nice stunts when Cagney (or his double) is riding a horse through the desolated hills in pursuit of a stagecoach. We also see him singing, and not that badly, and even singing a lullaby to a baby in Spanish. Unusually for a classic western, he also gives a speech calling the "purchase" of Indian lands a theft.
The story was simple but quite nice, with family ties between the characters to make it poignant and a fight for the soul of a new city, between those who believe in law and order and those like Bogart's character who can only thrive in corruption and degradation. With Cagney, as the Oklahoma Kid, in the middle, certainly not evil but too anarchic and cynical to be on the side of law and order.
All in all, this was not such a great movie, but it was so much fun and had such good pacing and energy that I loved it.
Rating: 9 of 10 - DirectorMichael CurtizStarsErrol FlynnOlivia de HavillandAnn SheridanA Texas cattle agent witnesses first hand, the brutal lawlessness of Dodge City and takes the job of sheriff to clean the town up.Storyline: In 1866, Kansas, the American civil war has just finished and the armies disbanded. The building of the West begins, and in 1872, the new city of Dodge City is ruled by violence and shootings. The Irishman Wade Hatton is a man adapted to these days and presently is conducting a group of pioneers, including Abbie Irving and her reckless brother, to Dodge City. Once in the city, Wade is invited to be the local sheriff, and an incident makes him accept the position. He tries to clean up the cattle town, ruled by the powerful outlaw Jeff Surrett and his gang, with the support of the decent local people.
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Not to be outdone by other studios making A-list westerns in 1939, Warner Bros gave it the complete Errol Flynn/Olivia de Havilland treatment in Technicolor. It was another box office success, the biggest hit of the year for the studio.
The worst thing that can be said of this movie is that it's rather conventional, with a plot about a cowboy being asked to take the sheriff badge and clean up Dodge City, a violent place in the hands of a vicious businessman.
On the other hand, this movie is a lot of fun to watch, and maintains an excellent pace. Errol Flynn perhaps does not fit the typical image of the Old West hero, being too elegant and aristocratic, but his interpretation worked well, with energy and screen presence.
De Havilland, despite her character's initial hostility towards Flynn's, ends up playing the standard love interest. That doesn't give her much room to shine, but the undeniable chemistry between the two leads is there. Ann Sheridan plays a friskier character and has a couple of good songs, but she gets little screen time after that.
Don't miss the spectacular saloon brawl, that would inspire the similar scene in Blazing Saddles.
Rating: 8 of 10 - DirectorCecil B. DeMilleStarsBarbara StanwyckJoel McCreaAkim TamiroffIn 1862, Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads compete westward across the wilderness toward California.Storyline: One of the last bills signed by President Lincoln authorizes pushing the Union Pacific Railroad across the wilderness to California. But financial opportunist Asa Barrows hopes to profit from obstructing it. Chief troubleshooter Jeff Butler has his hands full fighting Barrows' agent, gambler Sid Campeau; Campeau's partner Dick Allen is Jeff's war buddy and rival suitor for engineer's daughter Molly Monahan. Who will survive the effort to push the railroad through at any cost?
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Well, you know Cecil B. DeMille. He liked making big, sweeping, spectacular movies. He wanted to create epics, sparing no expense, and get lots of people watching them in theaters. But I had this prejudice that going for a broad appeal made his movies a bit trite. In that sense, I'm happy to say that Union Pacific exceeded my expectations in a way that The Plainsman did not.
The movie starts similar to The Plainsman, in Washington after the Civil War, with politicians turning their eyes to the West, in this case to the railroad destined to join the two coasts. The purpose of these scenes, of course, is to emphasize the historical importance of the story. DeMille is creating an epic narrative here, subscribing to the notion os Manifest Destiny exactly like he did in the Plainsman.
Then we are introduced to the main characters, and still it seems like this is going to go the same way of The Plainsman, where there was a certain lack of narrative focus, because of trying to include too much material in the story. As this movie goes on, however, it finds its focus, and manages to combine spectacular action with a focused character-driven story.
We do get a feeling of the epic and historical narrative DeMille is going for, but we also get some pathos in the characters' stories, with two friends that find themselves fighting on different sides of the conflict, and at the same time competing for the love of the same woman. Don't miss scenes like the tense showdown after the robbery.
Once you get over her exaggerated Irish accent, Barbara Stanwyck is excellent, feminine following the standards of her time, but far from a helpless damsel. Joel McCrea brings less to the table as the square-jawed hero, although his unexpressive toughness does the job for his role. Robert Preston is quite good in his supporting role, as McCrea's friend now turned crook.
As expected, I was entertained, but I also could get invested in the story in a way that I couldn't with The Plainsman. I have no doubt that, while based on a real epic like the Transcontinental Railroad project, it takes many liberties and completely disregards historical accuracy in order to create dramatism and conflict. But I know that and I accept it as long as the story is worth it. And this one is.
Rating: 9 of 10 - DirectorJohn FordStarsClaudette ColbertHenry FondaEdna May OliverNewlyweds Gil and Lana Martin try to establish a farm in the Mohawk Valley but are menaced by Indians and Tories as the Revolutionary War begins.Storyline: In Revolutionary America, Gil Martin takes his new wife Lana back to his farm in upstate New York. The area is remote and a distance from the fort but they are happy living in their one room cabin. With the declaration of independence, the settlers soon find themselves at war with the British and their Indian allies. Their farm is burned out and the Martins take work with Sarah McKlennar. The war continues however as the Martins try to make a new life.
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John Ford was a busy bee in 1939, directing three big films. This one is not groundbreaking like Stagecoach, but it's a solid pioneer tale, filmed in technicolor.
Ford is in All-American mythmaking mode, as this is an homage to the pioneers who colonized the country and to those who fought for its independence from England. In the year the movie was made, of course, World War II was starting. The USA would not enter the war for another couple of years, but it was a time of great uncertainty and foreboding of war, and messages of patriotic affirmation like this were well received by the audience.
As a pioneer tale, there are the usual Ford themes of the building of a new community and the taming of the frontier, but this is also a war film. It's a war film to a greater extent than I was expecting, and I think it's a weakness that Ford didn't really decide what kind of story he wanted. Personally, I believe the story might have been better with more focus on the new community being made and the family saga. The extended war scenes, as the valley was repeatedly attacked by Indians allied with the British, feel like an easy way to add tension.
Anyway, this is the story that Ford chose to tell, and it's not a bad story at all. Of course, from our modern point of view, we notice that the Indian perspective is never addressed in a realistic manner. As most classic westerns, this film is interested in the story of the pioneers, and in their hopes and aspirations that resulted in the building of a great nation, not in the original inhabitants who were victims of the colonization process. So here the Indians are seen externally, as a threat to the survival of the community whose story Ford is telling.
Like in a family saga, we follow the newlywed couple through the hardships of pioneer life, complicated by intermittent war. It never quite becomes a saga because the focus turns on the war story. There are some sentimental elements in the story that I personally enjoy, but other people may not.
This is also the story of how people adapted to the pioneer life, particularly Claudette Colbert's character, who initially was like a fish out of water and later is the one lending strength to her husband. Henry Fonda is fine as the young pioneer, and Edna May Oliver is memorable as the gruff, warlike old widow who befriends the couple.
Rating: 8 of 10 - DirectorWilliam A. SeiterStarsClaire TrevorJohn WayneGeorge SandersIn 1759, in Pennsylvania's Allegheny Valley, local settlers and Indian fighters try to persuade the British authorities to ban the trading of alcohol and arms with the marauding Indians.Storyline: In 1759, in Pennsylvania's Allegheny Valley, local settlers try to persuade the British authorities to ban the trading of alcohol and arms with the marauding Indians. When that does not produce results, they take matters into their own hands.
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After the success of Stagecoach, John Wayne and Claire Trevor would appear together in other two movies, this one and Dark Command (1940). Of the three, this one is the lesser, but it's still an entertaining frontier tale in Colonial America.
Movies about the pioneers seem to have been popular at the time (this opened only 6 days after Drums Along the Mohawk, and soon afterwards we'd have Northwest Passage), probably for patriotic reasons given the possibility of the US being involved in a World War.
It's a chance of seeing John Wayne wearing a coonskin cap. He is fine as the leader of the settlers, with a lot of presence but still growing into his screen persona. Claire Trevor's character was a bit annoying as the firebrand brat, but it's the script's fault, not hers.
Apparently, the movie is more closely based on real events than other similar productions, although obviously it will take liberties for dramatic reasons. It's not a great movie, but it's a perfectly adequate historical adventure, fast paced and entertaining.
Rating: 7 of 10 - DirectorGeorge MarshallStarsMarlene DietrichJames StewartMischa AuerDeputy sheriff Destry tames the town of Bottle Neck, including saloon singer Frenchy.Storyline: Kent, the unscrupulous boss of Bottleneck has Sheriff Keogh killed when he asks one too many questions about a rigged poker game that gives Kent a stranglehold over the local cattle rangers. The mayor, who is in cahoots with Kent appoints the town drunk, Washington Dimsdale, as the new sheriff assuming that he'll be easy to control. But what the mayor doesn't know is that Dimsdale was a deputy under famous lawman, Tom Destry, and is able to call upon the equally formidable Tom Destry Jr to be his deputy. Featuring a career reviving performance from Marlene Dietrich as bar singer Frenchie, which could well have been the inspiration for Madeline Kahn's "Blazing Saddles" character, Lili Von Schtupp.
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1939 gave us an unprecedented number of great westerns, and perhaps this is the second best remembered (after John Ford's Stagecoach, of course).
After the murder of the previous sheriff, the son of a famous gunfighter is called to be sheriff deputy. The son, however, has his own way of doing things. He arrives in the stagecoach carrying a parasol and a canary bird (which in fairness were not his), is unarmed and orders a glass of milk in the saloon, amidst general mockery. He declares that he doesn't believe in using guns. This pleases the powerful people who control the town, but eventually we find out that this Destry is no pushover.
The movie is well made, and it features memorable interpretations from James Stewart and Marlene Dietrich. Stewart plays the aw-chucks pacifist deputy with an iron will, while Dietrich completely steals the show as the rowdy saloon singer.
It's one of those films that is half spoof and half serious, and I have to admit that this style is not my personal favorite. Nevertheless, this was quite pleasant to watch and included several good Dietrich songs and other fun moments.
Rating: 8 of 10 - DirectorKing VidorJack ConwayW.S. Van DykeStarsSpencer TracyRobert YoungWalter BrennanLangdon Towne and Hunk Marriner join Major Rogers' Rangers as they wipe out an Indian village. They set out for Fort Wentworth, but when they arrive they find no soldiers and none of the supplies they expected.Storyline: Based on the Kenneth Roberts novel of the same name, this film tells the story of two friends who join Rogers' Rangers, as the legendary elite force engages the enemy during the French and Indian War. The film focuses on their famous raid at Fort St. Francis and their marches before and after the battle.
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This is a western only in the widest sense of the word, since it's not set in the Old West. It's set in the mid 18th century during the French and Indian War, on what was the frontier then. It can be seen as an adventure movie, although mostly it's a war film. It's also a character study of Major Robert Rogers, very well interpreted by Spencer Tracy, commander of Rogers' Rangers, an American military company of rangers attached to the British Army (this was of course before the War of independence).
The movie is harsh in its military objective (destroying an hostile Indian village) as in its depiction of the epic journey to get there and to get back. And its mostly about the journey, where Rogers pushes his men on a grueling trip through the wilderness, on boats and on foot, through sheer grit and strength of character.
Some reviewers have complained of "too much walking in the woods", but that's the point of the movie, showing how these men pushed themselves through such a harsh journey.
It's filmed in technicolor, and that's a good thing, because this movie needs a good cinematography. The cinematography we get is not perhaps breathtaking, but it's good enough to do the trick and get us into the story.
One complaint I have is that the actors, while dirty and disheveled through all the hardships, never really look like they are starving. Also, the actual battle, while not the climax of the movie, was not done that well, at least if we judge it by modern standards. But it doesn't really matter, because as I said what matters here is the journey and the determination to survive, and that is well depicted.
An intense, harsh, war movie made in 1940 for a nation that was about to get into the biggest war.
Curiously, despite the title, it has nothing to do with searching for the Northern Passage. That was supposed to come in the second part that was never filmed. In fact, in the credits it's called chapter I.
Rating: 8 of 10 - DirectorMichael CurtizStarsErrol FlynnMiriam HopkinsRandolph ScottUnion officer Kerry Bradford escapes from Confederate prison and is sent to Virginia City, Nevada, where he finds out that the former commander of his prison, Vance Irby, is planning to send $5 million in gold to save the Confederacy.Storyline: During the American Civil War, Captain Kerry Bradford escapes from a notorious confederate prison. He and two of his men are sent to Virginia City where Confederate sympathizers are prepared to donate $5 million dollars to the cause of Southern independence. The war is going badly for the Confederacy and money may tip the war in their favor. On the stagecoach to Virginia City, Bradford meets and falls in love with Julia Hayne not realizing that she is one of the conspirators. When he gets to Virginia City, he also runs into Confederate Captain Vance Irby who has been sent to collect and safely deliver the gold.
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This is a follow up (but not a sequel) to Dodge City (1939). That movie had ended with Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland's characters leaving for Virginia City. Next year, the director Michael Curtiz and leading actor Errol Flynn are back together to film Virginia City, but the characters are different and de Havilland has been replaced by Miriam Hopkins.
This movie, unlike Dodge City, is in black & white, but it does have stunning cinematography, with exteriors filmed in Painted Desert among other places. I thought it had a very good story, only slightly spoiled by a corny ending. It is a western and also a spy story, with a union agent (Errol Flynn) and a confederate one (Randolph Scott), who have a history together, competing to get the gold that was meant to help the Confederacy maintain the war effort.
Flynn and Scott did a good job. As in Dodge City, Flynn does not completely convince me as a cowboy. He is a bit too refined for that. But he has such a great camera presence that I don't mind. That guy was born to be a movie star. Hopkins is fine, but she is no de Havilland, and her singing scenes in the saloon are just OK. Then we have Bogart as the evil outlaw who is also after the gold. Much as I like Bogart, he is kind of ridiculous here, between that moustache and the weird accent. I liked him much better as a western villain in The Oklahoma Kid, where he was suitably menacing.
All in all, a very entertaining story. That ending could have been polished a bit more, though.
Rating: 8 of 10 - DirectorRaoul WalshStarsClaire TrevorJohn WayneWalter PidgeonIn Kansas during the Civil War, opposing pro-Union and pro-Confederate camps clash and visiting Texan Bob Seton runs afoul of William Cantrell's Raiders.Storyline: When transplanted Texan Bob Seton arrives in Lawrence, Kansas he finds much to like about the place, especially Mary McCloud, daughter of the local banker. Politics is in the air however. It's just prior to the civil war and there is already a sharp division in the Territory as to whether it will remain slave-free. When he gets the opportunity to run for marshal, Seton finds himself running against the respected local schoolteacher, William Cantrell. Not is what it seems however. While acting as the upstanding citizen in public, Cantrell is dangerously ambitious and is prepared to do anything to make his mark, and his fortune, on the Territory. When he loses the race for marshal, he forms a group of raiders who run guns into the territory and rob and terrorize settlers throughout the territory. Eventually donning Confederate uniforms, it is left to Seton and the good citizens of Lawrence to face Cantrell and his raiders in one final clash.
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Ten years after the excellent, but failed at the box office, The Big Trail, Raoul Walsh directs John Wayne again.
This movie is high quality. Excellent cast, good cinematography, good writing, good story, emotional depth, good pacing... It has plenty of action, but also moral dilemmas and character development. It's a treat to watch.
Even though he was good in Stagecoach, this is the first movie where I completely recognize John Wayne, with all the charm and resources that made him a legend of the western genre. He is very well accompanied by a stellar cast. A sign of the good writing is that Claire Trevor is given a lot to work with. She's not just there to look with adoring expression at the men in her life.
This time, Walsh and Wayne found the box office success their work deserved.
Rating: 9 of 10 - DirectorFritz LangStarsHenry FondaGene TierneyJackie CooperFrank James continues to avoid arrest in order to take revenge on the Ford brothers for their murder of his brother Jesse.Storyline: Frank James, the brother of Jesse James, has been laying low, living as a farmer and taking care of Clem, the son of one of the members of the James gang. He gets word that Jesse was killed by Bob and Charlie Ford, he hoped that the law would deal with them but when he learns that the railroad man whom he and Jesse terrorized contracted them to kill Jesse and helped them get off, he goes after them. Clem whom he told to remain on the farm goes with him and when it's impossible for him to do so, Frank has no choice to let him tag along. Now in order to cover their tracks they start telling people that Frank James is dead and that they saw it. Eleanor Stone, a female reporter, who wants to write about it interviews them and they are both taken with each other. But eventually she learns who Frank is from the Pinkerton detective who is tracking them but doesn't turn them in.
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This movie continues just where Jesse James (1939) ended. Jesse is dead, murdered by Robert Ford, but his brother Frank (Henry Fonda) is alive and wants revenge, accompanied by a teenage sidekick.
The movie looks wonderful in technicolor, with stunning scenery. There is a lot of quality in the filmmaking. Henry Fonda is excellent. What cinematic presence. Gene Tierney is very beautiful here, but her role does not offer her many opportunities to distinguish herself.
The script is a bit strange, however, as if it can't decide what to do with Frank James. It presents him at the same time and the noble man who doesn't kill and the man who goes after the murderers of his brother to murder them in turn. Also, his irresponsibility in taking care of Clem does not paint him in a good light. Then we have that mockery of a trial and the way the final showdown ends... It's certainly not how a normal western would do things.
By the way, what stunts they did in the westerns of this time with the horses. I hope they were not hurt.
Rating: 7 of 10 - DirectorWilliam WylerStarsGary CooperWalter BrennanDoris DavenportJudge Roy Bean, a self-appointed hanging judge in Vinegarroon, Texas, befriends saddle tramp Cole Harden, who opposes Bean's policy against homesteaders.Storyline: Drifter Cole Harden is accused of stealing a horse and faces hanging by self-appointed Judge Roy Bean, but Harden manages to talk his way out of it by claiming to be a friend of stage star Lillie Langtry, with whom the judge is obsessed, even though he has never met her. Tensions rise when Harden comes to the defense of a group of struggling homesteaders who Judge Bean is trying to drive away.
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A classy film directed by William Wyler. It has good cinematography and I particularly enjoyed how good the fire scene looked. Also, the story has a lot of pathos, with the war between cattlemen and farmers and the individual one between Cole Harden and Judge Roy Bean, who are friends but find themselves in different sides of the conflict.
It was successful with the audience and the critics. Walter Brennan is really good as the Judge, in an interpretation that gave him the Oscar for best supporting actor.
While recognizing its good qualities, I have to say that I did not find the friendship between Cooper's and Brennan's characters convincing. The Judge's quirks are exaggerated for comic relief and his actions are rather ugly. Why exactly did Harden become such a good friend of his? That friendship is the heart of the movie so, for all that the dialogues are well-written, I hope the writers had developed that important part of the story better.
Rating: 7 of 10 - DirectorMichael CurtizStarsErrol FlynnOlivia de HavillandRaymond MasseyIn 1854, Jeb Stuart, George Custer and other graduates from West Point are posted to Kansas to help pacify the territory before railroad construction to Santa Fe can resume.In 1854, freshly graduated from West Point Military Academy, the former classmates and Second Lieutenants, Jeb Stuart and George Custer, find themselves posted to Fort Leavenworth, in dangerous and worn-torn Kansas Territory. Against the backdrop of endless hostilities, Stuart and Custer escort a military freight wagon, and before long, they confront abolitionist John Brown and his renegade crew. A few years later, Stuart and Custer fight against Brown again in the decisive battle at Harper's Ferry, paving the way for the beginning of the American Civil War.
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The third Curtiz/Flynn western is bad history but a grand Golden Age of Hollywood story. Errol Flynn is full of charm and energy, escorted by his two usual comic sidekicks and by Ronald Reagan as his friend and romantic rival. Olivia de Havilland does well with the material she is given, which is not much, as Flynn's tomboyish love interest. Raymond Massey is impressive as John Brown, very convincing as the righteous visionary who is willing to commit any violent act in defense of his worthy cause.
The movie, while taking many liberties with historical details, presents the message that John Brown fought for a just cause (true), that he was also a violent fanatic (true) whose actions escalated the tensions that led to the Civil War (true), and that the Southern States would have ended slavery on its own if given space (very dubious, at least in the short term). It bemoans the Civil War by presenting a bunch of great young military men who graduated together from West Point (artistic license more than history) and who would soon be fighting as enemies in the conflict that would split the nation. It gives a sympathetic, romanticized vision of the South, which causes the movie to be maligned by politically correct modern viewers, for the same reasons as Gone With the Wind.
However, there is much to enjoy here. The cinematography looks great, as long as you watch a decent restored version, it has an excellent cast, a good pace and plenty of action and intrigue.
Rating: 8 of 10 - DirectorFritz LangStarsRobert YoungRandolph ScottDean JaggerWhen Edward Creighton leads the construction of the Western Union to unite East with West, he hires a Western reformed outlaw and a tenderfoot Eastern surveyor.Storyline: While escaping from a heist of a bank, the outlaw Vance Shaw helps Edward Creighton, the chief-engineer of the Western Union that is surveying the Wild West and had had an accident with a horse. In 1861, Vance reforms and is hired to work for the Western Union with the team that is installing the poles and cable from Omaha to Salt Lake City. Vance and the engineer from Harvard Richard Blake flirt with Edward's sister, Sue Creighton and she chooses Vance. However, his past haunts him when the outlaw Jack Slade steals the Western Union cattle disguised as Indians.
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The second of Fritz Lang's three westerns (after "The Return of Frank James" and before "Rancho Notorious").
This is one of those "company" westerns, showing history being made, or at least some version of history, as some big company struggled to connect the East and the West, this time by telegraph.
Within this style, I did enjoy DeMille's Union Pacific (1939) a bit more, although this one is very entertaining and has several things going on for it.
The scenery photography is stunning, taking advantage of the early Technicolor. Also, the central conflict, with a convincing Randolph Scott trying to escape his criminal past and the shadow of his brother, was pleasantly poignant, with a good final shoot-out. The movie has a good pace too, at least in its second half, with plenty of action.
On the minus side, although very competently-made, it is a bit by the numbers, with the usual comical relief characters, ridiculous Indians, and in general few surprises (other reviewers were surprised by the ending, but in this case I was expecting it).
This is certainly quite common in classic westerns, but the romance seems to be included out of duty more than because it's an integral part of the plot.
Rating: 7 of 10