Everyone punches above their weight in this chamber Western from Republic pictures, a close cousin to SHANE/’53, but shaped into the kind of explicit religious parable director Frank Borzage might have been drawn to. (Borzage at Republic in the late ‘40s. Could this have been planned with him in mind?) In the event, Western series/serial specialist William Witney got the assignment. And while some scenes look like anthology television, more is good, efficient filmmaking with third-billed Skip Homeier something of a revelation as a bank robber on the run whose horse goes lame, leaving him to hide in plain sight at the country home of preacher MacDonald Carey. Homeier threatens Carey (whose much younger wife Patricia Medina is step-mom to freckle-faced Stephen Wootton) so he can stay while his horse heals, but in truth, no force needed as Preacherman Carey is glad of the challenge: a Godless sinning man who needs to be saved. A situation far more interesting and evenly balanced than your typical hostage drama. And juiced up because Ms. Medina so obviously attracted to this studly outlaw. It’s why she overreacts, pleading for Carey to throw him out. (As in ‘before it’s too late.’) Something Carey seems to know, without acknowledging, putting faith in himself & his wife while letting things play out in the hands of ‘you-know-who.’ Director Witney given more psychological nuance in this one pic than he got in his other 200+ credits combined. Some of this hits too squarely on the head (like the big, black stallion whose sprit Carey needs to tame), but on the whole, the film is touching, effective, and damn exciting, if also regrettably plain looking and overloaded with a third-rate score. Easy to imagine an A-list cast: Greg Peck in for Carey; Richard Widmark for Homeier. But the leading players we’ve got have nothing to apologize for.
DOUBLE-BILL/LINK: As mentioned, SHANE, with director George Stevens proving as over-meticulous as Witney is off-hand/casual. Though when it comes to having chops to make the most out of set action pieces (like the horse chases that open & close things), Witney no slouch. OR: See Homeier as a kid in his film debut, wildly overplaying a Hitler Youth transplanted to small-town America as he recreates his stage debut hit TOMORROW, THE WORLD! https://maksquibs.blogspot.com/2008/06/tomorrow-world-1944.html
No comments:
Post a Comment