I'll just fess up now. This is my favorite of the bunch. It's just a whole lot of colorful fun with Tyrone Power in his first film after ending his long contract with 20th Century Fox. He signed on for a couple at Universal and luckily got one of its contract players, Piper Laurie, as his leading lady.
Power is a riverboat gambler and expert fencer who wants to settle down by opening his own gambling palace in New Orleans. Polished and debonair, he is pursued by Julie Adams who becomes a business partner along with familiar character actor John McIntire. Meanwhile Power pursues Laurie, a willful and beautiful rich girl, who rebuffs his advances because she thinks he's conceited and has embarrassed her family.
It's a study of class differences, jealousy and control and has a goodly amount of action and romance as well. Director Rudolph Maté made some enjoyable films in the 50's. When he wanted to sell suave, Power was unbeatable. Laurie, often given to putting down her Universal years, was never more beautiful as the volatile Angelique.
Woman They Almost Lynched (1953)
Ah, my guilty-pleasure western... a cheapie Republic movie with poor production values and four leads whose careers were winding down. It is one of two westerns starring Joan Leslie, an actress for whom I was puppy-love crazy. She is strangely fourth billed and yet is clearly the star.
Few actresses were sweeter than Leslie and few were meaner than Audrey Totter. They square off in a border town during the Civil War, a place that is supposed to be neutral. When Leslie, a reluctant saloon owner, is falsely accused of spying and sitting upon a horse at the hanging tree, the drama is sorely lacking when one recalls the title. Almost? A screwy title if there ever was one.
The two femmes not only strap on guns and meet out in the street but they engage in one of the movies' best girl fights. We cowboys love girl fights. Zaftig Nina Varela as the bellowing town mayor steals every scene she's in. Male leads Brian Donlevy and John Lund tend to get lost in all the mayhem.
The Violent Men (1954)
Some western fans may not consider this one a B. Maybe we'll give it a B+. Its three leads were big stars and the story, though a familiar western staple, is well-told. It provided some brisk business for Columbia and is well-directed by Rudolph Maté (again).
A crippled land baron (Edward G. Robinson) and his treacherous wife (Barbara Stanwyck) want to gobble up all the ranches in their vicinity. A smaller rancher (Glenn Ford) is ready to sell when he realizes he's being taken advantage of and backs out... the result of which is a range war. At the same time Stanwyck is two-timing her husband with his brother (Brian Keith) who, in turn, wants to rob his brother out of his land. Dianne Foster plays the Robinson-Stanwyck daughter who causes trouble by being fair-minded.
All five of these performances are terrific. One could certainly count on the cowboy Ford who was to the saddle born. One knows Robinson doesn't need to be able to stand to be menacing. But as is almost always the case, the film belongs to Stanwyck in one of those heinous roles she plays so well. When she wants it all and is willing to double-cross everyone to get it, one just has to know it's a treat to watch.
The Spoilers (1955)
Rex Beach's famous 1899 Alaskan gold-mining story has been filmed a rather astonishing five times. The first was in 1914, then 1923, with Gary Cooper in 1930 and the best and most famously in 1942 with Marlene Dietrich, John Wayne and Randolph Scott. It is famous as a film with a long, grueling fight scene between the two male leads. Lovers of train movies will also find some interest.
I was unaware of the need to re-do the old chestnut again (spoiler means a claim-jumper) but Universal was given to remakes and Jeff Chandler was one of its top prizes and they had to keep him working. At the same time Anne Baxter and Rory Calhoun had finished up their 20th Century Fox contracts and hightailed it to Universal for B westerns.
Newly-blonded and oh so much more fetching, Baxter is a saloon owner whose joint is the general meeting place. She has not only Chandler and Calhoun panting after her but Ray Danton as well. Her character is crafty and lawless for most of the story and then inexplicably changes. Not good but I didn't care.
The Last Wagon (1956)
Wagon train survivors of an Indian attack entrust a prisoner, often shackled to a wagon wheel, to guide them out of harm's way despite the fact that he's wanted for murder. Along the way, of course, are numerous skirmishes with Indians and with his fellow passengers.
20th Century Fox saddled up with one of its most reliable contract stars, Richard Widmark, whose B+ westerns made me very happy and brought a lot of coin into the studio's coffers. Directed and co-written by Delmer Daves who made some of my favorite films of the 1950's, including the westerns 3:10 to Yuma and
The Hanging Tree.
Some of the passengers included Susan Kohner and Nick Adams, both of whom were notable as characters who caused trouble. One delightful star was young Tommy Rettig who took a break from filming his Lassie TV series. He worked well with Widmark having played his son in 1950's Panic in the Streets and 1955's The Cobweb. My partner will be pleased with this entry as it's one of his favorite westerns.
Next posting:
King of the B western actors
and his actress-wife
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