Back to Bataan (1945)

back to bataan is a disappointing Second World War film that's best left alone.

John Wayne stars as Col. Joseph Madden, an American soldier working with Filipino resistance fighters against occupying Japanese forces.

Anthony Quinn is Capt. Adres Bonifacio, a resistance leader who's freed from captivity.

His girlfriend, Dalisay Delgado (Fely Franquell) broadcasts propaganda for the Japanese. Not good.

That's Beulah Bondi from It's a Wonderful Life and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington as a teacher of Filipino children.

RATING: 5/10

FUN FACTS: Lawrence Tierney appears as Lt. Cmdr. Waite. He was in The Naked Gun: Files from Police Squad more than 40 years later.

El Dorado

El Dorado

Disappointing western with Robert Mitchum, John Wayne and a young James Caan.

Great chance for lots of tension here, but little to be found.

Take a pass.

5/10

The War Wagon (1967)

I won't go on the warpath praising the virtues of The War Wagon.

This 1967 western from director Burt Kennedy has its moments, but its so-so entertainment at best. For movie fans itching for a western fix, there are much better choices reviewed on this site including My Darling Clementine and The Searchers.

Taw Jackson (John Wayne) is out of prison after three years. Gold baron Mr. Pierce (Bruce Cabot) has taken over Jackson's ranch and the gold on his land. Pierce is also eager to finish Jackson off for good, offering sharp shooter Lomax (Kirk Douglas) a handsome payday if he kills off Jackson.

Jackson isn't planning on dying. He's scheming to rob Pierce's armoured wagon, filled with gold but also protected by a couple of dozen armed men and a rapid firing Gatling gun. Jackson wants Lomax on his team, a small group dedicated to getting the gold for a rich payoff. How big? $500,000. That sure seems like an awful lot of money by 19th century standards.

There's no real tension between Jackson and Lomax, wondering if one will cross the other for more money. That's a missed opportunity to give this film some spark. Instead, they trade the occasional barb and witty lines.

Example: Jackson and Lomax shoot two men who tried to kill them.

Lomax: "Mine hit the ground first."

Jackson: "Mine was taller."

The War Wagon also waits too much time setting up Jackson and Lomax with another member of the team, Levi Walking Bear (Howard Keel!). A group of men take target practice on glass bottles perches on a rock above Walking Bear's head. Again, there's no suggestion he could be killed. Might he not get cut by broken glass flying around? Apparently not. His rescue goes on, and on, and on some more. Yawn.

Add in a young explosives expert, with a taste for heavy alcohol consumption, Billy Hyatt (Robert Walker, Jr.), and an old coot with a young lady as his companion, Wes Fletcher (Keenan Wynn), and the gang is formed.

The actual heist has its moments, including an impressive explosion of a bridge. There's also a nice nod to The Treasure of the Sierra Madre with what happens with the gold Jackson and his crew so desperately want.

Kennedy sets up some very sharp looking scenes. The Mexican countryside is beautiful. But The War Wagon often shoots blanks.

RATING: 6/10

FUN FACTS: Film's production notes are an interesting read. The War Wagon marked Wayne's 162nd movie. Douglas and Wayne filmed advertisements for, and against, Ronald Reagan's bid to become governor of California. Keenan Wynn snagged Leslie Howard's Confederate hat used in Gone with the Wind and wore said headpiece in all his movies.

Director Kennedy, who died in 2001, went on to direct Support Your Local Sheriff! and Support Your Local Gunfighter! with James Garner.

That's Ed Ames singing Ballad of the War Wagon.

Red River (1948)

It's great to take another dip in the Red River (1948) after nearly 30 years.

This fine western by Howard Hawks was part of my first-year film class at Brock University. Several westerns, including Stagecoach, were screened.

There's at least two iconic scenes in this 1948 effort new audiences might have seen in movie books or compilations of western scenes. Sidekick Walter Brennan throws a knife to John Wayne while he fights another man in the water. The second is a montage of cowboys yelling out to start a massive cattle drive.

Thomas Dunson (Wayne) found his piece of heaven in Texas in 1851. He and Nadine Groot (Brennan) break away from a wagon train and head for ideal land for a cattle ranch. His goal is to offer "good beef for hungry people."

The decision comes with a heavy price. The wagon train is attacked by Indians just hours after Dunson's departure. His girl, who he didn't want to join him, dies.

Matt Garth (Montgomery Cliff) survives the attack. Dunson adopts him. Both men prove quick to draw their guns. While Dunson is cold when it comes to killing, Garth takes a kinder approach to who he'll dispatch. That distinction stirs up some friction between father and adopted son, with Dunson accusing him of being soft.

Dunson builds up his beef empire, but times are tough in the American south in 1865. He has lots of cattle, but no market. Dunson decides to launch a massive drive of 10,000 cattle to Missouri. The stakes are high. Attacks by raiders and Indians are likely.

Dunson drives the men hard. Where Garth sees chances to ease off and given the crew rest, Dunson demands more continued action. Morale nosedives. Defections start. There's a suggestion that Dunson's mental health may be impacted as he ignores sleep and keeps focused on his goal. "I don't like quitters," he says. The relationship between father and son strains, leaving Dunson determined go get revenge.

There's lots to like in Red River. The cast, with supporting characters such as John Ireland, Harry Carey, Jr., and his dad, Harry Carey, is very fine.

Clift is impressive in his film debut.

Joanne Dru shines as the feisty Tess Millay, who loves Garth and tries to talk sense into Dunson. But the first meeting of the sweethearts, during an Indian attack on a wagon train, seems awfully unbelievable. These two young kids are making eyes at each other while bullets and arrows are flying. That really seems unlikely.

RATING: 8/10

FUN FACTS: Red River (1948) earned Oscar nods for best writing and editing.

That's Mickey Kuhn as a young Matt. Born in 1932, he's still alive as of this writing. His acting resume isn't long - 32 credits on Internet Movie Database. But his credits include A Streetcar Named Desire and Gone with the Wind!

Chief Yowlachie offers comic relief as Walter Brennan's sidekick, Quo. Yowlachie was King of the Rock People in Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe.

Noah Beery, Jr., appearing here as cowboy Buster McGee, played James Garner's father on television's The Rockford Files.

Red River was Joanne Dru's second film credit.

Angel and the Badman (1947)

This film starts with a bang, but ends up fizzling at times.

Angel and the Badman is one of only two films to be directed by James Edward Grant.

The 1947 feature starts with real promise - a man, shown only up to his waist, firing his pistol before running away.

That would be Quirt Evans (John Wayne), an outlaw who always outlives his opponents.

Evans' latest escape attempt ends up with him in rough shape. He's taken in by Quakers (John Halloran and Irene Rich). Their daughter, Penelope (Gail Russell), is quickly drawn to the badly hurt Quirt.

Quirt, a ladies' man and on the wrong side of the law, warms to domesticity with Penelope. But an old marshal, a friend with a lucrative proposition and other lawbreakers with a score to settle, threaten his newfound happiness.

Watch for the print you watch. The copy of Angel and the Badman I borrowed from my library had some dialogue that was impossible to hear.


RATING: 6/10

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)

Just how much thinking does John Ford want us to do with Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The?

Outlaw Liberty Valance (Lee Marvin) terrorizes the western town of Shinbone. Tom Doniphon (John Wayne) is the only one brave enough, and with a good enough shot, to kill him. But he doesn't. Why?

Fresh out of school lawyer Ransom Stoppard arrives in Shinbone from the eastern United States. He wants the law to deal with Valance. But Marshal Link Appleyard (Andy Devine) is afraid of his own shadow and jumps whenever someone comes up to him unexpectedly. Doniphon suggests Stoppard needs to start packing a gun if he wants to put an end to Valance's reign of terror. What's Ford suggesting about the rule of law in the wild west? "Out here a man settles his own problems," Doniphon tells Stoppard.

Does Doniphon, who suggests might makes right, deep down the most progressive person in Shinbone? The girl he fancies, Hallie Stoddard (Vera Miles), runs a restaurant. She earns her own living. Doniphon tells her more than once she looks great when she's mad. Hmmm, does he have a soft spot for women who speak their mind? That would be a different mindset to have in the 19th century. And how about his friend Pompey (Woody Strode). Pompey's black, the only black person we see in Shinbone. Is Doniphon more accepting of equal rights for blacks? When a bartender refuses to serve Pompey, it's Doniphon who speaks up for that rule to be dropped.

The film opens with Stoppard returning to Shinbone for Doniphon's funeral. His old friend was so destitute the undertaker pinched his boots for some form of payment. Just what kind of life did Doniphon have after Stoppard went on to greater success?

Is Doniphon willing to sacrifice himself for the greater good? Some residents of Shinbone, such as Stoppard, see benefits in the territory becoming a state to help the little guy and thwart the plans of cattle barons. He sees Hallie, the woman he plans to marry and who he has added an extension to his home, falling for Stoppard. But he doesn't stop the relationship. Why?

Was Ford giving a sly wink to modern politics when a cowboy on a horse enters a political meeting and does a trick on stage. Is this an early example of a photo opportunity, a way to add some sizzle to a political hopeful?

How about Doniphon continually calling Stoppard "pilgrim." Is it a reference to Doniphon making the long trek to Shinbone? Is he suggesting Stoppard is on a quest of sorts - to see law and order in the west? Or, his goals will have to take him beyond Shinbone?

Wayne's character is fascinating to watch. He's a man's man, but he hurts when Hallie falls for Stoppard. Doniphon can lay claim to an amazing accomplishment, but he keeps quiet for years to his own detriment. Why?

Marvin makes a great villain. This guy is ruthless. He beats people with his whip. Valance will have nothing to do with Stoppard's talk of law. "I'll teach you law, western law," he thunders when the two men first meet.

Funny thing about Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The. In some ways, viewers can see where the story is going. But, boy, do a little digging and things get a little hazier.

RATING: 8/10

FUN FACTS: Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The received an Oscar nomination for costume design (Edith Head).

Vera Miles was also in another very fine film directed by John Ford, The Searchers. Wow. She was also in The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms.

Woody Strode squared off with Kirk Douglas in Spartacus. His film debut was in another John Ford film, Stagecoach.

Jeannette Nolan, who appears here with John Qualen as Nora and Peter Ericson, made her last film appearance in The Horse Whisperer.

She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949)

Rio Grande is still tops in my books.

I've watched all the titles in director John Ford's cavalry trilogy in recent weeks.

Fort Apache had too much comedy for my taste. I didn't buy the romance between John Agar and Shirley Temple - even though the couple was married in real life at the time.

She Wore a Yellow Ribbon is better than Fort Apache, but comes nowhere close to Rio Grande's power.

The romance doesn't work here either. 2nd Lt. Ross Pennell (Harry Carey, Jr.) and Lt. Flint Cohill (Agar) are both wooing Olivia Dandridge (Joanne Dru). There's a lot of squabbling, but not much romance. The yellow ribbon in Dandridge's hair suggests she has a fella in the cavalry, but she won't identify her sweetheart. Is it Pennell or Cohill?

Capt. Nathan Cutting Brittles (John Wayne) is nearing the end of his command days. The timing is not great. Various Indian tribes are putting aside old differences and teaming up to drive settlers from their land. Ten thousand warriors are itching for a fight. General Custard and his men have been wiped out. Brittles is ordered on patrol, in part to make sure Dandridge and Abby Allshard (Mildred Natwick) get out of harm's way.

Brittles, literally just days away from punching out, struggles for success on his mission. He's frustrated because everything he was supposed to accomplish fails. It's not the way he wants to leave his post.

Death gets plenty of attention in this film. Brittles regularly visits the grave of his wife. How she died we don't know. A United States' paymaster is killed in an Indian attack. One of Brittles' men is gravely injured by the Indians. Time is tight for the life-saving surgery he needs. Another veteran trooper is killed in battle.

Victor McLaglen's characters have a definite thirst for liquor in each of these films. What starts out as a fun way of Top Sgt. Quincannon hitting the bottle for a quick jolt turns into an extended sequence involving civilian clothing, plenty of booze and six other cavalry members. This scene goes on much too long.

Fortunately, things pick up when Brittles decides to keep serving the cavalry after his official retirement. He rides into the Indian camp to make an appeal to Chief Pony That Walks (Chief John Big Tree) to avoid war. When that fails, Brittles has a Plan B that's impressive to watch.

There is, again, some beautiful images in this colour film. Wayne is great as a veteran leader at the end of his days. Natwick and Ben Johnson offer solid support work.

She Wore a Yellow Ribbon has its moments, but Rio Grande is easily the best of Ford's cavalry films.

RATING: 7/10

FUN FACT: Last week I lamented Fred McMurray's last film role was in disaster maestro Irving Allen's The Swarm. Poor Joanne Dru. Her last appearance on the big screen was Super Fuzz in 1980 with Ernest Borgnine and Terence Hill.

She Wore a Yellow Ribbon was Chief John Big Tree's second last movie appearance. His career began in 1915 with Author! Author!

The Searchers (1956)

John Wayne: The Searchers is one of the finest westerns ever made.

Credit one of John Wayne's best performances and stunning cinematography - in VistaVision - by Winton Hoch (The Quiet Man, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon) for making this a must-see film.

The film opens in Texas in 1868. Ethan Edwards (Wayne) arrives at his brother's home. Numerous questions surround his past. What has he been doing in the three years since the Civil War ended? Why does he have so much money? Is he suggesting he was involved in illegal activities?

Edwards barely has time to settle in when he joins a search for missing cattle. That theft of livestock proves a ruse so Comanche Indians can wipe out his brother's family. The two daughters, Debbie (played by sisters Lana and Natalie Wood) and Lucy (Pippa Scott), are taken captive. Edwards and his nephew, Martin Pawley (Jeffrey Hunter), launch a years-long quest to find Chief Scar (Henry Brandon) and rescue Debbie. Lucy is found - dead.

Edwards loathes Indians, is happy to kill as many as he can - and their sources of food. He welcomes a chance to gum up their chances in the afterlife too. That hatred begins to seep over into his feelings towards Debbie. He appears willing to gun her down rather than take her back to live with her surviving family.

There's a nice romance with Laurie Jorgensen (Vera Miles) waiting, and waiting some more, for Martin to come home. Comic relief largely comes courtesy of Charlie McCorry (Ken Curtis). He's sweet on Laurie, but is about as bright as a burned out light bulb. Keep an ear open for his pronunciation of fiancee. It's the best laugh in this nearly two-hour film. Ward Bond is very fine as part-time reverend, part-time leader of the Texas Rangers, Rev. Samuel Johnston Clayton. Hunter stands up very well next to Wayne.

The film's ending is powerful, recreating the opening scene in reverse with no words spoken.

Watch John Wayne: The Searchers.

RATING: 10/10

FUN FACTS: Jeffrey Hunter also appeared in The Longest Day, with John Wayne.

John Qualen, who appears as Lars Jorgensen, was Berger in Casablanca.

Olive Carey, who plays Mrs. Jorgensen, made her last film appearance in Billy the Kid vs. Dracula.

Hank Worden, appearing as Mose Harper, earned his last credits with David Lynch's Twin Peaks.

Beaulah Archuletta, who ends up as Martin Powley's wife at one point, made her debut in Key Largo.

The Searchers marked Pippa Scott's first movie role.

Rio Grande (1950)

There's a lot of rivers to cross in Rio Grande.

The actual body of water is the biggest one.

Apache Indians are causing major problems for Lt. Col. Kirby Yorke (John Wayne) and his United States cavalry troops. But his orders stop him from pursuing the Apache when they cross the Rio Grande into Mexico, and safety.

Plenty of symbolic crossings have to be made too. Yorke's estrangement from his wife, Kathleen (Maureen O'Hara), is long-standing. He hasn't seen his son, Jeff (Claude Jarman, Jr.) in 15 years. The younger Yorke wants to serve in the military too, but he fails at West Point. Instead, he enlists in the cavalry and is posted as a trooper to serve under his father. He's with two other new recruits - Travis Tyree (Ben Johnson) and Sandy Boone (Claude Jarman).

Kathleen shows up because she wants to get her son out of the service. Neither he, or Kirby, agree with her mission.



"What kind of man is he?" Jeff asks his mother of Kirby.

"He's a very lonely man," she replies.

Tyree is wanted by a deputy federal marshal (Grant Withers) for manslaughter. He's on his own journey too. Will he be taken into custody or make a bid for freedom?

Rio Grande is a much more satisfying view than Fort Apache, the first of director John Ford's cavalry trio. She Wore a Yellow Ribbon is the second installment. The on-going humour that dragged down Fort Apache is much more muted here. The romance between Wayne and O'Hara is on solid ground compared to young lovers Shirley Temple and John Agar in Fort Apache.

The most impressive action scene in this film isn't a battle between the Apache and cavalry, but a training sequence when troopers stand, and ride, two horses. This long-time movie fan has never seen such a stunt before. It's jaw-dropping viewing.

Sons of the Pioneers make several welcome appearances with low-key music that enhances the film's mood, especially a romantic tune when Kirby and Kathleen first dine together.

Military folly was explored in Fort Apache. What stands out here is Kirby's early warning to his son not to expect a life of glory in the military, but one of sacrifice and hardship. How many times do you see those themes trumpeted in recruiting posters? An early scene as the movie opens finds wives of soldiers watching anxiously as Yorke and his men return from a mission. Who is dead? Who is wounded? Who is safe? That's war.

Rio Grande ends this trilogy in fine form.

RATING: 8/10

FUN FACTS: Hey, that's Karolyn Grimes, Zuzu Bailey from It's a Wonderful Life, as Margaret Mary.

J. Carrol Naish, who appears as Lt. Gen. Philip Sheridan, made his last screen appearance in Dracula vs. Frankenstein.

Sons of the Pioneers appeared in nearly 100 films and television shows between 1934 and 1984.

Fort Apache (1948)

What kind of movie is Fort Apache supposed to be?

Yes, I know it's a western.

But is director John Ford's 1948 effort a slapstick comedy? Romance? Drama?

It's hard to pin this movie down because its mood is all over the place. That makes for a frustrating viewing experience despite some very fine cinematography by Archie Stout and William Clothier. In fact, the cinematography might just be the best thing about this movie.

Lt. Col. Owen Thursday (Henry Fonda) is the new commander of Fort Apache. This career military man is definitely all business. He doesn't take kindly to being posted in the middle of nowhere and wants to move on - pronto.

Thursday is strictly by the book and doesn't take kindly to his daughter, Philadelphia (Shirley Temple), romancing 2nd Lieut. Michael Shannon O'Rourke (John Agar). Temple doesn't make much of an impression in this, one of her last film roles before retiring from the big screen in 1949. Agar was her husband when Fort Apache was shot, although they'd divorce in 1950. The romance takes up a good chunk of Fort Apache's nearly two-hour running time. Sigh.

Then there's the comedy, which also eats up a fair part of Ford's film. There's extended sequences with new recruits that go on too long. Even Temple gets mixed up with a comedic scene about living quarters that aren't very liveable.

Oh, there's the social life of the fort too, including a couple of dances. There's jokes about alcohol. Most of this screen time is tiresome. Fonda does get a good line when a stash of booze is found in the hidden inventory of Silas Meacham (Grant Withers). There's a suggestion the hooch is for a religious purpose. "Pour me some scripture," Thursday says.

Good grief, what's this movie about?

John Wayne doesn't do much for most of the film. One of his most promising scenes, when he meets with an important Apache leader, Cochise (Miguel Inclan), ends as soon as the two men meet.

Thursday is a great character. It's a wonder how he earned such a rank because he has zero people skills and shows little understanding of military strategy. Oh, he doesn't listen to his advisers either. It's too bad audiences don't get to learn more about what makes him tick. There's a suggestion of a past relationship with Capt. Sam Collingwood (George O'Brien). Each man made a decision in the past. It earned Thursday a promotion and Collingwood a ticket to Fort Apache. What happened? We never find out.

Fort Apache is a frustrating film to watch. Stick with My Darling Clementine or Stagecoach.

RATING: 4/10

FUN FACTS: Anna Lee, who appears as Mrs. Emily Collingwood, was Sister Margaretta in The Sound of Music . Her husband in Fort Apache is Ward Bond.

Movita has a small role as Thursday's servant.

George O'Brien's last film was in another Ford movie, Cheyenne Autumn.


UPDATE: Shirley Temple died on Feb. 10, 2014. She was 85.