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

Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)

Once Upon A Time In The West is worth the wait.

Director Sergio Leone's western runs nearly three hours. Yes, your finger may be itching to grab your remote at various times during this 1968 feature. But, please be patient. The late Italian director does a fine job of building tension in numerous scenes.

Plus, it's a revelation to see Henry Fonda cast as Frank, a cold-hearted killer who works for hobbled railway baron Morton (Gabriele Ferzetti). Forget all those good guy roles the Nebraska native played during his 46-year career such as Juror #8 in Twelve Angry Men. Here Fonda's Frank is ruthless, even gunning down a young boy as part of his job. Leone gives us several chances to see Fonda's blue eyes up close. His stare is chilling. "People scare better when they're dying," he suggests at one point. Yikes.

Jill McBain (Claudia Cardinale) travels west to reunite with her new husband, Brett (Frank Wolff), and his three children. She arrives the same day as they've been gunned down by Frank and his gang. The question is, why were they murdered? They lived in the desert, far removed from the town where most folks live.

Jill just wants to get back east. But she sticks around largely due to the arrival of Harmonica (Charles Bronson) and Cheyenne (Jason Robards). Harmonica has an old score he wants to settle with Frank. That reason takes some time to become known. Cheyenne is an outlaw who is framed by Frank for the murder of McBain and his children. But he still demonstrates some kindness towards others - like Jill.

Leone repeatedly ratchets up the tension in this film. There's a long introduction where several members of Frank's gang, including Woody Strode (The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance) and Jack Elam (High Noon), wait at a train station for Harmonica to arrive. The director's use of sound helps build suspense about what will happen at this remote location.

Every decent western needs some well-staged shootouts. Leone delivers the goods with several solid showdowns.

Ennio Morricone's score grates at times, but that's a small quibble for what is a well-cast, suspenseful western.

RATING: 8/10

FUN FACTS: Frank Wolff appeared in The Wasp Woman and Beast From Haunted Cave in 1959.

That's Lionel Stander as the barman. He was Cornelius Cobb in Mr. Deeds Goes to Town starring Gary Cooper.

Leone directed Once Upon A Time In The West after A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More and The Good, The Bad and The Ugly with Clint Eastwood.

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.

The Magnificent Seven (1960)

Give The Magnificent Seven marks for being different.

Director John Sturges (The Great Escape) opens his film in an unusual way. An undertaker refuses to bury an Indian because the townfolk don't want him resting alongside the dead who have white skin.

Chris (Yul Brynner) and Vin (Steve McQueen) agree to bring the hearse to the graveyard, calmly ducking bullets and verbal barbs hurled their way. They have to face five armed men once they get to the cemetery too.

The opening minutes establish the film's theme of standing up for the little guy who is wronged, but can't fight back.

A delegation from a Mexican village appeals to Chris for help. Their community is pillaged on a regular basis by a bandido and his gang. They want him to round up, quite literally, some hired guns and free their community from tyranny.

Chris, being a gun for hire, knows where to find talent such as Britt (James Coburn), Bernardo (Charles Bronson) and Lee (Robert Vaughn). Part of his posse includes Horst Buchholz, a German actor who doesn't make much of an impression among such a stellar assembly of stars. That's a small quibble about a western that definitely stands out for its genre.

Viewers would expect these gunslingers to be tough, macho men. Instead, they definitely show signs of humanity. Lee looks like he's struggling to hold it together mentally. He's wondering if he's lost his touch with his gun and will soon be struck down by a quicker adversary. Bronson's Bernardo chews out youngsters who suggest their fathers are weak because they don't stand up for their community. This comes from a guy who has made plenty of money fighting other people's wars.

Conductor Elmer Bernstein was rightly nominated for an Oscar for best score. His music is a powerful sidekick to the action on the screen.

The Magnificent Seven helped establish McQueen, Bronson and Coburn as major screen talents. They'd be reunited for another film by Sturges, The Great Escape, in 1963.

RATING: 8/10

FUN FACTS: See if you can spot Victor French (Little House on the Prairie) in a small role in his first feature film.

Horst Buchholz also appeared in Life is Beautiful.

James Coburn was the owner of El Sleezo Cafe in The Muppet Movie.

Ride the High Country (1962)

RATING: 9/10 John Wayne went out with a bang in The Shootist.

Randolph Scott rode off into the sunset with Ride the High Country.

The American actor made plenty of westerns in his career including The Desperadoes and Frontier Marshal.

RANDOLPH SCOTT SAYS GOODBYE

ride the high country 1962, director Sam Peckinpah's second big-screen effort, is his final credit. This fine effort, filmed in glorious colour at Inyo National Forest, is a fitting farewell.

Peckinpah has great fun turning the traditional conventions of the western genre upside down.

THIS HERO IS A LITTLE SHOP-WORN

Time has passed Gil Westrum (McCrea) by. He has earned his living trying to do the right thing by enforcing the law. For his troubles, Gil has dodged bullets and lost the woman he loved to a rancher. His feet ache after a day's ride and his memory isn't as good as it once was.

Spectators line the street when Westrum rides into town at the film's start. He modestly waves to them, but he's not why they're there. Heck, a man on a camel is racing against horse riders. "You're in the way," a police officer (police officer!) tells him. Westrum wears glasses to read. His shirt is fraying.

His days of top-of-the-line work are pretty much gone. He perks up when he's offered a job bringing gold out of a mining camp. Westrum needs help. He bumps into his old partner, Steve Judd (Randolph Scott), at a travelling circus. Judd bills himself as The Oregon Kid, a wee bit of a fabrication to put food on the table.

YOU LOUSY DOUBLE-CROSSER

He's not the man Westrum remembers. Judd wants the gold. If he can't convince Westrum to change his law-abiding ways, he'll gladly embrace a more sinister Plan B. Heck Longtree (Ron Starr) is a young hotshot who comes along for the ride. He's in cahoots with Judd, but doubts all the talk in the world won't change Westrum's mind.

The trio meet Elsa Knudsen after a day's ride. Her father, Joshua (R.G. Armstrong), is more than happy to keep her in isolation. Elsa wants her freedom and the chance to marry her bethroed. He just happens to be working in the mining camp. She slips away to ride with Westrum and company.

That's Ride the High Country's simple set-up. Westrum stays true to his ways. His hired help plan to double-cross him. Knudsen gets caught up a man she really shouldn't marry.

Ride the High Country offers some great humour, solid action and a loving farewell to a genre that entertained so many movie-goers for decades. Stagecoach, Red River, The Searchers and The Ox-Bow Incident are some of the finest westerns ever made.

FAREWELL TO THE WESTERN

It's a genre seldom seen in theatres now. There was a spurt in the mid-1980s with releases such as Silverado and Pale Rider. Unforgiven won four Oscars, including best picture and director (Clint Eastwood) in 1993. Val Kilmer's Wyatt Earp's Revenge, went to video in 2012. Sigh.

FUN FACTS: Peckinpah's last credit was helming the music video for Julian Lennon's Too Late for Goodbyes.

Mariette Hartley made her movie debut in Ride the High Country.

Ron Starr has just 13 credits to his name including G.I. Blues with Elvis Presley in 1960.

R.G. Armstrong turns 95 in 2012. He appeared in Metallica's Enter Sandman video. Armstrong was Pruneface in Warren Beatty's Dick Tracy.

Joel McCrea was another veteran of the western genre. His final film was Mustang Country, with The Duke's son, Patrick, in 1976.

Ride the High Country boasts a solid score from George Bassman. He handled orchestral and vocal arrangements for The Wizard of Oz.