Western Wednesdays: The Sons of Katie Elder (1965)

     The Sons of Katie Elder was released by Paramount Pictures on June 24th, 1965. Directed by Henry Hathaway it stars John Wayne and Dean Martin. Inspired by true events, the film tells the story of four brothers who return home for their mother's funeral only to find that she was cheated out of her land by an unscrupulous businessman who is bent on taking over the territory the very night their father was mysteriously murdered. 

     The original script by William H. Wright was based on the story of the Marlow brothers. As in the film, the brothers were involved in a local feud and framed for robbery. They did fight their way out of an ambush (while still handcuffed) while being transported to Weatherford, Texas (Laredo in the film) for trial. Unlike the film their were five brothers in real life, three of whom were killed (in the film one dies and the fate of two others remains uncertain). The sheriff, in the film, is shot in the back by the bad guys but in realty he was accidently shot by one of the brothers during an altercation. The two deputies, honorable men in the film, were in reality in league with the criminals and both survived the ambush only to be tried for conspiracy to murder. Dean Martin's character, in the film, is wanted for killing a disgruntled barkeep who took a shot at him. The real brother, Boone Marlow, had killed a man named James Holstein who had allegedly been hired to intimidate settlers. Also, their mother was still alive during all of these events... 

     In any case the script went through quite a few changes before the film was made. The final version is credited to Allan Weiss, Harry Essex and Talbot Jennings in addition to Wright. When Paramount bought the script in 1955 John Sturges was going to direct the picture and Alan Ladd was slated as the lead. After Ladd backed out the project was put on hold for several years before being reborn as a John Wayne vehicle. 

     It's a solid western with Wayne in top form as the eldest brother, John Elder. John, an infamous gunslinger, is torn throughout the film between his sense of honor in tracking down his father's killer and his sense of guilt for living a violent life that his mother never approved of. Dean Martin brings his unique sense of charm to the role of Tom Elder. A gambler and troublemaker, of the bunch Tom is the most self-serving. Michael Anderson Jr. is overshadowed by his more famous co-stars as the youngest son Bud Elder, who Katie saved up to send to college, hoping to preserve the family name in some way. Finally, Earl Holliman is all but invisible as the middle brother Matt, a failing hardware dealer who wants to leave a better legacy for his deceased mother. 

     James Gregory brings his usual sense of deviousness to Morgan Hastings, the ambitious businessman who swindled the Elder's father out of his land while George Kennedy is positively dripping with menace as the hired gunfighter Curley. Paul Fix imbues the Sheriff, Billy Wilson, with a real sense of authority and sympathy in contrast to his overeager and temperamental deputy Ben Latta, played by Jeremy Slate. Martha Hyer brings spunk and a sense of matter-of-fact kindness to the role Mary Gordon, the owner of the boarding house who was a good friend of Katie before she passed on. Dennis Hopper, Rhys Williams, John Doucette, Strother Martin and Sheldon Allman are also featured in small but memorable roles.

     Henry Hathaway, a veteran director at this point, does a fine job behind the camera. The action is particularly well done with the ambush at the bridge being a highlight. Lucien Ballard, who would go on to shoot many of Sam Peckinpah's most famous movies, puts in some strong work on this, his third film with Hathaway. He beautifully captures the New Mexican landscape and does a great job with the night shooting, which is particularly heavy in this film. Composer Elmer Bernstein, meanwhile, provides yet another rousing score.

     The film's biggest shortcoming is Earl Holliman's Matt, the second oldest brother, who is simply not as well defined a character as his three brothers. This is not Holliman's fault, he simply didn't have enough to work with. The most we glean about Matt Elder is that he loved his mother and, like John, is invested in honoring her memory, suggesting they buy a monument for her grave and later fully supporting John in his desire to complete Bud's college education. By the time the third act rolls around and he is tragically killed, we really haven't learned much else. Another issue is that, while the climax is magnificent, the film's denouement is a little rushed and doesn't quite manage to tie up all the loose ends. George Kennedy's gunfighter, who has a growing rivalry with Wayne as the film goes on, has a rather anticlimactic death. The Elder's also clear their name in a somewhat contrived manner. Finally the film leaves certain plot threads hanging. Does Bud go to college? Does Mary fall for John? Do the brothers ever deliver Striker's horses?

     Though it falters a little in the last act, The Sons of Katie Elder is still a solid western with a fantastic cast, solid direction, and a memorable score from Elmer Bernstein. 

Score: 8/10

Western Wednesdays: The Ballad of Lefty Brown (2017)

     The Ballad of Lefty Brown was released on December 15th, 2017. It is written and directed by Jared Moshé. In it a cowboy named Lefty Brown (Bill Pullman) sets out to avenge the murder of his boss. 

     Loyalty is the central theme of The Ballad of Lefty Brown. The plot is set in motion when Edward Johnson (Peter Fonda), the boss and long time friend of our eponymous protagonist, is murdered and Lefty sets out to bring his killers to justice. Accompanying Lefty is Marshal Tom Harrah (Tommy Flanagan), an old friend of Lefty and Ed from back in the day. Tom has been sent by another old friend, James Bierce (Jim Caviezel), now a Governor, with all the responsibility that entails, to dissuade Lefty from his task, preferring to let the army handle it. After some heated debate (that involves Tom being tied up by Lefty), Harrah is persuaded to help Brown track down the killers, convinced it's what Ed would have wanted. They also meet Jeremiah Perkins (Diego Josef), an aspiring gunfighter who looks idolizes Tom, Ed and Jimmy (all of whom have had dime store novels written about their former exploits).

      When it is revealed that Bierce was behind Ed's murder, as he had opposed the building of a new railway, Tom is torn between loyalty to Jimmy and to his departed friend. Meanwhile, Lefty is framed for the murder in order to detract attention away from Bierce. He is captured by Ed's grieving widow Laura (Kathy Baker), who believes that he is the murderer. It is up to him to escape and uncover the conspiracy. 

     Many westerns fall into one of two categories, they will either portray the west as a place to escape the decadence and emptiness of modern society or as a brutal wilderness to which the protagonists must bring the benefits of civilization. Lefty Brown fits firmly in the former mold. Its characters have forged their own place in the wilderness and the railroads, along with the development they will bring, are seen as a threat to this. Jimmy, in buying into the myth of progress that the railroad represents, becomes a villain.

     This attitude, I suppose, also informs the films attitude toward vigilante justice. The films ends with Lefty and the townsfolk lynching Bierce, believing that he will use his political connections to clear himself of Ed's murder. Earlier in the film we see Johnson take the law into his own hands to hang a murderer he and Lefty caught. In many ways this idea of justice carries throughout the film, as Lefty pursues Ed's killers against the urging of Jimmy and Tom, who prefer to leave the job to the competent authorities.

      The film can be a little heavy handed with its themes at times. Jimmy's monologue before he is hanged, maintaining the justice of his actions in his own eyes, is, in particular, a little hard to swallow considering that he's about to loose his life. Another problem is that the film doesn't really explain why Ed opposed the railway in the first place. Clearly Jimmy's pursuit of progress has corrupted him. Is the film suggesting that this pursuit is inherently corrupting? That perhaps it is better to maintain a more "settled" existence? By the time the credits role, it remains unclear.

     The Ballad of Lefty Brown features a great cast. Bill Pullman puts in a sensitive performance as the slow-witted but unflinchingly loyal Lefty Brown. Peter Fonda lends a real sense of gravitas to Edward Johnson. Though he has very little screen time, his character looms over the film like the ghost of Hamlet's father. Kathy Baker, meanwhile, is every bit his equal as Johnson's matriarchal wife, Laura.  Jim Caviezel is suitably (if uncharacteristically) sleazy as the treacherous Jimmy Bierce while Tommy Flanagan is his usual cantankerous self as Tom Harrah, the haunted, hard-drinking Irishman. Joe Anderson is suitably menacing as the killer-for-hire Frank Baines. Finally, young Diego Josef holds his own among a veteran cast as Jeremiah Perkins, the would-be gunslinger befriended by Lefty.  

     Jared Moshé does a great job in this, his second film as a director. His use of hand held camera's lends a sense of uneasy to much of the film. This is contrasted with the locked down wide shots of the landscape, emphasizing the unchanging and indifferent order of nature. David McFarland's cinematography captures the stark beauty of the Montana landscape while H. Scott Salinas somber score is used sparingly but effectively. 

     All in all The Ballad of Lefty Brown is an above average western. Given the current dearth in the genre's output of late, I would certainly recommend for any and all western fans. 

Score: 8/10

Western Wednesdays: Rocky Rhodes (1934) (Belated)

Apologies that this was late. I've been sick the last few days...

     Rocky Rhodes was released by Universal Pictures on September 24th, 1934.  Directed by Alfred Raboch and written by Edward Churchill from a story by W. C. Tuttle it stars Buck Jones as Rocky Rhodes, a cowboy who is called home by his father when trouble starts brewing at the home ranch in Cactus City, Arizona.

     Rocky Rhodes gets off to a shaky start with a rather uninspiring opening where Rocky and his terribly unfunny comic-relief sidekick (Stanley Fields' Harp Haverty) trade barbs with one another in the office of the Chicago stock yards where they work. After receiving a letter from his father requesting that he return home he and Harp are taken by surprise when a fire flares up which destroys the stockyards. There is then a tedious (and rather pointless) scene where the two men take a train to Cactus City and Rocky gets into a fight with a snarky cowhand. 

     Once we reach Cactus City the film picks up considerably. Rocky discovers that his father has been murdered, an act for which his trusted foreman, Paul Fix's Joe Hilton, stands accused. Fix is busted out of prison with the help of the real murderers, who shoot him in the back after his escape. Dan Murtch, head of the Cactus City Investment, is the man behind all the trouble. He plans to force the local ranchers, including John Street (Alfred P. James) and his daughter Nan (Sheila Terry), to sell their spreads to him but Rocky interferes. To get him out of the way, Murtch has Rocky framed for robbing the bank, causing Rhodes to go on the run. He must clear his name and prove who the real criminals are before Murtch can carry out his plans.

     Ted D. McCord's cinematography is quite good. There's a lot of nighttime photography which is particularly dynamic. Though Alfred Raboch's direction is inconsistent, at times it really shines. The climax is really thrilling with Rocky calling out Murtch in the saloon and then chasing him to the Street's ranch where an injured Nan is trying to crawl away before the explosives, planted by Murtch's men, go off. Hilton's death scene is genuinely poignant, as he reminisces about the god ol' days with Rocky and Harp. Paul Fix sells it really well. The scene where Rocky tells his mother (Lydia Knott) about his father's murder is also emotional, perhaps uncomfortably so, as Buck picks her up and carries her around the house!

     It's definitely a flawed film, marred in particular by occasionally jarring cuts and Stanley Fields insufferable comic relief. In the end, though at times crude Rocky Rhodes delivers the goods and is a solid start to Jones tenure at Universal.

 Score: 7/10

Saturday Evening Cartoons: Ponyo (2008)

 

     Ponyo was released on July 19th, 2008. Written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki it is loosely based on The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen. In it a young human boy named Sōsuke (voiced by Frankie Jonas in the English dub) befriends a goldfish named Ponyo (Noah Cyrus), who begins turning into a human after ingesting some of his blood.

     Like most of Miyazaki's movies Ponyo is loosely plotted. There are two central conflicts, one arising from the other. The first is between Ponyo and her father Fujimoto (Liam Neeson), a human wizard/scientist. After meeting and falling in love with Sōsuke, Ponyo longs to become human but her father forbids it. Ponyo runs away from her father to be with Sōsuke, using her magic to make herself human, but the magic that is released as a result of this creates an imbalance in nature, resulting in an enormous tsunami which threatens to destroy Sōsuke's sea-side village home. Both conflicts are resolved rather easily when Fujimoto tells Ponyo's mother Gran Mamare (Cate Blanchett) about her actions and she decides that Ponyo can become human providing that Sōsuke can prove his love for her. This also restores the balance of nature. 

      There is a general theme of familial conflict running throughout the film. Ponyo's clashes with her father who does not want her to become human. It can be inferred that Fujimoto, having turned his back on the human world for a life under-the-sea, is hurt by his daughter's desire to, essentially, do the opposite. In any case the parallel between Fujimoto, who gave up a human life after falling in love with a sea goddess, and Ponyo, who gives up her life as a fish after falling in love with a human. There is also tension among Sōsuke's family. His mother (Tina Fey) harbors resentment toward his father (Matt Damon), a sailor who, because of his job, is never around. 

     Ponyo is a lovely looking film, even if less impressive then some of Studio Ghibli's earlier efforts. It features more streamlined animation then many of the studio's earlier films. The backgrounds are not as painterly and the characters more cartoonish. Yet it has that quality that many of their films do of making the movement and expressions of the characters feel grounded. Its portrayal of magic is also very matter-of-fact magic, as is Miyazaki's custom, and the characters feel like real people with real problems. The voice cast are uniformly solid except perhaps for Neeson, who feels a little miscast as Ponyo's quirky wizard father. 

     Ponyo is an enchanting little movie with beautiful animation and likable characters. The story may be a little lightweight but that's part of the charm.

Score: 8/10