Western Wednesdays: Lonely are the Brave (1962)

     Lonely are the Brave was released on May 24th, 1962. Based on the novel The Brave Cowboy, by Edward Abbey, it is adapted for the screen by Dalton Trumbo and directed by David Miller. In it Kirk Douglas plays John W. Burns ("Jack for short"), a drifting ranch hand who gets himself busted in order to break his old friend Paul Bondi (Michael Kane) out of prison.

     Lonely are the Brave is a neo-western. This genre, rather then dealing with the passing of the west as so many classic westerns do, is concerned with the exploring the conventions of the genre but is set in a period after "the west" has passed on and civilization has set in. Jack Burns is a westerner. He is a independent rugged individual who'd prefer to live in a world without fences, without borders and away from the long arm of the law. But, in the words of Paul's wife Jerry (Gena Rowlands), this world doesn't exist anymore, "maybe it never did."

     The film is critical of Jack's lifestyle. When he offers to break Paul out his old friend turns him down. He has a wife and child to support and can not afford to live on the run from the law. "You grew up on me didn't you?" says Jack, acknowledging the immaturity of the life he has chosen to lead. Just as the wilderness must eventually give way to civilization, so the rugged westerner must eventually become civilized, or else perish. Jack comes face-to-face with this reality after escaping prison, when he is hounded by the police in his attempt to cross the mountains into Mexico. Against all odds he outfoxes them again and again, yet his situation becomes more and more hopeless. In some ways it anticipates First Blood, another film about a man who cannot come to terms with society. The film's ending is both unexpected and touchingly ironic. 

     The cast all put in sensitive performances. Kirk Douglas towers over the film as Jack Burns. Only someone of his stature and talent could have brought this living anachronism to life. Walter Matthau is very restrained as the Sheriff tasked with hunting Burns down. Though the audience would usually hate such a character by default, Matthau earns our sympathy as a simple man who is just doing his job, and one who comes to respect the man he's chasing. Gena Rowlands is great as the struggling wife and mother Jerry Bondi, whose feelings for Burns mirror her affection for her husband. Michael Kane convinces as the faithful husband, Paul, though its hard to imagine that he was ever as independently minded as Jack. Western regular George Kennedy plays a small but memorable role as a sadistic prison guard while a young Bill Bixby is featured in an uncredited role as a helicopter pilot. 

     After reading Edward Abbey's novel, Douglas went to Universal with a proposal for an adaptation in which he would star. He picked the cast and crew himself, bringing back Dalton Trumbo, who had penned Spartacus a few years before. Trumbo's screenplay, though it insists on itself at times, does a good job exploring the film's themes. Director David Miller really captures the unforgiving New Mexico locations. Burns is not only beset by society but by nature and Miller captures both elegantly. Philip H. Lathrop's cinematography is stark and evokes film noir at times with its use of shadows and harsh lighting. The score by Jerry Goldsmith, who was virtually an unknown when hired for this film, is restrained and melancholy, anticipating, at times, his later work on First Blood.

     Lonely are the Brave is an excellent neo-western featuring solid direction, distinguished performances and a stirring score all at the service of a complex and thought provoking screenplay. 

Score: 9/10

Western Wednesdays: Three Ruthless Ones (1963)

     Three Ruthless Ones was released on December 19th, 1963. Written and directed by Joaquin L. Romero Marchent (Jesús Navarro Carrión and Rafael Romero Marchent also helped with the script) it stars Richard Harrison, Robert Hundar and Miguel Palenzuela as three brothers who are determined to avenge their father, murdered when they were still just children.

     Released before A Fistful of Dollars revolutionized the Spaghetti western genre, Three Ruthless Ones has more in common with American westerns then its later Italian counterparts (it even features a singing cowboy!). Though the plot centers around vengeance, probably the most common plot in the spaghetti western genre (though there are no shortage of American westerns which also use it), the film condemns this pursuit where many spaghettis would either treat it with ambiguity or, in some cases, glorify it. 

 

     The central conflict of the film is between the oldest brother Chet (Robert Hundar) and the youngest brother Jeff (Richard Harrison). The fiery Chet is consumed with his desire for vengeance and is willing to do anything to get it while the more kind hearted Jeff is determined to abide by the law and see that the killers are brought to a fair trial and hung for their crimes. The pragmatic, level headed middle brother Brad (Miguel Palenzuela) is stuck in the middle, willing to follow the law to a certain extent but recognizing that it has limits. The two older brothers are influenced by their bitter mother (Gloria Milland) who has made them swear, on their father's grave, that they will avenge him.

     The main cast is fairly solid and the characters are all well drawn. With his handsome face and impassioned delivery, Richard Harrison is well cast as the forthright Jeff Walker. He is equally determined to bring his father's killers to justice and to abide by the letter of the law. This brings him into conflict with his family and later with his girl Susannah (Gloria Osuna) who, it turns out, is the daughter of the man who killed his father. Chet is the antithesis of Jeff. He is cynical, moody and consumed with his need for revenge and Robert Hundar does a fine job in the role, alternating between an angry scowl and a malicious grin through most of the film. His best scene occurs about halfway through, when Chet, on the run from the law, almost murders a man who tries to stop him from stealing his horse, only to be dissuaded by the sight of his wife and child. Miguel Palenzuela certainly has the least intriguing material to work with as the dependable, level-headed Brad Walker. Like Chet, Brad has a cruel streak, but it is softened by his wife May (Dina Loy) who, in a scene that could be culled from a hundred other westerns, pleads with him to forego his vengeance when Chet discovers the whereabouts of their father's killer. But "there are things that a man can never forget."

     Louise Walker, the boys' mother, is a women almost overcome by bitterness, the poison of which has infected her sons. Gloria Milland, though young for the role (she was only 24 at the time of the films release) puts in a really strong performance, particularly during the tragic ending scene where she breaks down and weeps over the body of her slain son, realizing too late what her desire for vengeance has brought him to. Fernando Sancho, a familiar face to any fan of the genre, imbues the film with some much needed warmth and humor as the wandering Mexican Pedro Ramirez, who hires himself on as the family's cook and is later deputized by Jeff to help him clean up the town where his father's killers reside. He is often a voice of reason and, though he himself has experienced tragedy in his past, urges Louise to let go of her hatred before it destroys her. 

     Joaquin L. Romero Marchent's direction is efficient if somewhat undistinguished. His framing is always on point and he handles both the action and the more intimate scenes with equal dexterity. The sensitive script juggles its rather large cast of characters admirably (it also features Francisco Sanz, Gloria Osuna, and Freddie Toehl in small but memorable roles). The film sags in the second act where the it becomes is out with scenes from a rodeo, which are impressively mounted but hardly relevant to the plot. The score, by the usually reliable Riz Ortolani is memorable in its own right but, at times, obtrusively upbeat for the context of the film, especially during the climax. 

     Though not without its flaws Three Ruthless Ones is a well made western with an unusually emotional story line.

Score: 8/10  

Western Wednesdays: Hell Bent (1918)

     Hell Bent is a silent film directed by John Ford. Released on July 6th, 1918 it stars Harry Carey as Cheyenne Harry, a wandering cowpoke who falls in love with a dance hall girl named Bess Thurston (Neva Gerber), who's brother is involved with a hold-up gang. 

     The film opens in a rather inspired way as we seen a writer who, trying to come up with a story for his next novel, contemplates a Frederick Remington picture which Ford brings to life, kicking off the story. It begins with Harry fleeing a poker game in which he was accused of cheating. In the town of Rawhide he comes upon and immediately falls for Bess, only to be deterred when he finds her working in the dance hall. Unbeknownst to Harry, Bess was forced to take this job because her layabout brother, Jack (Vester Pegg) was fired from his. Overcoming his inhibitions, Harry rescues Bess from the overeager patrons of the saloon only to lose her affections when he himself is too forward with her (likely owing to his intoxicated state). He later apologizes for his behavior and they begin seeing each other more regularly. 

     Meanwhile, Bess' no-good brother has hooked up with Beau Ross (Joe Harris) and his gang of criminals. Harry thwarts their attempted bank robbery only to let them escape when he recognizes Jack. Beau kidnaps Bess to lure Harry into a trap and get his revenge and its up to Harry's pal Cimmaron Bill (Duke Lee), to rescue him. 

     The story is economically put together and does a good job setting up all the characters and establishing their relationships. Ford's painterly compositions are already becoming apparent here. The shot recreating the Remington painting is certainly a highlight but there are many other stand out moments as well: the subtle lighting of Bess' face coming through the window when she is kidnapped by Ross and discovers her brothers treachery, the shots of Harry and Beau struggling through the desert landscape which anticipate the directors work on The Three Godfathers (1949), or the high angle of Bess waiting for Harry at the river with the framing anticipating a similar shot of Claire Trevor in Stagecoach (1939).

     Overall, Hell Bent is a fairly solid western and well worth watching for fans of silent cinema or of John Ford.

Score: 7/10