Western Wednesdays: Forty Guns (1957)

So I guess I need to watch more Samuel Fuller movies...

          In the opening scene of Forty Guns a group of riders ride down a cliff, shot in low angle, bearing down on a solitary wagon, shot in high angle. Immediately the power dynamics and the basic premise of the story are established visually. The three men newly arrived in the wagon are thrown against the territory's established power. This kind of mastery of form is consistent throughout the film. It contrasts greatly with many, less proficient films made today, but is perhaps more common in a 50's western film. What is unusual is the fact that the forty riders are lead not by a man but by a woman.

     The woman is Jessica Drummond (Barbara Stanwyck), a local landowner who runs the territory. The men in the wagon are the Bonnell brothers, lead by Griff (Barry Sullivan), a U.S. Marshal and a famous gunfighter. On arriving in the town Griff meets the sheriff, Chisholm (Hank Worden). Chisholm is going blind and wants Griff to protect him from Brockie (John Ericson), Jessica's hard drinking, unstable younger brother. When Chisholm is killed by Brockie, Griff confronts and arrests him, only for him to be summarily bailed out by Drummond. This creates a conflict between Drummond and Bonnell. Brockie wants to kill Bonnell, while Griff is looking to arrest one of Jessica's men, Howard Swain (Chuck Roberson), for mail robbery.

     Despite being on opposite sides of this conflict, Jessica and Griff feel attracted to each other. Both have lived rough, violent lives that they now want to leave behind. Jessica love for Brockie, who she sees as more of a son then a brother, puts her at odds with her feelings for Griff. Griff, meanwhile, is hesitant to give in to his feelings for her since she is involved in illicit activity. To further complicate matters, Logan (Dean Jagger), the sheriff, is under Drummond's hire and also has feelings for her, making him jealous of Griff. Meanwhile, Griff's brother Wes (Gene Barry) begins courting Louvenie Spanger (Eve Brent), the daughter of the town gunsmith and his younger brother Chico resists Griff's attempts to keep him out of the conflict.

     I won't spoil the ending but I will say that it was unpredictable, both in its violence and its overall optimistic coda. Ultimately, Jessica's loyalty to Brockie is pitted against her love for Griff. While Griff's vengeful, violent tendencies threaten to tear them apart unless Jessica shows herself to be the "better man".

     In addition to the brilliant direction and writing from Samuel Fuller, Forty Guns also features solid performances. Barbara Stanwyck steals every scene she's in as Jessica Drummond moving effortlessly between the hardened cattle baron and the weary, vulnerable woman. Barry Sullivan feels world weary, yet supremely confident as Griff while Gene Barry's Wes provides a more relaxed, happy-go-lucky contrast. John Ericson is appropriately unlikable as Brockie and Dean Jagger does an excellent job in the films best supporting role of the tragically incompetent Ned Logan.

     Forty Guns is a subtlety subversive western written and directed with real panache. Rarely have I seen such a confident piece of film-making.

Score: 9/10