Western Wednesdays: Yellow Sky (1948)

     Yellow Sky was released in December of 1948. It is directed by William A. Wellman (The Ox-Bow Incident) and written by Lamar Trotti from an unpublished novel by W.R. Burnett. In it a group of six outlaws, on the run from the law, take shelter in a nearly abandoned ghost town, occupied only by a young woman and her aging grandfather. When the outlaws discover that the man and his granddaughter are hoarding a large sum of gold, conflict becomes inevitable.

     Yellow Sky is a rather dark western. The main protagonist "Stretch" (Gregory Peck) is not only an outlaw but a rather ruthless character in general. He is not averse to leaving his companions to die of thirst in the desert or to wooing "Mike" (Anne Baxter), the young woman who the outlaws meet in the ghost town, in a, shall we say, rather forceful manner. It is only a certain underlying of honor (he refuses to break his word) that keeps him from being completely despicable.

     There's a lot of sexual tension running through this film. The outlaws, with the exception of Richard Widmark's "Dude" who is too overcome with greed to care, all lust after Mike. Stretch, as the groups de-facto leader, protects her from them while pursuing her himself. At one point he tackles her to the ground and kisses her against her will. Refreshingly, she is not complacent toward him initially, and actually shoots at him, grazing him in the head, to teach him a lesson. Less refreshingly, she does end up falling for him over the course of the film.

     There are reasons for this. Stretch shows himself to be at least somewhat honorable when he goes against his gang and insists on leaving Mike and her grandfather the agreed to share of their gold. He also relates some of his background. Growing up in Kansas before the war, his family were constantly in danger of attacks from Quantrill's Raiders. As a result he grew up with violence all around him. He signed up to fight for the Union during the war during which both of his parents died from an epidemic. He also swears on the bible that he will make sure they get the share of the gold he promised them. I can accept Mike becoming more sympathetic toward Stretch after this. But, considering his behavior toward her earlier in the film, having them become romantically involved is, well, quite a stretch (no pun intended).

     The idea of the war shaping the lives of the outlaws in a negative way, leading to their lives of crime, is subtlety hinted at throughout the film. After hearing Stretch's story Granpa tells Mike, "I guess the war has upset a lot of those boys and set them off on the wrong foot." The film is somewhat subversive in this way, asking the audience to sympathize with these lawless, violent men.

     William Wellman's direction is really great. He and cinematographer Joseph MacDonald (My Darling Clementine) fill the movie with stark yet beautiful images. The is a contrast between the cold, harsh environment and the characters passion and lust is accentuated through the film's imagery. One shot, looking through the barrel of Mike's gun toward Stretch, anticipates the James Bond films. The climax, where Stretch and Dude face off in an abandoned saloon, is one of the more unique climaxes I've seen in a western film, at least in the way it's filmed. Looking through the window from outside of the building, we hear the shots but cannot see who was hit, leaving us in suspense.

     It's definitely a well cast film. Peck perfectly balances Stretch's duplicity and sense of honor. Anne Baxter brings a real sense of strength and fiery intensity to Mike. James Barton bring a certain unhinged quirkiness to Granpa. He's a tough old coot but one who can roll with the punches, and he knows when he's beat. John Russell is appropriately slimey and arrogant as the lustful, violent Lengthy.  Charles Kemper, Harry Morgan, and Robert Arthur all bring just enough charisma to keep you from hating Walrus, Half Pint, and Bull Run (respectively). Finally Richard Widmark steals all of his scenes as the conniving dandy Dude. Even before hearing his surprisingly sympathetic backstory, you know there's more going on behind those beady eyes then it appears on the surface.

     It's definitely a flawed film. The romance between Stretch and Mike is problematic both from a writing perspective and ethically. Border line abuse and manipulation is not a healthy foundation for a relationship. There's a scene involving Apache's that's a little pointless and intrusive. The ending of the film, where Stretch and the other two surviving outlaws return the money they stole at the beginning and Stretch buys a bonnet for Mike before they all ride off into the sunset, feels pretty tacked on and way too upbeat compared to the rest of the film.

     Featuring solid performances,  Magnificent direction, and some subversive writing, Yellow Sky is certainly worth a watch despite some of its more obtuse flaws.

Score: 8/10