THE WESTERN TALKS!, 1928-1937

"It would seem that the western, telling its story in terms of action rather than dialogue, should have been relatively unconcerned about the mechanical problems of sound .... [But] because of many actual and alleged problems, including most specifically the recording of the camera's own operational noise, the camera became rooted to the ground and housed in small 'sweat boxes.'

"In the first year or two of sound, the western didn't seem important enough to justify the necessary effort.  Like the big elaborate swashbuckler, it was considered a dead relic of the silents and of no major commercial value." -- William K. Everson, A Pictorial History of the Western Film

The humble B-western dominated western filmmaking in the silent era, just as it did during the first two decades following the advent of sound.

There were some silent westerns produced to appeal to adult audiences, those starring William S. Hart, for example, or directed by a young John Ford, but the biggest star of the era was Tom Mix, whose fast-moving, action-filled films were geared to a younger audience.

Hart

Mix and Tony

But since westerns were by their nature outdoor films, the coming of sound, and its crude sound equipment, meant that most productions would be filmed indoors and consequently the western would be at a disadvantage.

This was true even after IN OLD ARIZONA (Fox, 1928) proved that sound movies could be filmed outdoors.  However, even this film was unavoidably stilted and static because of the problems presented by the sound equipment which dictated that the camera had to remain stationary much of the time.

Warner Baxter is the Cisco Kid in IN OLD ARIZONA

Despite the success of the film, the major studios tended to shy away from outdoor pictures. Under the best of conditions, it was still a cumbersome process when compared to filming on a sound stage.  As it turned out, it would be the Poverty Row studios that rushed in where the majors feared to tread.

Many of them didn't even own a sound stage and didn't possess the necessary financial wherewithal to rent one. For that reason, among others, B-westerns flooded the market.  Many of them were so crudely done and amateurishly acted and unintentionally laughable that they are extremely painful for even lovers of western films to watch today.

But the equipment improved and the films began to slowly but surely improve as studios such as Republic and Monogram began to produce superior B's and some of the majors also got back into the business of making quality B-westerns.

And as equipment improved and logistical problems were worked out the majors also began to film A-westerns geared to adult audiences.  It was still a slow process, however, and did not build up a head of steam until the landmark year of 1939.

As Les Adams and Buck Rainey noted in their detailed study of western movies, Shoot-em-Ups, the years from 1933 to 1937 were boom years for the B-western programmer, but not so much for the A-western.  In fact, almost 500 of the 530 western features shot during the period were B-westerns.

What follows are some of the significant sound A-westerns made prior to 1939, beginning with, naturally:

IN OLD ARIZONA (Fox, 1928)

DIRECTOR: Irving Cummings and Raoul Walsh;  WRITERS: adaptation by Tom Barry based on O. Henry's short story, The Caballero's Way; CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Arthur Edeson

CAST:  Warner Baxter, Edmund Lowe, Dorothy Burgess, Henry Armetta, Frank Campeau, Tom London, J. Farrell MacDonald 


Warner Baxter is the Cisco Kid, a Robin Hood type who robs the rich and gives to the poor.  In O. Henry's short story the Kid was actually an Anglo, but Baxter plays him as a Mexican, unconvincing accent and all, and in the many Cisco Kid films (and TV series) that followed, he would never return to his original Anglo status. 

In the second year of the Academy Awards the film was nominated for five Oscars out of a possible seven.  However, Baxter's award for Best Actor was the film's only winner.  Despite the award it is difficult today to watch his attempt to portray a Latin outlaw without cringing at its stereotypical nature.  Neither his performance nor the film has stood the test of time.


"[It] was of its time -- a romantic triangle melodrama with a gloomy ending." -- Brian Garfield, Western Films: A Complete Guide

"[It] was hardly a super-western but was certainly one of style and importance.  Microphones hidden under prairie scrub and foliage enabled naturalistic sound effects to be picked up, and even more than the gunshots and the galloping hooves, the sound of frying bacon impressed itself on viewers and showed that the realistic quality of sound was perhaps just what the western needed. -- William K. Everson, A Pictorial History of the Western Film

"Novelty of first major sound western and first talkie to take microphones outdoors has long worn off, leaving only a stilted performance led by Baxter's dubious Oscar winner as the Cisco Kid." -- Leonard Maltin

THE VIRGINIAN (Paramount, 1929)


DIRECTOR: Victor Fleming;  PRODUCER:
B.P. Schulberg;  WRITERS:  screenplay by Howard Estabrook based on novel by Owen Wister;  CINEMATOGRAPHER: J. Roy Hunt;  Assistant Director: Henry Hathaway;  Dialogue Coach: Randolph Scott

CAST:  Gary Cooper, Walter Huston, Mary Brian, Richard Arlen, Chester Conklin, Eugene Palette, Victor Potel, Ernie Adams, George Chandler, Bob Kortman, Ethan Laidlaw, Lee Meehan, Jack Pennick, Randolph Scott, Charles Stevens


TRAMPAS (Walter Huston):  "Well, who's talkin' to you?"

THE VIRGINIAN (Gary Cooper):  "I'm talkin' to you, Trampas!"

TRAMPAS: "When I want to know anything from you, I'll tell ya, you long-legged son-of-a-...."

THE VIRGINIAN:  [Trampas stops talking abruptly as the Virginian's pistol is pressed against his abdomen.]  "If you want to call me that, smile!"

TRAMPAS:  "With a gun against my belly, I -- I always smile!"
[He grins broadly.]
  

Owen Wister's seminal western novel is perhaps the most famous ever written. It was so popular that it was twice produced as a play and has been the basis for six films, including two during the silent era.  And then there was the popular TV series that ran for nine seasons from 1962 to 1971.

The 1929 film is known primarily for the above scene and the exciting shoot-out conclusion.  An early talkie, it is generally considered to be a classic film and easily the best production of the story.  It also made Gary Cooper a leading man though real stardom would have to wait a few more years. 

"[It] remains a classic: the essential western, still vital, still funny and moving by turns .... Cooper's performance ... still impresses, but Huston and Arlen aren't far behind ... THE VIRGINIAN is fun, and very good; possibly we may never come nearer to the ultimate western." -- Brian Garfield, Western Films: A Complete Guide

".... stiff but interesting western, salvaged in good climactic shoot-out." -- Leonard Maltin

".... verbose, slow and unlikely .... The film's slowness is a direct result of the new slower pace sound brought to the cinema." -- Phil Hardy, The Western



BILLY THE KID (MGM, 1930)

DIRECTOR: King Vidor;  PRODUCER: King Vidor; WRITERS: dialogue by Laurence Stallings, et al. based on book by Walter Noble Burns, The Saga of Billy the Kid; CINEMATOGRAPHER: Gordon Avil;  TECHNICAL ADVISER: William S. Hart

CAST: Johnny Mack Brown (as John Mack Brown), Wallace Beery, Kay Johnson, Wyndham Standing, James Marcus, Russell Simpson, Roscoe Ates, Warner Richmond, Hank Bell, Chris-Pin Martin

The story of Billy the Kid had been filmed a couple of times during the silent era, but by the dawn of the sound era he had become an almost forgotten historical character.  That all changed in 1926, however, with the publication of Walter Noble Burns' pseudo-biography, The Saga of Billy the Kid, which was not as much a biography of historical Billy as it was of the legendary Billy.  The bestselling book effectively resurrected Billy from the dustbin of history -- or at least the legendary version, the tragic hero, the misunderstood one who was a victim of circumstances.

Johnny Mack Brown ... brought athletic ability and a pleasing personality to the role of Billy, although it was Wallace Beery as Pat Garrett who gave the best performance, a surprisingly underplayed piece of acting for such an extrovert player and an equally surprising underwritten role. -- William K. Everson, A Pictorial History of the Western Film

William S. Hart served as technical adviser to the film and this no doubt added an air of authenticity to the production.  And so did the fact that the film was shot on the actual locations of the Lincoln County, New Mexico conflict.

However, the old cowboy actor had to be displeased with the happy ending that was added to the film, one that allowed Billy to ride across the border to enjoy a peaceful life with the woman he loved.  At least that is what happened in the version released in the U.S.; the film distributed in Europe included the historical ending in which Garrett shot and killed Billy.  One supposes that the producers didn't think U.S. audiences would be willing to accept such a tragic conclusion.

It was hoped by all concerned that the film would make a star of Brown and it did, but not the kind that he or the studio envisioned.  

What he did eventually become, after being demoted to Poverty Row for a time, was one of the most pleasing and most durable of all the B-western stars, spending most of his career at Universal and later Monogram.


"The slow film is rather talky but it recaptures the legend of Billy the Kid very nicely .... The movie conveys an overpowering flavor and sense of history, in terms of time and place, rather than the facts ... and the movie was shot on actual locations at a time when they hadn't changed perceptibly." -- Brian Garfield, Western Films: A Complete Guide

" ... the photography is good, but always naturalistic, the characters drab in dress, the buildings ramshackle, the streets dusty .... its script is frankly untidy, yet the film is quite certainly the best and most convincing of all the Billy the Kid sagas." -- William K. Everson, A Pictorial History of the Western Film

"[It] is undeniably faithful to the look of the old West, despite its big budget and romantic plot." -- Phil Hardy, The Western

"Realistic early talkie western ...; some performances seem highly dated today." -- Leonard Maltin 



THE BIG TRAIL (Fox, 1930)


DIRECTOR: Raoul Walsh;  PRODUCER: Winfield R. Sheehan;  WRITERS: screenplay by Marie Boyle, Jack Peabody, and Florence Postal based on story by Hal G. Evarts;  CINEMATOGRAPHER: Lucien N. Andriot and Arthur Edeson

CAST: John Wayne, Marguerite Churchill, El Brendel, Tully Marshall, Tyrone Power, Sr., Charles Stevens, Chief Big Tree, Ward Bond, Iron Eyes Cody

"The most important picture ever produced" was apparently not a unanimous opinion.

Great pains were taken to give this wagon train tale an authentic look, but the film is severely hampered by a B-western script and Wayne's lack of experience as an actor.  "The most important picture ever produced" was a failure at the box office where it really counted.

Much has been written about this film due to the fact that it provided John Wayne with his first important role. THE VIRGINIAN made Gary Cooper a leading man, but BILLY THE KID failed to do the same for Johnny Mack Brown. And Wayne, like Johnny Mack, would be relegated to B-westerns, but finally, unlike Johnny Mack, he would finally escape in 1939 when John Ford chose him to star in STAGECOACH (UA, 1939)  
  

But even then, like Cooper before him, the film made him a leading man but true stardom would have to wait several years, in his case, almost a decade, until Howard Hawks cast him in RED RIVER (UA, 1948).  The actor's long and fruitful association with John Ford began after that and eventually he became the biggest star of them all, especially in, but not restricted to, western films.


In a perverse way the failure of THE BIG TRAIL may have worked in the actor's favor. Those years at Monogram and Republic starring in B-westerns are where he finally learned his craft.

"THE BIG TRAIL was a surprising box office failure .... Wayne ... is more than adequate in the lead .... The sequences of the wagons fording rivers and being manhandled up mountains and the action scenes are both realistic and visually breathtaking." -- Phil Hardy, The Western

".... an outstanding early sound epic .... But ... the authenticity of detail and the sweep of history was somewhat let down by a standardized 'B' plot ...." -- William K. Everson, A Pictorial History of the Western Film

"The script is poor, but so is Wayne's acting; he is wooden at best, and embarrassingly inept at worst." -- Brian Garfield, Western Films: A Complete Guide

"Epic western may seem creaky to some viewers, but remains one of the most impressive early talkies, with its grand sweep and naturalistic use of sound." -- Leonard Maltin

CIMARRON (RKO, 1931)


DIRECTOR: Wesley Ruggles;  PRODUCERS: William LeBaron and Wesley Ruggles;  WRITERS: dialogue by Howard Estabrook based on novel by Edna Ferber;  CINEMATOGRAPHER: Edward Cronjager;  SECOND UNIT DIRECTOR: B. Reeves Eason

CAST: Richard Dix, Irene Dunne, Estelle Taylor, William Collier, Jr., Nance O'Neil, Roscoe Ates, George F. Stone, Stanley Fields, Edna May Oliver, Bob Kortman, Frank Lackteen, Ethan Laidlaw


CIMARRON is primarily noted for two things: 1) it was the first western to win an Oscar for Best Picture (the second to win the award was DANCES WITH WOLVES [1990], fifty-nine years later) and 2) the Oklahoma land rush scene staged by the incomparable action director B. Reeves Eason.

It was reported that the land rush scene took a week to film, utilizing 5,000 extras, 28 cameramen, 6 still photographers, and 27 camera assistants.

Unfortunately, as critics have noted the land rush is the most exciting thing about the film and it occurs at the beginning.  After that, it is unsurprising that the film had a tendency to lose its momentum.

However, it was nominated for seven Oscars and won three (Best Picture, Art Direction, and Best Writing Adaptation).  Both of its stars, Richard Dix and Irene Dunne (her film debut), were nominated for their performances but neither won.

Dix would go on to star in 18 other westerns, but except for one comedic contemporary western, this would be the only one for Dunne.

It was also the year's biggest money maker at the box office, but because of its expensive production costs it still lost money.  


"The opening spectacle -- the Oklahoma land rush -- is tremendous and it's a solid empire-building movie about the conversion of Indian Territory into the state of Oklahoma and the subsequent building of oil fiefdoms ..., it's soap more than horse opera ... it leaves quite a lot to be desired for modern audiences, and with the climactic land rush at the beginning rather than the end, it has nowhere to go but downhill." -- Brian Garfield, Western Films: A Complete Guide

"... it tended to be bogged down in character studies and had the structural flaw of presenting its highlight -- the massive Cherokee Strip land rush sequence at the beginning of the picture .... the film was well-served by Richard Dix and Irene Dunne in the leads [and] many good supporting performers .... " -- William K. Everson, A Pictorial History of Western Film

"Though Ruggles' spirited direction seems dated now, the outdoor scenes still remain impressive." -- Phil Hardy, The Western

" ... it dates badly, particularly Dix's overripe performance -- but it's still worth seeing." -- Leonard Maltin



LAW AND ORDER (Universal 1932)

Based on W.R. Burnett's novel, Saint Johnson, the film is a thinly disguised fictional treatment of the events leading to and including the shoot-out at Tombstone's O.K. Corral.  It stars Walter Huston as a Wyatt Earp-like character with Harry Carey filling the role of the Doc Holliday-like character.

I earlier reviewed the film and if you wish you can read it here.



THE TEXAS RANGERS (Paramount, 1936) 

DIRECTOR: King Vidor; PRODUCER: King Vidor: WRITERS: screenplay by Louis Stevens from a story by King Vidor and Elizabeth Hill based upon data from Walter Prescott Webb's book, The Texas Rangers; CINEMATOGRAPHER: Edward Cronjager 

CAST: Fred McMurray, Jack Oakie, Jean Parker, Lloyd Nolan, Edward Ellis, Benny Bartlett, Fred Kohler, George "Gabby" Hayes, Stanley Andrews, Irving Bacon, Hank Bell, Neal Hart, Charles Middleton

Three desperadoes (L-R): Fred McMurray, Jack Oakie, Lloyd Nolan; two will eventually go straight.

What a pleasant surprise!  It is a much better film than the attention it has received would indicate.  I had read about it, but had never viewed it until recently.  It wasn't because I didn't want to, it was because I couldn't locate it. But what I had read in works dealing with the history of the western, with one exception, had never given the film much more than a  brief mention.

The exception is A Pictorial History of the Western by William K. Everson.  Everson writes:

"By far the best of Paramount's quartet of mid-thirties epics was THE TEXAS RANGERS and indeed, despite its weaknesses, it is still one of the most enjoyable Paramount super-westerns from any period.  It was directed by King Vidor in 1936, his first western since BILLY THE KID [1930], and a much more polished if gripping work .... [T]he script ... was not ambitious enough ... ostensibly based on Texas Rangers records, but actually it seems to consist of well-known Ranger incidents ... fused with a very standard "B" picture plot which constantly threatens to reduce its epic stature.

"[B]ut Vidor fills his film with enough incident, action, and well-developed characters for these flaws to matter too much.

"Even though not a classic, [it] is an exhilarating western with a refreshing schoolboy vigor."

By the way, the other three Paramount super-westerns that Everson alludes to and ranks below THE TEXAS RANGERS are: THE PLAINSMAN (1936), WELLS FARGO (1937), and THE TEXANS (1938).  Two of them are coming up next and I plan a complete review of THE TEXAS RANGERS in the near future.

Fred McMurray: outlaw?

McMurray and Oakie: Rangers or outlaws?

Gabby: crooked judge?

THE PLAINSMAN (Paramount, 1936)

DIRECTOR: Cecil B. DeMille;  PRODUCERS: Cecil B. DeMille and William H. Pine; WRITERS: screenplay by Waldemar Young, Harold Lamb, and Lynn Riggs; CINEMATOGRAPHER: Victor Milner;  SECOND UNIT DIRECTOR: Arthur Rosson

CAST:  Gary Cooper, Jean Arthur, James Ellison, Charles Bickford, Helen Burgess, Porter Hall, Paul Harvey, John Miljan, Fred Kohler, Harry Woods, Anthony Quinn, Francis McDonald, George "Gabby" Hayes, Fuzzy Knight, Stanley Andrews, Francis Ford, Irving Bacon, Hank Bell, Monte Blue, Lane Chandler, Bud Osborne, Charles Stevens, Chief Thundercloud, Hank Worden

Gary Cooper is Wild Bill Hickok, Jean Arthur is Calamity Jane, James Ellison is Buffalo Bill Cody, and Cecil B. DeMille is in charge of what was his first western epic.  The film should have benefited from its big budget, but it didn't always. The director always preferred shooting his epics indoors and never liked spending much time on location, to the detriment of this film and others he helmed.  Consequently, the film is marred by phony studio "exteriors," back projection shots, and actors riding mock-up horses. In fact, most of the outdoor scenes, and not just the action scenes, were shot by second unit directors, in this case, Arthur Rosson.

Wild Bill gets the drop on crooked gambler

But the audiences of the '30's didn't seem to mind and it was a popular, if not critical, success.  And the good cast is able to overcome its shortcomings to some degree and the end result is entertaining.

Jean Arthur is Calamity Jane

James Ellison is Buffalo Bill Cody

And, by the way, Porter Hall is Jack McCall, the dastardly coward who dispatches Wild Bill in a Deadwood saloon, shooting him from behind, of course. Oh, and another thing, if you are interested in the true history of the three principal characters it would be best to look elsewhere.

"... for all its attention to petty historical detail ... it plays fast and loose with history .... Slow moving and overly romantic by modern standards in its depiction of westward expansion, [it] remains an entertaining spectacle." -- Phil Hardy, The Western

"[W]hile a big popular success, it was hardly a good picture.  Its script was heavy-handed and obvious, and far too much of the film was spoiled by DeMille's over-fondness for shooting as much of his pictures as possible within the confines of the studio.  Nevertheless ... the production as a whole was big and certainly entertaining." -- William K. Everson, A Pictorial History of the Western Film

" ... performances by most of the players are spirited.  But its juvenile, an overblown programmer.  [It] isn't much of a movie but it did establish Cooper as the archetypal western hero." -- Brian Garfield, Western Films: A Complete Guide

"Typical DeMille hokum, a big, outlandish western .... About as authentic as BLAZING SADDLES [WB, 1974], but who cares -- it's still good fun." -- Leonard Maltin



WELLS FARGO (Paramount, 1937)

DIRECTOR: Frank Lloyd;  PRODUCERS: Howard Estabrook and Frank Lloyd; WRITERS: screenplay by Paul Schofield, Gerald Geraghty, and Frederick J. Jackson based on story by Stuart N. Lake;  CINEMATOGRAPHER: Theodor Sparkuhl

CAST: Joel McCrea, Bob Burns, Frances Dee, Lloyd Nolan, Ralph Morgan, Johnny Mack Brown, Porter Hall, Robert Cummings, Harry Davenport, Frank Conroy, Peggy Stewart, Ernie Adams, Hank Bell, Lane Chandler, Richard Denning, Jack Perrin, Hal Taliaferro, Harry Woods

Joel McCrea and Frances Dee were Mr. and Mrs. McCrea in real life.  

There's a lot of soap in this hoss opera, a nation-building epic about the formation of Wells & Fargo, Co. McCrea portrays a troubleshooter who is instrumental in the company's efforts to establish an overland freight and mail service. The film covers the years represented by the California Gold Rush, the Pony Express, and the Civil War. This requires the stars to age several decades and suffer through many trials and tribulations, including strains on family life, during those eventful times.

Before all is said and done the story evolves, make that devolves, into more of a costume drama than western adventure.  My advice is to skip this one and to watch Four Faces West, a much more satisfying western starring McCrea and Dee. 

However, WELLS FARGO was McCrea's first starring role in a western and there would come a time when he would devote his entire career to starring in the genre.  And those of us who love westerns (and that should be everyone) can grateful for that.


"[Joel McCrea] proved at home in the saddle here, and hence his selection as the star of UNION PACIFIC [Paramount] two years later ... but the film can be a bore unless you are in a tolerant mood." -- Brian Garfield, Western Films: A Complete Guide

" ... a long, carefully made, but stiff, dull and practically actionless movie, long on historical data, romance, and interior scenes, short on excitement and exteriors." -- William K. Everson, A Pictorial History of the Western Film

"Paramount's production values are solid enough, though Lloyd wisely eschews any crowd scenes, but the material doesn't stretch to the 115 minutes' running time." -- Phil Hardy, The Western

FOUR FACES WEST (Sherman/UA, 1948)

DIRECTOR: Alfred E. Green; PRODUCER: Harry Sherman;  WRITERS: screenplay by C. Graham Baker and Teddi Sherman;  adaptation by William and Milarde Brent; based upon Eugene Manlove Rhodes novel, Paso Por Aqui;  CINEMATOGRAPHY: Russell Harlan

CAST: Joel MCrea, Frances Dee, Charles Bickford, Joseph Calleia, William Conrad, Martin Garralaga, Raymond Largay, Dan White, Eva Novak, Sam Flint, Forrest Taylor, William Haade, Gene Roth, Paul Burns


THE PLOT.
On the day that Pat Garrett (Charles Bickford) is being introduced to the citizens of Santa Maria, a cowboy by the name of Ross McEwen (Joel McCrea) robs the bank, which is easy to accomplish because every bank employee but one is down the street listening to Garrett give a speech.  A polite outlaw, he first asks for a loan of two thousand dollars.  When Frenger (John Parrish), the banker, asks him for collateral he pulls his six-gun and declares it all the collateral he needs.  He then writes out an I.O.U. for the money and signs it "Jefferson Davis."

Later we learn that McEwen in desperation has resorted to robbery so that he can send the money to his father who is about to lose his ranch. 

He forces the banker to ride out of town with him.  Once they have traveled several miles he leaves the banker without a mount or his boots and forced to walk back to town.  After arriving in town and announcing the hold-up, the incensed banker places a reward of three thousand dollars, dead or alive, on the head of McEwen.  That amount of money leads to a frenzied manhunt all out of proportion to the crime committed and includes not only Garrett and his deputy Clint (Dan White), but also members of a deputized posse as well as free-lancing bounty hunters.

While making preparations to board a slow-moving train, McEwen is bitten by a rattlesnake.  In a weakened condition, it is only with the aid of Monte Marquez (Joseph Calleia) that he is able to board the train.  Luckily, one of the passengers on the train is a nurse, Fay Hollister (Frances Dee), and she is able to treat McEwen's snakebite.  Fay feels an immediate attraction to McEwen and  senses that he is in some kind of trouble.  The attraction is clearly reciprocal.

Eventually, Ross and Fay arrive in Alamogordo where Fay will be working in a hospital.  Alamogordo was also Monte's destination.  He owns a saloon in that town.  He has befriended Ross on their journey and has helped the outlaw out of several tough spots along the way.  Now he helps Ross get a job working on a nearby ranch.  Ross sends some of the money that he earns on the job (and gambling) to the bank in Santa Maria to pay off part of the I.O.U. that he gave the banker.  However, he is forced to flee when Garrett and his deputy ride into town.  But before leaving, he gives Fay a ring.

Ross says goodbye

As he makes his way southward in an effort to reach the border, McEwen resorts to an unusual mode of transportation to escape from his pursuers.  He saddles a steer and rides it across New Mexico's White Sands.  The scene is wonderfully filmed by Russell Harlan, who had worked with Sherman on the Hopalong Cassidy series, which was the best photographed B-Western films of them all, and also on Sherman's other post-Hoppy Western, RAMROD (Sherman/UA).  In fact, Harlan's photography is one of the best qualities found in all of Sherman's exceptional productions.  He would go on to an outstanding career as one of Hollywood's best cinematographers.

McEwen is on the verge of making his way across the border when he stops to steal a horse.  Inside the house, however, he discovers a Mexican family of four, all stricken with diphtheria.  Does he ride on and escape into Mexico?  Or does he stay and do what he can for the family?  

  
Well, the answer is obvious, isn't it?  This is Joel McCrea after all. During the hold-up, he writes an I.O.U. and gives it to the banker.  Later, he even begins to pay the money back. He doesn't even fire a shot in the entire movie, but does neither Pat Garrett nor anyone else.  In fact, that is the one thing the film is noted for: a Western in which there is not a single gunshot.  Weapons are pulled and aimed, but never fired.

Of course he stays.  Eventually he even lights a bonfire in an attempt to attract help.  It works.  But guess whom it attracts.  How does it all end?  Revealing that would spoil the story.


THE PRODUCER.
In the history of Western movies, Harry "Pop" Sherman (1884-1952) was one of the more interesting producers.  Throughout most of his career, he was able to produce independent films that were then released and distributed by major studios.

He is best known for creating the production company that in 1935 began filming the Hopalong Cassidy B-Western series.  During those years, however, he also produced a number of one-shot B-Western specials that were always entertaining.  In the mid-40's, he turned over production of the Hoppy series to its star, William Boyd, and ventured into A-Western territory.  He produced BUFFALO BILL (1944) for Fox.  What followed was even better, two superior Westerns made by his production company and released through United Artists: RAMROD (1947) and FOUR FACES WEST (1948).  The three films, all starring Joel McCrea, are the last films produced by Sherman.  All in all, it was quite a good track record.


THE WRITER.
The screenplay was based on a short novel by Eugene Manlove Rhodes that was originally published in The Saturday Evening Post in 1926.  Its title, Paso Por Aqui (I passed here), was a reference to an inscription on a huge sandstone formation located in New Mexico.  The Spaniards had named it El Morro (The Headland) and the Anglos christened it Inscription Rock.  Today it is a national monument.

The National Park Service finds itself in the somewhat ironic position of protecting the old inscriptions while attempting to prevent any modern additions.
 
As a result of his days as a cowboy and rancher, Rhodes had an intimate knowledge of this part of New Mexico.  Not only did he live there, but he is  buried there in the San Andres Mountains. 

The inscription on Rhodes gravestone reads "Paso por aqui"

Of course, the screenwriters, which included Harry Sherman's daughter, Teddi, took liberties with Rhodes' original story.  They modified the ending and added the romance angle.  There was a nurse in the original story, but there was no romantic attachment.  The screenplay also makes Pat Garrett something he was not, a U.S. marshal.  The real Garrett was a county sheriff as he was in Rhodes story.  Rhodes would have known that since he was personally acquainted with the lawman.

Pat Garrett

Eugene Manlove Rhodes

The title was changed, too. Monte explains the meaning of the paso por aqui inscription on El Morro to Ross and Fay, but it was not retained as the title.  It is impossible to explain the title that was selected.  I suppose the four faces are represented by Ross, Fay, Monte, and Pat Garrett.  However, the movement in the film is not toward the West, but always southward.


THE CAST. 
McCrea made his first film appearance in 1924 and was given his first lead role in THE SILVER HORDE (RKO, 1929), an outdoor adventure yarn set in Alaska.  For the next fifteen years, the versatile actor went on to star mostly in comedies and melodramas, but also an occasional Western.  But beginning with BUFFALO BILL in 1944, McCrea would star almost exclusively in Western films.

In a 1978 interview, McCrea was quoted as saying: "I liked doing comedies, but as I got older I was better suited to do Westerns. Because I think it becomes unattractive for an older fellow trying to look young, falling in love with attractive girls in those kinds of situations...Anyway, I always felt so much more comfortable in the Western. The minute I got a horse and a hat and a pair of boots on, I felt easier. I didn't feel like I was an actor anymore. I felt like I was the guy out there doing it."

 

Mr. and Mrs. Joel McCrea

Frances Dee and Joel McCrea were one of Hollywood's great romantic teams.  No, not because of the films they appeared in, but because they were married to each other for fifty-seven years.  They met during the filming of THE SILVER CORD in 1933.  They married that year and went on to appear together in three other films, with FOUR FACES WEST being the last one. Dee made her final film appearance in GYPSY COLT in 1954.  

McCrea died in 1990 on the date of the couples' fifty-seventh anniversary.  Dee lived another fourteen years, dying at age ninety-six.

Bickford and Dee

Charles Bickford was one of Hollywood's greatest supporting actors.  He received nominations for an Academy Award for his supporting roles in THE SONG OF BERNADETTE (1943), THE FARMER'S DAUGHTER (1947), and JOHNNY BELINDA (1948).  He gave strong performances in Western films such as DUEL IN THE SUN 1947), THE BIG COUNTRY (1958), and THE UNFORGIVEN (1960).  

In fact, his last film role was in a Western: A BIG HAND FOR A LITTLE LADY (1966).

He was at his peak as a supporting actor at the time that he appeared in FOUR FACES WEST.  In it, he is one of the screen's best Pat Garretts.    

Joseph Calleia was not Hispanic, though he was often cast as one.  He was born Giuseppe Maria Spurrin-Calleja on the island of Malta.  His other Western roles include THE BAD MAN OF BRIMSTONE (1937), MY LITTLE CHICKADEE (1940), WYOMING (1940), BRANDED (1951) and John Wayne's THE ALAMO (1960).

Joseph Calleia

*****
THE REVIEWS

Brian Garfield wrote in Western Films: A Complete Guide that FOUR FACES WEST is "a splendid example of what a low-budget Western can be; its excellence is such that it can make you feel as if you've never seen a Western before."

A reviewer with the New York Times wrote that "FOUR FACES WEST emerges not only as a surprising film, but as an adult and edifying film."

Both FOUR FACES WEST and Sherman's earlier film, RAMROD, received generally good reviews.  Today they are considered to be two of the best Westerns of their era.  Unfortunately, however, neither did well at the box office and Sherman never produced another film.

 

TOP 21 FAVORITE WESTERNS -- RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY

#5

RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY  (MGM, 1962)

DIRECTOR: Sam Peckinpah;  PRODUCER: Richard E. Lyons;  WRITERS: N.B. Stone, Jr. and Sam Peckinpah (uncredited);  Cinematography: Lucien Ballard

CAST: Randolph Scott, Joel McCrea, Mariette Hartley, Ron Starr, Edgar Buchanan, R.G. Armstrong, Jenie Jackson, James Drury, L.Q. Jones, John Anderson, John Davis Chandler, Warren Oates, Byron Foulger, Percy Helton


Gil Westrum (Randolph Scott):  "Do you know what's on the back of a poor man when he dies?  The clothes of pride.  They're not a bit warmer to him dead or alive.  Is that what you want, Steve?

Steve Judd (Joel McCrea):  "All I want is to enter my house justified."


THE STARS AND THE PLOT.
Randolph Scott had decided to retire after COMANCHE STATION (Ranown/Columbia, 1960), and the film would have allowed him to make a graceful exit. 

His interest in a comeback was aroused when producer Richard Lyons showed him a story by N.B. Stone titled Guns in the Afternoon, a tale about two old friends, Steve Judd and Gil Westrum, two aging ex-lawmen who are hired to deliver a gold shipment.  Judd, attempting to maintain his code of honor to the very end, tries to execute the job with as much integrity and human dignity as he can muster, while Westrum, the more complex and interesting character, decides to steal the gold.

The plot also concerns the liberation of a young woman (Mariette Hartley in a memorable film debut) from her domineering father (R.G. Armstrong), some hilarious mining camp shenanigans that resulted from splendid character performances by Edgar Buchanan, as a drunken judge, and John Anderson (always underrated), Warren Oates (always good), L.Q. Jones, John Davis Chandler, and, surprisingly, James Drury, as the trashy, creepy, and degenerate Hammond brothers.


Elsa Knudsen (Mariette Hartley):  "My Father says there's only right and wrong -- good and evil.  Nothin' in between.  It isn't that simple, is it?"

Steve Judd (Joel McCrea):  "No, it isn't.  It should be, but it isn't."


Scott was able to interest his old friend of long standing, Joel McCrea, in starring with him in the film.  

McCrea had been off-screen since 1959 when he had starred as Bat Masterson in THE GUNFIGHT AT DODGE CITY (Mirisch/UA).  Scott told the veteran performer to choose the part that he wished to play; McCrea selected the role of Gil Westrum.

Deciding which actor would receive top billing was decided in a time-honored fashion.  They flipped a coin.  Scott won.

The two also decided that McCrea had chosen the wrong role.  McCrea was uncomfortable with the role of the man who decides to steal the gold; it did not bother Scott to play the role, and the change was made.  That move made everybody appear to be geniuses.  

It is easy to see Scott in either role, but McCrea was better suited for the role of the straight and narrow, honest and dignified to his last breath (literally)Steve Judd.  McCrea's screen persona was always more one-dimensional than Scott's and he was perfect as Steve Judd.

RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY is a classic Western and one of the best films, Western or non-Western, of the 60's, and one of the best Westerns of any era.  However, it was a big surprise when the accolades began to pour in, and no one was more surprised than the studio's executives, for they did not realize what they had.  They viewed it as just another sagebrush saga -- and not a good one at that.  

The studio released the film as a second feature and it initially played the lower half of double features at theaters and drive-ins.

Despite a lack of promotion or publicity the film was named by Newsweek and Film Quarterly as the best film of 1962; it won first prize at the Venice Film Festival; and copped the grand prize at the Brussels Film Festival.  It became a hit in Europe before it captured the fancy of American film audiences.

Lost in all the hullabaloo surrounding the film is the fact that it is a medium-budget Western much like the products that Scott and McCrea had been starring in for years.  Nevertheless it stands as a monument to the director, producer, cinematographer, and the two stars.  It is a classic example of what superb professionals can do with limited finances and a good story.

THE DIRECTOR.

Sam Peckinpah, who had established his reputation in television as a writer and director, was hired to polish the script and direct the film.  He did a major re-write of the script, changing the ending and adding some of the film's best lines, including Judd's "house justified" line, one he had heard his father say. 

His career had begun as Don Siegel's dialogue director; from there he gravitated to TV where he wrote scripts for various series, including Gunsmoke; he also directed several episodes of the series. In addition, he wrote the pilot script for The Rifleman and was the creator, producer, and sometimes writer and director of the short-lived (thirteen weeks), but critically acclaimed, The Westerner, which starred Brian Keith.  In fact, it was this series that led producer Lyons to hire Peckinpah to direct RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY.

Peckinpah's first theatrical film was the interesting, but little viewed, THE DEADLY COMPANIONS (Pathe-American, 1961), with Brian Keith, Maureen O'Hara, Steve Cochran, and Chill Wills. RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY was his second.

Peckinpah, who occasionally directed a non-Western, went on to direct several Westerns of varying quality, some of which were criticized for an over reliance on graphic -- what some critics labeled gratuitous -- violence.  THE WILD BUNCH (WB, 1969), for example, is praised as a story and film, but the director is often castigated for some of the bloodiest scenes in film history.

THE SUPPORTING CAST.

Mariette Hartley is perfectly cast as Elsa Knudsen, the young woman who in her anxiety to escape her father makes the mistake of agreeing to marry miner Billy Hammond (Drury) and then realizes that she has made a grave mistake.

Ron Starr, as Westrum's young hotheaded partner, Heck Longtree, who falls in love with Elsa, isn't bad in the part, but he is the weakest actor in the film.

John Anderson, Warren Oates, L.Q. Jones, and John Davis Chandler as Billy's brothers are superb.  They were actors who had worked with Peckinpah in television and Oates, Jones, and Chandler, along with R.G. Armstrong, would become part of the director's stock company.



Mariette Hartley in a memorable film debut



Billy Hammond didn't turn out so bad, after all

.

Warren Oates became one of Peckinpah's favorite actors

James Drury, whose work prior to the film had primarily been in television, returned to that medium for the rest of his career.  Of course, when he went back it was to star as the title character in the long-runing ninety-minute Western series, The Virginian (1962-1971).

Edgar Buchanan never gave a bad performance in his life, so he is excellent as a drunken reprobate of a mining camp judge.  Two old pros, Percy Helton and Byron Foulger, aren't on the screen very long, but they are memorable as the father and son bankers who hire Steve Judd to transport the gold from the mountains to their bank.



The Hammonds have done gone and messed up now

CINEMATOGRAPHY AND LOCATIONS.
The producer and director were fortunate to have an old pro like Lucien Ballard in charge of photography on the film.  His expertise greatly enhanced the natural beauty of the panoramic vistas provided by the Inyo National Forest and the Mammoth Lakes region.

REQUIEM.
Joel McCrea's film career did not end with RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY, but maybe it should have.  He came out of retirement for a bit part in CRY BLOOD, APACHE (Bronco/Liberty, 1970), as a favor for his son Jody, who starred in the film as well as producing it.  In 1976, he retired for the last time after starring in MUSTANG COUNTRY (Universal, 1976).

RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY was the end of a long trail for Randolph Scott.  He hung up his guns after this one.  It would serve as a poignant and fitting conclusion to a career that included more starring roles in A-Westerns than any other actor in history --

including John Wayne.  The role of Gil Westrum represents what most critics believe is the best performance in a career that lasted more than three decades.      

The film ends on a poignant note made even more so by the last words spoken in the film, the last words that Scott would ever say in a movie, "I'll be seein' you."




"I'll be seein' you."

******

 REVIEWS:

"From the opening scene, when the two stars, as a couple of prairie old-timers, start reminiscing about wilder and woollier days, the picture projects a steady, natural blend of wisdom and humor." Bosley Crowther in The New York Times

"Memorable Western....Scott and McCrea have never been better; direction, action and scenery are first-rate.  Buchanan is unforgettable as a drunken judge." -- Leonard Maltin

"An absolutely first-rate Western, which gives Scott and McCrea...the best roles of their lives, and they make the most of it....[it] is the last great old-fashioned Western...." -- Steven H. Scheuer

"RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY is a perfectly dandy little Western....[It] is a pleasure to watch....The final line caps the picture like a bottle top....Mr. Peckinpah and Mr. Stone certainly have what it takes.  And so, if anybody ever doubted it, do a couple of leathery graying hombres named McCrea and Scott." -- The New York Times

"[A] sad and lonely tribute to the past....The ending is human, poignant, honest and just dandy....[It] is, I think, a masterpiece." -- Brian Garfield in Western Films: A Complete Guide

"One of the most poetic Westerns ever made..." -- Les Adams and Buck Rainey in Shoot-Em-Ups

 



justified