Starring Gregory Peck, Anne Baxter, Richard Widmark, John Russell, Harry Morgan, Robert Arthur, James Barton

(7-Very Good Film)

Brash. Tense. Strong.

“Hell is empty
And all the devils are here.”-The Tempest

As far as I’m concerned, uncouth as I am, William Shakespeare’s greatest contribution was to film; the inspiration he gave to so many different movie scripts. Yellow Sky, a very fine, surprisingly brutal western starring Gregory Peck and Richard Widmark, springs from Shakespeare’s The Tempest. Peck leads a band of thieves across a scorching desert until they finally reach an apparently abandoned old western town. There, they meet an old prospector who goes by “Grandpa” and his beautiful granddaughter who goes by “Mike” (Baxter). The thieves are smart enough to see that the two are holding out on  something; probably gold. Peck and his gang stick around and, in the meantime, jostle around for attention from Mike. Much rougher than most westerns from this era, even Peck is less lovable hero than forgivable rogue.

-Walter Tyrone Howard-

(934)

Starring Gregory Peck, Joan Collins, Stephen Boyd, Henry Silva, Lee Van Cleef, Albert Salmi, Barry Coe

(8-Exceptional Film)

Surprising. Violent. Gripping.

Sheriff Sanchez: We want you to know we’ll always be grateful… and in our hearts always.

Jim Douglass: Thank you… and in your prayers, please.

The Bravados begins as so many exceptional westerns do, with a mysterious stranger riding into town. Here, the mysterious stranger is Jim Douglass (Peck). We know his name but not his motives and he arrives in town not long after a gang of violent thugs are arrested. The suspicious townsfolk wonder if he’s there to help the bad men escape, but once they do escape, Douglass is called on to recapture them. Having his own private reasons for wanting the criminals dead, he accepts. Gregory Peck is surely one of the best of the old stoic leading men. No matter how colorful his supporting cast or surroundings, he’s never upstaged. This is a juicy role for the actor and not quite his typical heroic lead. Douglass is a violent, complicated man. Perhaps one of the few antiheroes Peck ever played. The story’s also a good one; gripping and ultimately surprising.

-Walter Tyrone Howard-

(909)

Starring Gregory Peck, Jean Parker, Helen Westcott, Millard Mitchell, Karl Malden, Skip Hoemeier, Richard Jaeckel

(8-Exceptional Film)

Thoughtful. Serious. Affecting.

Peggy Walsh: When did you get this idea, Jim?

Jimmy Ringo: Well I didn’t get it, it just kinda’ came over me. The way gettin’ older comes over ya. All of a sudden you look at things different than the way ya did five years ago. All of a sudden I knew this was the only thing in the world I wanted.

I’d seen The Big Country and Duel in the Sun. I’m a fan of both, but those felt like anomalies in Gregory Peck’s filmography. I’ve never looked at him as an actor fit for westerns. Over the past week, I’ve watched three films that have changed my mind. The first was The Gunfighter and it’s likely the best. He plays the notorious Jimmy Ringo. Ringo wanders into town looking to talk with his estranged wife and son. He’s older now. Being a famous quickdraw isn’t as appealing as it once was. Everywhere he goes, some young gun wants to kill him; to take the mantle from him. Essentially, he has death following him and he can’t outrun his reputation. It was pointed out to me, and it’s an interesting point, that The Gunfighter would seem to be material typically portrayed in a film noir. Classic westerns are generally fun, adventurous, shoot ’em-ups. The Gunfighter is a foreboding character piece. The hero is a world-weary criminal. It’s one of the best of the classic westerns with a strong central performance by Peck, filled out by an excellent supporting cast (particularly Millard Mitchell).

-Walter Tyrone Howard-

(908)

Starring Randolph Scott, Ellen Drew, Joan Leslie, John Russell, Alfonso Bedoya, Richard Rober, Alexander Knox

(5-Okay Film)

Lackluster. Ill-defined. Dutiful.

Owen Merrit (Scott) has been thrown over by Laurie (Leslie) for a wealthy land baron, Will Isham (Knox), but can’t quite give her up, believing that she still loves him. Isham, for all of his wealth and power, is a jealous, insecure man and he sees Merrit as a threat. Isham’s plot to destroy Merrit leads the latter to hiding out with a schoolmarm, Nan (Drew), and biding his time to get revenge.  Man in the Saddle hits all the familiar notes in unspectacular fashion but westerns, even at their most derivative, can be great fun. Man in the Saddle is not much fun, despite all of its technical competence, mainly because it’s too muddled early on and the characters aren’t distinct enough until too late in the film. By that time, I was pretty bored. The romance/ love triangle is also uninteresting.

-Walter Tyrone Howard-

(787)