Gorgeous black and white photography sets the stage for this sun-stroked western noir. Gregory Peck leads a crooked gang, that includes Richard Widmark and Henry Morgan, through dangerous salt flats after robbing a bank.
Half dead from dehydration the gang comes upon the ghost town of Yellow Sky only to discover a young woman, played by Anne Baxter, and her grandfather, played by James Barton, living there but questions the reasoning behind their being. What would a young woman and an old man be doing in the middle of nowhere by themselves? The gang quickly comes to the conclusion that they must have found gold and decide they're gonna take it for themselves. Meanwhile Peck finds himself smitten by Anne Baxter who balks at his forceful advances. "YOU STINK! Didn't anyone ever tell you that you stink?!"
The wheels start turning and Peck gets cleaned up nice, inside and out, and begins to have a change of heart. But the gang plans on getting the gold the old man and his grand-daughter have, with or without Peck's help.
SHOOT IT IN LONE PINE!
Shot in Lone Pine and Death Valley the film has a great sense of isolation and beautiful desert scenery. No stranger to the Western genre, director William Wellman would go on to make one of my favorites, the almost as black & white TRACK OF THE CAT six years later.
Shot in Lone Pine and Death Valley the film has a great sense of isolation and beautiful desert scenery. No stranger to the Western genre, director William Wellman would go on to make one of my favorites, the almost as black & white TRACK OF THE CAT six years later.
It's not in the same league (though I like it), but the South African remake THE JACKALS is also fun. Vincent Price is tough and flavourful as jerky found in the bottom of an old saddlebag, and Diana Ivarson is blonde and fetching. It's a widely-available public-domain favourite, and easily worth the buck or so.
ReplyDeleteThis blog's a great idea, by the way. Keep 'em coming.
Thanks Baz!
ReplyDeleteI forgot you had mentioned THE JACKALS before,
I'll be sure to check it out. Can't go wrong with Price and I would love to see him in a western setting.