Eine Kugel wartet

There is a very good print of this film out on DVD. It is a somewhat odd little film, a modern western, a confined setting, but it does have items of interest. There are only 4 actors in the movie and for most of it, only 3. This creates an interesting dynamic between the players. Then there is the beautiful scenic location, which is not a Hollywood "set", and is excellently photographed. The actors are very watchable, and Simmons and Calhoun make a good couple. This is a passable western, not a great one. The dialogue is okay and did not have many moments to make you wince. The story line is terrific, but there is a lack of real tension that makes the film drag at times. However, the real problem is the ending. It ends a little too pat, a little too safe, a little too Hollywood. Overall it is better than many such B films, and does manage to maintain interest throughout.

A airplane crash leaves Lawman Sheriff Munson (Stephan McNally) and Prisoner Ed Stone (Rory Calhoun) stranded on a Sheep Ranch in the modern (1954) West. Between escape attempts ED makes a play for the beautiful Cally Canham (Jean Simmons) who is holding down the ranch for her Father David (Brian Aherne). MUNSON has a personal grudge against ED, but FATHER David arrives at the close too sort things out and you expect ED and CALLY will eventually get together, nuff said.

Good scenery and interesting casting are the most worthwhile features of this film. Calhoun and McNally seem quite at home in the West, but Aherne and Simmons would seem too be by intellect and temperament more suited for a drawing room. Jean does fill out her 'jeans' quite well and is as sexy in those as any more feminine costume. She would exhibit the same assets in THE BIG COUNTRY (1958). The film is worth watching just for her.

With that title one would expect either a western, a p.i./cop dark streets noir,or a war drama. Well it's in the West on a sheep ranch and Rory Calhoun is the protagonist. Jean Simmons is there to provide the standard romantic figure but is way too sophisticated to be believed as a outland waif. Stephen McNally like his contemporary Charles McGraw just looks of villainy so its surprising when he carries a badge while Mr. Ahearne like his screen daughter just looks out of place. So one gets a character study instead of a shootalot as the title implies. The actors do the script,the director sees his slide continuing,and the viewer wonders why the title wasn't used by Randolph Scott for one of his Ranown epics.

A lawman and a fugitive, fight it out in the countryside with the lawman being overcome by an injured ankle, allowing the fugitive to get the upper hand. The lawman is Stephen McNally, an actor whose face was usually reserved for playing villains and the fugitive, Rory Calhoun who has been one of my favourites since I was a boy. A 6ft 3inch giant of a man, Calhoun was ideally suited for playing heroes as he was extremely good looking also and here he's supposed to be the bad guy. But is he?

The two come across a young woman living alone in a cabin, Jean Simmons, looking more beautiful than I ever remember before. She takes them in under an element of duress but slowly starts to become attracted to Calhoun and vice versa, in fact they have great chemistry and the sexual tension is palpable.

McNally is constantly trying to regain the upper hand and it eventually comes to a head but not before we are treated to a surprisingly well crafted scene of dialogue about philosophy that seems out of place in a pseudo western like this but I thought it raised the level above the usual melodrama.

Directed by John Farrow with a nice score by Dimitri Tiomkin, the film is beautifully shot in technicolour and the acting, joined at the end by Brian Aherne as Jean's father, is rather good. It shows Calhoun in a different light to his westerns and actually allows a showcase to display a wider acting range than usual for him.

An interesting lost movie I found only on YouTube with a gorgeous print copy so I'm rating it an 8 out of 10. Jean Simmons at her most stunning is worth seeing alone.

An Accused Murderer Escaping Flawed Justice, a Tin-Badge with a One-Track-Mind (bringing in the killer of his brother), a Lovely, Sophisticated Virgin in Isolation with Her Father in a Cabin Far-Away from Crime, Corruption, and Humanities Sins.

The Cabin and the Surrounds are the Only Setting where Jean Simmons, Rory Calhoun, and Steve McNally are Forced by a Downed Aircraft to Lodge, Wait-Out a Passage-Wrecking Storm, and the Sparks, Well-Known to the Well-Read, begin Subtle but Escalate in a Pre-Determined Cadence Until the Soul-Searching, Romance, and Revenge Stop and All is Sorted Out by the Steady, Philosophizing Hand of the Father/Professor Returning from a Short-Trip.

All is Tied Oh-So-Neatly in a Bow for the Easily Entertained Emerging Ultra-Conservative Citizens of the War-Winner America Passively Led to Pasteur, like Simmon's Herd of Sheep.

Doubting there were Many Interesting Conversations in the Lobby about the Film's Combination of the Preconditioning Dialog Amidst a Raging Romance Kindled by Calhoun's Rough-Neck Merging with Simmons Button-Downed Persona. An Oil and Water Mix of Intellectual Grounding and Sheep-Herder Practicality.

It's All Rather Rote and Handled Unremarkable by Director John Farrow. Solid No-Nonsense Characters Delivered by A-List Actors. The High-Lights are Jean Simmons Stunning Beauty Packed in Blue-Jeans, the also Stunning Technicolor Cinematography, The Low-Light is DimitrI Tiomkin's Intrusive, Relentless Score that Never Stops for a Breather.

John Farrow's Directorial Career, with a Wide-Range of Competency and a Few Real-Gems was Winding Down and this isn't One-of-His-Best, but is Held-Together with Solid Framing, an Occasional Interest, and Not-Much in the Way of Something New, it's All a Rather Old-Hat Easy-as-You-Go Post-War Sedative.

Worth a Watch.