Warlock

Warlock (1959)

Director Edward Dmytryk is one of those dependable Golden Age mainstays who is pulling off tightly made movies even this late in the game. After many archetypal movies, often just short of greatness, he is still putting on a good game with first rate camera-work (Joe MacDonald) and top shelf actors (Henry Fonda, Anthony Quinn, and Richard Widmark, all in major roles). And so this is actually a strong, complex movie.

It helps that the plot, even though apparently another retread of Western clichés, is complex and well balanced. That the bad guys are partly very good and vice versa is exactly what the genre needs, and it is filmed so gorgeously--the night and interior stuff especially--it has a feeling of total command. It's a strong if still conventional film, a true Western in the best Anthony Mann sense rather than John Ford.

The plot is too complex to even analyze quickly, but a couple key elements play out. First, Fonda and Quinn play hired marshals who come into towns overwhelmed by some bad guys. They are hired for their ruthlessness because the town has no choice, but when they get to work, the town begins to doubt itself. And then there are all the secret past events that seem to converge here, almost too perfectly, but creating a layered and sometimes confusing backstory that gradually moves front and center.

All three male actors are in top form--I'll assume it's because the whole lot of them were consummate professionals there to get a job done well. While this was made years after the official end of the old studio system, it still is made (on location) with the same general factory ethic--tight production standards, familiar genres, efficient entertainment. It works, and it works better than it should. Certainly not a classic like "High Noon" or "Stagecoach," but a solid entry even for people who think they don't like westerns.

What looks at first like it will be an enjoyable but mindless genre Western turns gradually into something rather darker and more nuanced. Almost nobody in this film is who they seem at first, and several characters undergrow gradual inversions, with results ranging from noble to deeply creepy. Who are the heroes? Who are the villains? You'll leave this movie much less certain than you were when you arrived.

Henry Fonda and Anthony Quinn are nearly upstaged by -- of all people -- DeForest Kelley, seen here just a few years before his career would be wrenched sideways by the role of Leonard McCoy in the original Star Trek.

There is no doubt that this Film was brilliantly put together both in Direction and Star Quality. When you put together Henry Fonda, Richard Widmark and Anthony Quinn, you know you are in for a treat. The story is quite superb and a far cry from many of the Westerns being churned out in the Fifties. As the Marshal who is quite dangerous, in his own way, Fonda is really the star around which so much resolves. Widmark as a reformed outlaw turned Deputy Sheriff plays his role to perfection, while Anthony Quinn as the crippled close friend of the Marshal is integral to the final outcome. They are greatly supported by a well-worn Dorothy Malone, and to me at least a surprising good performance by Tom Drake as the cruel and somewhat cowardly leader of the Outlaws. It is one of the last Cinemascope big movies by Fox, and the photography and atmosphere are quite spectacular.

Nice Western concentrates on psychological issues , complex characters and adult themes . The town of Warlock is plagued by a band of thugs , leading the inhabitants to hire Clay Blaisdell (Henry Fonda) , a famous Pistolero . As the villagers ask the experienced sheriff/gunman to rid the little town of bandits when a vicious gang of freebooters passes through . This is the story of the sheriff who'd worn it -till he'd faced one gun too many , and his crippled partner (Anthony Quinn) , they had to teach or watch to die . As a hired sheriff in the small town of Warlock must take a stand when a gang of nasty outlaws takes over his town . A gunfighter/sheriff that's what they gave you for protecting people who ran like rabbits when the going got roguish !

This stand-out , meaty Western contains interesting plot , intrigue , thrills , shootouts and results to be quite entertaining though slow-moving and excessively allegorical . Outstanding literate Western balances action , suspense and drama , including a high-voltage cast . It's a classical recounting about an experienced marshal hired to clean up the crime-infested location . As Fonda in charge of a little town full of cowards and frightening people ; being probably one of the best Western in the fifties and sixties . The highlights of the film are the climatic showdowns , the twisted surprises and , of course, the final confrontation . The traditional story and exciting screenplay was well written by Robert Alan Arthur though clichés run through-out , the enjoyable tale is enhanced for interesting moments developed among main characters and especially on the relationship between gunslinger Henry Fonda and gambler Anthony Quinn . As the picture relies heavily on psychological aspects of the peculiar relationship between them . As Anthony Quinn steals the show playing a particular role going very much against his ordinary type , as the often strong, tough , macho Anthony here is cast as a hesitant, even weak man . However , Richard Widmark is all but lost in the background as a guilty-ridden outlaw become a town sheriff . Being magnificently performed by Henry Fonda and Anthony Quinn , they are awesome experts in the art of conjuring sensational acting , here are reunited in this atypical but thought-provoking western with a lot of reflection , distinguished moments and dramatical attitudes , in addition a multitude of entertaining situations . Top-notch plethora of secondary actors playing vicious, sadistic sociopaths who take advantage of the frightened townspeople such as Tom Drake , James Philbrook , DeForest Kelley ,Frank Gorshin , Gary film debut of Lockwood as well as villagers perfectly performed by Wallace Ford , Richard Arlen , Ann Doran , among others . Wonderful cinematography in Technicolor and CinemaScope is superbly caught by cameraman Joseph MacDonald . Sensitive as well as lively musical score by Leigh Harline .

This is another superbly powerful though forgotten Western being stunningly directed by Edward Dmytryck . A veteran filmmaker, Dmytryck is one of Hollywood's most prolific directors who started his career in the early 40s . He was a craftsman whose career was interrupted by the activities of the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), a congressional committee that employed ruthless tactics aimed at rooting out and destroying what it saw as Communist influence in Hollywood . A lifelong political leftist who had been a Communist Party member briefly during World War II, Dmytryk was one of the so-called "Hollywood Ten" who refused to cooperate with HUAC and had their careers disrupted or ruined as a result. The committee threw him in prison for refusing to cooperate, and after having spent several months behind bars , Dmytryk decided to cooperate . Dmytrick's biggest film was ¨The Caine Mutiny¨ , but he also realized another mutiny film titled : ¨Mutiny¨ with Angela Lansbury . Edward was an expert on warlike genre as ¨Back to Batan¨ , ¨Battle of Anzio¨ , ¨Young lions¨ and Western as ¨Broken lance¨ , ¨Alvarez Kelly¨ , ¨Warlock¨ , among others . Rating : 7 , better than average . It's recommended for Western enthusiasts and big stars lovers . Well worth watching as well as to rediscover and it will appeal to Anthony Quinn and Henry Fonda fans .

Warlock is a small town suffering from visits by a gang of thugs led by Abe McQuown. The honest townsfolk meet and decide to hire infamous gunslinger Clay Blaisedell to act as a Marshal. Blaisdell, aided by his trusty companion Tom Morgan, proceeds to clean up the town and promptly takes control of the gambling and dance parlour. But things are rarely straight forward in a town of this type, one of the thugs (Johnny Gannon) decides to reform himself and takes on the role of legal sheriff. Things are further complicated when a woman arrives in town proclaiming that Blaisedell and Morgan killed the love of her life! This coupled with the fact that McQuown and his thugs are plotting destructive revenge, means that Warlock and it's array of complex characters are heading for judgement day - one way or another.

The basic plot sounds like nothing out of the ordinary, the tough gunslinger with a reputation hired to clean up a town has been done a fair few times, with varying degrees of success. What lifts this Edward Dmytryk directed (and produced) Western above other films of its ilk is that it goes deeper than most of those other genre pieces. Blaisedell may be a fearsome gunslinger but we are at a time when a new breed of faster and more thuggish cowboys exist, and so his very being is crucial to the number of events that transpire in Warlock. Here all central characters are multi-layered, there is a plenty going on that begs the utmost attention, where tragedy hangs heavy with its looming presence, and Dmytryk threads all the story strands together with thoughtfully potent results.

Adapted by Robert Alan Aurthur from Oakley Hall's novel, Warlock boasts three excellent male lead performances and a firing on all cylinders supporting cast. Henry Fonda (Blaisedell), Richard Widmark (Gannon) and Anthony Quinn (Tom Morgan) are superb, while Dorothy Malone, Dolores Michaels, Tom Drake, DeForest Kelly, Frank Gorshin (sadly uncredited) and Wallace Ford come up trumps with excellent shows for totally important characters. The only gripe I can come up with is that I would have liked a bit more use of the Utah location courtesy of Joseph MacDonald's Cinemascope Technicolor, but since this story is primarily set within the confines of Warlock the town, one can be and is a touch forgiving.

During the last few years I have spent a lot of time revisiting the Western genre, and I have been rewarded with a ream of excellent adult pieces by the likes of Anthony Mann, Henry King and Budd Boetticher. Few of them are as undervalued, and maybe as forgotten, as this first class effort from all involved, it's a must see for any serious Western fan. 9/10