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Quite possibly the most bizarre mainstream Hollywood feature film of all time, "The Wild and the Innocent" can in part be explained as another thrown together assembly line vehicle for Audie Murphy, green lighted without a reality check. As an actor Murphy is underrated in large part because he churned out countless films that each year could range from a quality western like "The Unforgiven" (1960) to something absolutely horrible like "Battle at Bloody Beach" (1961).

But things got interesting when the producers cast breakout teen sensation Sandra Dee in the role of mountain waif Rosalie Stocker. It is now commonly accepted that Dee's mother added two years to her age when she started out as a young model in New York. She was actually born in April 1944 and this film was shot in November 1958 so you basically have a precocious 9th grader playing a femme fatale in a triangle with one actor in his mid 30's and another whose leading man days included silent features with Clara Bow. But the oddest thing is that despite the need for considerable suspension of disbelief about many things in this screenplay, Dee successfully sells her character as the motivating force for the entire story. Go figure.

By 1958 Dee had already made six feature films and had long been exhibiting anorexic tendencies to which many attributed her incredibly youthful appearance rather than suspecting her actual age. She had considerable natural talent and took direction well but had clearly been acting in all those prior roles. Her performances were pleasingly underplayed until "Gidget" earlier in 1958 where she successfully broke out and demonstrated her considerable range.

But how to play Rosalie Stocker was a mystery and Jack Sher was basically a writer who had only directed two films and was inexperienced giving acting for the camera direction. So I suspect that Dee's Rosalie was pretty much a natural portrayal with Sandra Dee basically just playing Sandra Dee. Yet not only does it work but it is the reason for seeking out the film.

Dee's physical fragility and tentativeness make it onto the screen, exactly the qualities that sell Rosalie. When she is poured into sexy outfits she is visibly uncomfortable with the effect she is having on men. The contrast is incredible. To a viewer she becomes the "Innocent" in the title and is believable as the object of desire and the main motivation to men seeking redemption.

Anything with Audie Murphy in it is worth a look-see so right there and then it is worth watching for that. We get a glimpse of the Wild West only more tamed but still a ways to go with people in town consisting of two factions; the respectable and the not so respectable. True to life depicting the hard ship and the rewards of living on the frontier in the later stages of its development toward becoming more civilized. Murphy plays a character that is peaceful, has virtue and wants to do right and hurt no one and it works but we are also pleased to find out he has boundaries too. As usual, we got horses, mules, trappers, Indians, gun-play, good guys, bad guys and a love interest. Some tender scenes with some mild violence and of course a happy ending to make it all go down just right. As Westerns go, this is not a stand-out or even a good word of mouth movie but an okay time spent if you do watch. Get a sandwich, a drink and settle in.

Write something about Audie Murphy is a pleasure, a have almost all your pictures at a very special spot in my collection, he made a fortune on those B-westerns, earned much more money that some many famous actors, his charisma brought to him countless followers like myself, in another fantastic performance Audie plays a jerk trapper who is charge from his priceless uncle to sell all furs, in the middle he gets almost a gift a young blonde girl, trying out find a job to her on the crowed town, there he stays enchanted by a woman which shall see has an "Easy Life", a matter of fact that he actually wasn't civilized enough to understand how works a modern city on west, he has funniest moments to share us, Sandra Dee was gorgeous in this role, plays a perfect young innocent girl from the countryside, the chemistry is quite noticed, all viewers stayed anxious practically the entire movie for the best endind!!!

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First watch: 2019 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 7.25

An Audie Murphy western from 1959. Murphy plays a fur trapping rube sent by his family into town to ply his wares. On his journey he comes in contact w/a family of bumpkins led by a scheming father (Strother Martin) out to steal his furs but when caught, he offers up his daughter played by Sandra Dee. Once in town, Murphy, who prides himself on his decency & book smarts, finds himself constantly undermined by drunk cowboys, dance hall ladies & even the sheriff who provides his unwelcome companion to become the newest member of the establishment he owns. Running a slim ninety minutes or so, this intriguing tale wins many points for taking its time carving out the episodic nature of this story as our hero gains wisdom & experience in the face of the casual barbarity of the town's denizens. One of Murphy's best. Also starring Jim Backus (Thurston Howell the 3rd from Gilligan's Island) who plays the general store owner who is at constant odds w/his wife.

This is a good example of why older Westerns, pretty much before 1965, were grittier and more credible than the ones that showed modern day dorks in the old West.

The movie seems light hearted, yet mixes in the grit just the way it fits in real life, in ways uncomfortable. Audie Murphy plays a very real character, a backwoods nineteenth century trapper who ventures into the big city. His "good eyesight" becomes critical as the film continues. Indeed, good eyesight is something of great value in the old West, and it makes the two main male characters what they are.

The supporting characters are also very believable for nineteenth century characters. A great diversion from the usual garbage that made you think more that the actors were playing video games off set. Fortunately, there has been a resurgence of the reality and grit that made the fifties great.

The "mood" comes across very clear and works great. The old West city struggles between civilization and savagery, as we see in the way the store owner played by Jim Backus behaves. The store owner depicts pretty much the status quo of the town.

This film has a lot going for it, particularly in believable character motivation.