planktonrules

"The Road to Denver" is a film from Republic Pictures which was filmed, like many of their movies, in Trucolor. Now, despite its name, Trucolor was not exactly top quality color filmstock. Its big advantage was that it was about half the price of Technicolor...about the same price as black & white filmstock. However, its colors weren't that good compared to Technicolor and the films made in Trucolor tend to be more sepia toned than in true color over time...which isn't so bad for this film since it's set in Utah*. None of this is a complaint so much as an explanation of the color you see when you watch the movie. For Trucolor it actually looks pretty decent.

For a Republic film, this one has a pretty decent cast. Generally, Republic was a second (or third) tier studio but here the lineup is better than usual. John Payne stars but he's amply helped by Mona Freeman, Lee J. Cobb, Glenn Strange, Andy Clyde, Skip Homeier, and Lee Van Cleef.

The film begins with a cattle drive. Sam Mayhew (Skip Homeier), as usual, is having a fight with someone. This time, however, the local sheriff has had enough...sentencing Sam to a month in jail. Inexplicably, his brother, Bill (John Payne), breaks him out of jail...but he was only supposed to serve a month. Now, the pair head to new country...and with new names. Will things get any better with Sam or is he destined for trouble once again? Take a guess? And, soon the two part ways...though you know sooner or later they'll cross paths.

The notion of two brothers going opposite directions with the law is a VERY familiar story in westerns. Off the top of my head, I remember several westerns starring big name actors with the same sort of plot: "Saddle the Wind" (1958), "Bandolero!" (1968), and "Horizons West" (1952). So, "The Road to Denver" isn't 100% unique. That doesn't mean it's bad...just a subject matter that's been used quite a few times.

Overall, the film is made well and it is enjoyable despite being awfully familiar.

*When the story begins, it says the movie was filmed in Utah. However, all the locations listed on IMDB are in Arizona. What gives?

Originally, "Male of the Species" consisted of three half hour plays made for television. The three stories were written by Alun Owen and involve the same woman, Mary (Anna Calder-Marshall). Each story show her interacting with significant men in her life.

The first play, "MacNeil", is the saddest one. It features Sean Connery as Mary's father and he is a dreadful man....a sexist jerk and a habitual liar.

The second play, "Cornelius", features Michael Caine as a bit of a playboy...a decent one, mind you, but a playboy. He and Mary date a bit...and why each is interested in the other is odd.

The final is "Emlyn" and it stars Paul Scofield as a very successful middle-aged barrister (an English trial lawyer). He becomes smitten with Mary and they begin to date...and they are a most unusual couple.

The acting in these plays is top-notch and although Anna Calder-Marshall acts against three of the best British actors of the time, she definitely holds her own. As for the stories, they vary in enjoyability, though they are all well written. The first isn't all that enjoyable...but isn't meant to be since Mary's father is a jerk...and an unredeemable one. Overall, a very interesting experience watching the same woman and three important men in her life. Worth seeing and available on YouTube.

By the way, there IS an unintentionally funny line in "Cornelius". At one point, Caine's character complains about an Indian woman he dated, saying he 'doesn't want curry for breakfast'. Well, a few years later, Caine married Shakira...though from Guyana, a woman whose heritage is Indian.

Scene of Parker beating up Alec wasn't funny MMA

Aside from stopping by Alliance, Nebraska to vist 'Carhenge' (a Stonehenge-like site made with old cars), I've had little reason to visit Nebraska. Well, I doubt if "The Tap-Out Job" will encourage folks to visit the state! In the episode, they make the locals look a bit...well...awful.

The show begins in Nebraska at an MMA-style event. As two guys are beating the snot out of each other, one is clearly about to win...when the drug he was slipped begins to make its effect. As a result, he not only loses the fight but ends up being nearly killed in the process. The Leverage team wants to make things right but infiltrating this fight club-like league and making evil Jed Rucker pay for his infamy.

To me, this is an episode you'll either love or like. Now I noticed some Nebraskans HATED it because they felt the show paints the state in an unfair light. I can't say this is really the case for folks outside the state...as the show didn't make me care much about the state one way or the other. But what I assume is more people will dislike it IF they hate MMA-style fighting. For me, it's not something I want to see, though if the fighters want to kill each other, so be it...just don't make me watch it!

Overall, a decent enough episode but one which I would definitely say is in the 'skip it if you want' category.