El camino del gaucho

Jacques Tourneur makes very stylish Westerns, from CANYON PASSAGE before to WICHITA after, and WAY OF A GAUCHO is about the "original cowboys," the titular Spanish Argentine bandits who "Go with God" and are as patriotic as they come, and go: Making the famous "last refuge of a scoundrel" quote more pro than con, at least for one in particular who rides in the glory of the Old Days...

That we never really learn about so we can only follow the intrepid horse-clopping footsteps of Rory Calhoun's "condor eyed" Martin Penalosa as the best scenes have our anti-hero breaking the law, sent under Richard Boone's harsh military command and eventually finding his own way...

This is where things slowly collapse upon an overly grandiose soundtrack and a maze of plotlines marring what should've been a more simple, honest Western that Tourneur's good at. Painted with broad strokes, the surrounding countrysides feel like another world entirely, so there's a Fantasy element underneath the deep brown saddles and painted red scarves, as if Penalosa's more a lean Barbarian than maverick horseman, and with Tourneur, a Gothic undertone lurks as well...

But our man needed more of a goal, an urgency, than to ride along (with forced ingenue Gene Tierney when guitar-strumming Everette Sloane would've made a terrific sidekick) full of stubborn, woeful pride. This GAUCHO looks terrific though.

Rory Calhoun is found guilty of murder. His sentence, a term in the army. This is 19th Century Argentina, however, so he prefers to turn bandit and court aristocratic Gene Tierney.

Sounds like a good idea to me, particularly the part about Miss Tierney. I was expecting one of those Shaky A westerns that Calhoun starred in, but that's not what I got. This was originally planned for Henry King to direct Tyrone Power Jr. in, so Fox went all in. After King and Power walked, Rory Calhoun took the lead role, and he does a surprisingly good job with it. If you think that Fox Technicolor is all overlit and bright colors like a Grable musical, you'll be surprised too. DP Harry Jackson, who shot a bunch of those Grable pix offers a color palette with lots of black in it, offering a richness rarely seen outside of British Technicolor. After shooting in Argentina wrapped, the crew was getting ready to head back to the US when Eva Peron died and they stayed to shoot her funeral.

Exotic Technicolor western from 20th Century Fox and director Jacques Tourneur. In 1875 Argentina, the old ways of the pampas-roaming gauchos are being pushed aside for the more "civilized" ways of the city-dwellers and the European immigrants. Fiercely proud gaucho Martin (Rory Calhoun) reunites with his adoptive brother Don Miguel (Hugh Marlowe), only for Martin to learn that Miguel has adopted the modern ways. After a deadly knife fight, Martin is sentenced to army duty rather than imprisonment, putting him at the mercy of cruel Major Salinas (Richard Boone). Martin bristles under the yoke of conscription and soon goes AWOL into the wilderness, where he rescues damsel in distress Teresa (Gene Tierney). Romance blooms, but dangers lurk ever closer. Also featuring Everett Sloane, Enrique Chaico, Jorge Villoldo, Ronald Dumas, and Claudio Torres.

The excellent color cinematography and location shooting help elevate this above its occasionally uninspired screenplay. Leads Calhoun and Tierney, late replacements for Tyrone Power and Jean Peters, both look great. I watched this for Tierney, and while her role is on the small side, she handles it well. I usually like Richard Boone in everything I see him in, and this is no exception, bringing nuance to what could have been a one-note villain part.

"Way of a Gaucho" was filmed in the wild Argentina of 1950. The beauty of the locations is fantastic and alone makes the movie worth a view. Not only the endless Pampas and the awesome Andes are breathtaking, also the towns and farms, with their ancient, decadent, cracking Spanish-style buildings and churches are incredibly evocative.

The photography is accurate, the colors are magnificent. The story is quick and entertaining, but perhaps too melodramatic. The dialogue is somewhat declamatory. The characters of Martin - Rory Calhoun and Salinas - Richard Boone are not fully realistic: one is too sullen and gruffy to be a youngster, the other is over-bad.

Then, of course, there is Gene Tierney, as Teresa. Her unparalleled splendor wins the beauty of Argentine landscapes (I admit I'm not a fair judge in this matter). At first we see a dishevelled Gene with her shirt torn on a shoulder (she has just been abducted by an Indio, you know). How I like these old-fashioned, good-taste erotic touches! Martin has the incomparable luck to save her. Follows a long ride together in the Pampas, with a pair of my most favorite romantic scenes: Gene sleeping on the high grass, close to a pond with exotic birds, then waking up and looking for her rescuer, with a dreaming look; later, at sunset, Gene resting in the shade of one of those lonely, huge, marvellous trees of the Pampas, silently contemplating Miguel. Love is sprouting: how beautifully romantic.

Let me remark a theme of the movie, much creditable in rendering the climate of the 19th century. Teresa is pregnant, and Miguel repeatedly endangers his life to get to a church, trying to marry her, in order that the coming child could have a "real, legitimate father". The necessity to face death, to get a legal wedding, for both Teresa and Miguel is utter matter-of-factness: another option is inconceivable. This was the actual way people were in the 19th century! By contrast, how preposterous is the show of anachronistic feelings (such as feminist ideology, dislike for religion etc.) in many current movies placed at that epoch.

"Way of a Gaucho" is a good way of spending 90 minutes for everybody, and, of course, a must-see for Gene Tierney's fans.

Twentieth-Century Fox put together this unusual little adventure story, filmed almost entirely on location on the Argentinian Pampas. It's the tale of a proud young Gaucho and his long struggle against injustice. Rory Calhoun never quite made it as a big star, but he carries this one ably enough, though I found his unrelenting surliness a little wearying. It is worth noting that he does his own stunt riding.

A young Richard Boone is excellent as (what else?) the villain. His character, Major Salinas, bullies Martin (Calhoun) when the latter is forced to join the Argentinian Army. Martin deserts and becomes Val Verde, the brigand king. Salinas quits the Army and becomes chief of police, and is thus able to continue his vendetta against the Gaucho. What puzzled me is, if Calhoun can change names so easily, how come Boone has to wear the same uniform in two different jobs?

Gene Tierney, Fox's specialist film noir love interest, appears in this one as Teresa, the respectable woman who falls for the Gaucho outlaw. Tierney is great, affecting a softer, more natural look than in her urban crime movies and (unusually for her) hitting the screen in colour.

Jacques Tourneur directs with proficiency, capturing both the glorious freedom of the Pampas and the imposing beauty of the Andes. It is just a pity that Philip Dunne's screenplay is so artificial and wordy. Is it really necessary to put in stuff like, "Our knives are thirsty, but we will not give them drink yet"?

Val Verde knows that the Gauchos, the semi-wild ethnic group of the Pampas, are heading for oblivion. He chooses to defy destiny and fight against hopeless odds. His elemental heroism, and the urbane malice of Salinas, make this little picture worth watching.