Dulce hechizo

The film starts well as it is told in a Rashomon-style flashback, with three local old-timers in the town recounting slightly different versions of the events surrounding the female protagonist's [Lily's], arrival and her manipulation in the feud between two cousins, for her own gain.

De Carlo, Coburn. Brady, Bevans, Stevenson, Simpson, and, Litel are excellent actors. However, the film's theme ruins their performance as this is a feminist-based western which achieves its goal of emasculating the three male protagonists.

Conclusively, the film is a lightweight, campy Western comedy. The plot is not particularly deep or coherent. The resolution left too many plot holes. Don't waste your time on this one.

I have always been deeply in love with actress Yvonne De Carlo, she was so beautiful, magnificent, flaming, and what a shame, a disgrace, that the Academy Awards did not even noticed her death during the 2007 ceremony. But beware this is not a true authentic western, but rather a light hearted vaudeville adventure yarn taking place in the olfd west. Universal Studios used us to tougher, grittier than this one, that looks more like a Republic Pictures western, those taking mostly place in cabarets or gambling house. It is however agreeable, fun, not boring and Yvonne De Carlo justifies any plot, any script, the most important is that she was the most gorgeous woman on screen in the movies where she played. And director Frederic De Cordova was a comedy specialist, who was also able to deliver real westerns and adventures too. I prefered SALOME WHERE SHE DANCED, also starring the great De Carlo, and also a "false" western but totally crazy, incredible.

"The Gal Who Took the West" is a nice looking film from Universal Studios. It's obvious they put a decent amount of money into the picture, after all, they filmed it in color, but the story is pretty dopey.

When the story begins, a reporter in the present day goes out west to investigate the story of the O'Haras and Miss Marlowe. Three different old coots from the town tell a slightly different tale...a bit like "Rashomon".

It seems that when Lillian Marlowe arrived in the town back during the time of the old west, the land around the territory was run by the O'Hara clan. The General (Charles Coburn) is the family patriarch and his two nephews (John Russell and Scott Brady) are rivals and hate each other with an intensity that seems almost comical. Both of the cousins instantly fall for her and because she's so amazingly sexy and wonderful, they're about to start a little war to get her. The rest of the film is about efforts to stop this insane hatred from boiling over.

The film, to me, seemed like a western combined with an episode of Popeye. This is NOT meant as a good thing and the cousins just seem stupid and annoying. Plus, none of it really makes any sense. Overall, it's a picture that looks great but not much more.

The fun of this film is telling the story from three different viewpoints -- each version diametrically opposed to the others -- what is the truth? probably a mixture of all of them -- it's a fun film with DeCarlo in fine form and the feuding brothers fighting it out for her affections is half the fun.

Other than THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE, I do not know of another Western that as accurately captures the true nature of the West - and the men and women who settled it. The plot is that of a romantic comedy, but the characters are wonderfully written and acted - far better than in most 'serious' films.

The two brothers battling each other for the affection of one women is both funny - and dramatically believable. And the telling of the story from three different points of view is superbly done.

In my opinion, this is one of the most under-rated films ever made in Hollywood.

Don't miss it!