The Bravados

"Los Bravados" proves that Henry King totally mastered the western style among many others.Much more interesting than his precedent effort "the sun also rises",this work casts Peck as a desperate man eager to take revenge of four outlaws who killed and raped his wife. he arrives in the town where the criminals -or rather the men he thinks are the criminals- are to be hanged.

The first thirty minutes are the more convincing.The soundtrack is particularly remarkable:first we hear the hammers of the men building the scaffold;often there's no music at all and this ominous noise creates an agonizing atmosphere.Then ,later,the whole congregation attends the service in a baroque church and the canticles provides the movie with an even more sinister soundtrack.The editing shows in parallel the outlaws' escape and the people praying in the church where Peck gazes upon a madonna and her child:this picture will frequently come back in the movie as a leitmotiv:it's the image of forgiveness.

Because what makes this western worthwhile is the absurdity of the vengeance it depicts.Once a victim,the hero becomes a criminal.But as the priest says ,a lot of people kill and they do not feel any remorse. King's obsession seems to be the reconstruction of the family as well:Peck and his little girl with Collins ,and the half-breed who succeeded in convincing him that he's not responsible for his misfortune.And anyway ,for this director whose body of work stretches on 50 years ,forgiveness and love are many-splendored things.

This is an interesting Western which, as is often the case in this genre, is a tale of revenge. This time, however, there are a few ironical twists. Under the solid hand of director Henry King, this film takes further the point made in OXBOW INCIDENT in 1943, about lynching.

In this case, you have the main character, Jim Douglas (Peck) seeking revenge for the rape and brutal murder of his wife. Peck, in one of his finest performances, portrays a generally balanced and good man driven somewhat over the edge by a desire for revenge. The four "baddies" are all played with considerable zest by Stephen Boyd, Henry Silva, Lee van Cleef and Salmi. The weakest part of the film is Joan Collins. Tough for me to understand why and how she got this role.

Silva, portraying an Indian, correctly identifies Douglas as a hunter. It is Douglas' sad failing that he gets the wrong culprits, and even more so that he thought the real rapist and murderer a good man, who would not hurt anyone.

Douglas ends the film with a tormented conscience for killing three men who were innocent of his charges, but he receives great applause from the local community, grateful to see the town rid of a gang of thieves. The irony of the situation is put across without any moralizing, which adds to the film's virtues.

There are a few unnecessary touches along the way, such as Boyd raping an abductee, but by and large it is a tightly told story, helped by very good cinematography.

This is a smart western, it is not about the hero quick-drawing against four anonymous opponents at the same time, it is about moral.

For quite some time, you are not sure exactly where the movie is heading. The beginning is slow, with the goal to present the hero (Peck). He is doing just about the same silent, dry western hero as in "The Gunfighter". But the tempo goes up and the plot reveals, step by step. We get very convinced that the four criminals are quite bad men, and the worst is clearly the ruthless Bill (Stephen Boyd), ready for rape and murder any time it suits him.

Joan Collins, however, is mostly annoying, subject of an implied love story that the movie fortunately doesn't go deeper into. She has little importance to the story. It seems she is there only to tack on a touch of romance.

The movie manages to make each and every one of the bad guys (six of them if you count right) sharp and live, we get to know them. We also get to know a few others. The most famous villain actor here is clearly Lee van Cleef, who makes a great job as Parral, but the best character actor is really Joe DeRita (one of the Three Stooges) as Tucker/Simms, who is, incredibly, uncredited despite his fairly big role, central to the story. This means that both casting and script are very good, the script gives room for acting and the actors are capable of delivering.

From an action/western perspective, the movie fails on one thing: It could make more dramatic endings when people are killed, spend a little more time on their last seconds so we kind of follow them down. Now, a death is too much like flipping a switch. We don't have to use slow-motion every time, but a second or two extra would have helped in some places. In some cases, I feel that the movie really doesn't want to show too much violence and blood, but in at least two occasions it isn't that simple, it looks rather like if the director or producer was careless with some important scenes. These all to obvious mistakes lower the total a bit, but they don't ruin the movie, it just takes it below the absolute top.

But what the movie doesn't fail in is to deliver a message, a message of right and wrong, life and death, who has the right to kill. This is where it shines. After all is said and done, you find that there is still a lot more to say, more to think about, and the movie stays with me a lot longer than the average western where the difference between right and wrong is obvious and crystal clear.

This late Henry King movie is one of his most under-rated films. It's a revenge western, powerfully scripted by Philip Yordan and directed with commendable restraint by King. Gregory Peck, (at his most stoic), is the rancher bent on bringing to justice the four men he believes raped and killed his wife. The men are a leering Stephen Boyd, Albert Salmi, Henry Silva and an over-excitable Lee Van Cleef. Joan Collins, by this time entrenched in her first American sojourn, is in there, too, but she's the weakest thing in the film. There is a crisis of conscience and a spiritual reawakening to be reckoned with and the film does pose some interesting questions of morality but there's tension and the pleasures that come from a good western, as well. One for rediscovery.

Pleasant classic Western with magnificent Gregory Peck who steals the show as a merciless revenger gunfighter . He is relentless in his vengeance , deadly in his violence but he learns that he has become no better than those he hunts . A Hollywood production full of action , exaggerated characters , shootouts and lots of violence . For revenge, he doesn't care why he kills or how ¡ ... . An errant Jim Douglas (Gregory Peck) sees the atrocity over his family and executes a single-handedly revenge, as he ravages and murders each person involved in his vendetta . Douglas has been relentlessly pursuing the four outlaws (Albert Salmi , Henry Silva , Stephen Boyd and Lee Van Cleef) who killed his wife, but finds them in prison about to be hanged . But the prisoners escape and villagers enlist Douglas' aid to capture them . The conflict is a simple one between avenger Douglas and oppressors, nasties bandits commanded by cruel Bill Zachary (Stephen Boyd) . Douglas along with a posse set out in pursuit the outlaws and he faces the vicious bandits.

It's an exciting western with breathtaking showdown between the protagonist Gregory Peck against four heartless bandits . In the film premiere attained success , nowadays is well valued and I think it turns out to be a good classic Western. The picture is fleshed out with a marvelous cast as Gregory Peck who is excellent as a good father turned revenger . Nice too is Henry Silva as the brash Mexican young gun and Andrew Duggan as the amiable Padre . Joan Collins gives a good performance as Jim's former girlfriend , she does a well measured portrayal of a woman who still loves her previous sweetheart and who promises to leave with him which ultimately can never be . Stephen Boyd as a cruelly baddie role also is terrific . The film packs violence , gun-play , high body-count and it's fast moving and quite entertaining. There is plenty of action in the movie , guaranteeing some shootouts or stunts every few minutes . This is a dark downbeat story of an avenger gunfighter perfectly performed by Gregory Peck told with genuine realism and honesty . Stylishly written by prestigious by Philip Yordan-Johnny Guitar- , the screenplay was based on an original story by Frank O'Rourke. The movie was directed with a positive flair by Henry King . There are many fine technicians and nice assistants as Lyle Wheeler and Walter Scott in charge of Art Direction and Set Direction respectively . Good production design creating an excellent scenario with luminous outdoors, dirty and rocky landscapes under a glimmer sun and a fine sets on the Mexican landscapes . The musician Lionel Newman composes a nice soundtrack and well conducted , being helped by the maestros Hugo Friedhofer and Alfred Newman , tough uncredited ; it's full of agreeable sounds, and a haunting musical leitmotif . Sharply photographed with striking cinematography by Leon Shamroy in Technicolor, Techniscope with negative well processed and outdoor sequences filmed in Jalisco, Mexico Morelia, Michoacán,St Jose Perua mountains, Mexico.

Henry King 's direction is well crafted , here he's less thought-provoking and broody and more inclined toward violence and too much action , because he's a expert on compelling Adventure/Western genre . Henry King directed other classic Western as ¨ Jesse James(1939)¨and ¨The gunfighter(1950)¨ with Peck again . Koster was specialist on Adventure genre as proved in ¨Untamed , Captain King , Captain of Castilla , Black Swan , Stanley and Livingstone ¨and many others . Rating : Better than average . Worthwhile watching .