yeadur

I admired Coburn but was shocked at how aged and arthritic he was in this film: but what a stunning performance - his last was his best, even better than his Oscar winning 'Affliction'. It went straight to video in the UK, which is a crying shame. Talking of crying, I wept buckets! Barbara Bain, Virginia Madsen, Alexandra Holden, Niesha Trout and Ryan Locke were also excellent, as was the direction with those clever flashes back and forward, from colour to black-and-white, e.g. old Martin at the barber's,in colour looking at his younger self in black-and-white.I was deeply disappointed by the ending, but these days 90%of a great movie is good enough for me!

I've been to Sakatchewan and wasn't aware of many mountains in the Big Sky province, though the film claims to have been made in the locations where the alleged story took place, but what a treat, anyway! Stunning photography (wherever!), marvellous action sequences (vintage Raoul Walshe), intimidating Sioux, Ladd at his most laconic, sexy Shelly Winters before she got fat, the excellent Robert Douglas, J Carrol Naish, Jay Silverheels and Hugh O'Brien in his pre-Wyatt Earp persona. And just think - this would have been one half of a double-bill!

This could have been a much better movie. Boyer's disenchanted, vengeful refugee doctor is excellent and Bergman's Joan, unable to commit or disengage, could have been a fascinating characterisation. But while individual scenes are very fine, the film, as a whole, is oddly disconnected, suggesting ruthless cutting. The sub-plot involving Laughton's porcine Gestapo bully is perfunctory and we get far too much of Calhern's emigre. Still, the black and white photography is impressive, and I rather went for the doom and gloom!