Femme de feu

Nice guy Joel McCrea is torn between pint-sized femme fatale Veronica Lake and decent seamstress Arleen Whelan in this serviceable Western from the under-valued Andre De Toth. McCrea looks a little lightweight compared to Don Defore and Preston Foster, who stand out as a free-wheeling gun for hire with ambiguous intent and a rancher's heavy with a town under his thumb in a film that's brimming with bad guys. The plot twists and turns, but never quite takes off.

Hadn't seen this movie in years so I decided to watch it again. I have to say there was a lot that I had missed in previous viewings. Mainly this is definitely a noir western. The basic plot is a staple of westerns, cattlemen versus sheepmen and a range war, but the characters walked straight of the 1940s. You have Veronica Lake as the femme fatale using her charms to twist multiple men to do her bidding. There's Joel McCrea as a flawed hero and Don DeFore as his friend with a dark side. Donald Crisp plays the by the book sheriff, arguably the only major conventional western character in the movie.

Definitely worth watching if you've never seen it before. If you want another noir western to watch try Blood On The Moon with Robert Mitchum.

I first saw this curious western many years ago, at the time I found it rather boring. After reading several other reviews on IMDb, knew it was time to re-evaluate. Pleased I did, this time seeing a totally different show (well at least by now, I was seeing things through different eyes)

It still seems odd that it opens in the mist of a story situation that has not been established. Only the ensuing dialog sets you up with what's happened before the opening scene. This gives the film the look and feel of a finished work that may have endured post production edits for over-length. While I can't confirm if this was the case, it could still have been the intention of the film makers to do something different. In fact, the whole approach to this film is different. Here is a work that credits the audience with the ability to think --to read between the lines--

The pace is slower than normal, another sign the producers may want the audience to study each situation. For the patient, mature viewer this should pay entertaining dividends. As the first feature to come from John Garfield's independent Enterprise production company it's a worthy effort. The cast seem as if they all want this to be a success, even bit players work enthusiastically.

Many of the main leads are playing out of their established roles. Charlie Ruggles and Don De Fore do well with their mainly dramatic characters and Veronica Lake (under direction from her husband) is surprisingly ruthless (don't think I was ready for any of this first time round) Interesting Director, Andre' De Toth and his remarkable Director of Photography: Russel Harlan (who's worked on such a vast range of varied topics) create several mesmerizing 'story without words' type situations throughout. Joel McCrea is marvellous to watch, as one of the most believable righteous men to grace the screen (no doubt about it, the world needs more).

Luke Short (real name Frederick Glidden) creates realistic characters and gives them situations to match. It's a tad brutal, and not a western for everyone, but it's well worth staying with ~ you may end up being entertained. The Olive DVD release is not bad, while not a full re-mastering, the sound and B/W imagery are crisp (although the night scenes have some fluctuations.) Like me, you may need a second time round.

This was a surprisingly brutal western, more like a film noir from the late 1940s, with rough characters who shot first and thought later.

Among those with the rough attitudes was the female lead, Veronica Lake, who was nearing the end of her short career. Without the makeup and long blonde hair, she didn't look that pretty. The good guys were played by Joel McCrea and Donald Crisp.

Almost everyone in this film gets shot or killed. Many critics labeled this a B-movie but it sure had a lot of well-known actors for that label. Preston Foster, Don DeFore and Lloyd Bridges also star. The only actor who sounded B movie-ish was Arleen Whalen. Despite her good looks, I can see why she never made it to stardom.

I like black-and-white but this was film that would have looked better in some nice Technicolor with the great mountain scenery that was featured.

Some reviewers complain of a slow pace, but that wasn't my impression. The story is told in a straightforward, understated manner, trusting the audience to connect the dots and not wasting thirty seconds on a scene if it can be done in ten. It moves at a good pace most of the time, even though, at the end, the payoff is a bit easy and conventional. Because of that, it turns out not to be as good as it promised during the first part, when there was plenty of tension and psychological work.

The unusual setup is a strong point, subverting the trope of the beautiful lady rancher harassed by the evil local despots who want to run her out of her ranch. In this case, the lady rancher is as evil and petty as them. She boasts "From now on, I'm going to make a life of my own. And, being a woman, I won't have to use guns." She may not use them personally, but plenty of men are going to die because of her war, which is more a vanity project than really necessary for her to live her life.

I'm not a big fan of McCrea or Lake, but they are helped by a capable supporting cast.

I also need to mention the stunning scenery, shot in black and white. The camera doesn't linger in it often, though. More than the traditional open spaces of a western, here the story is sometimes claustrophobic and dark. It's kind of a hardboiled noir film.

I find it underrated, although it could have stuck the landing better.