À l'ombre des potences

Run For Cover was the second of three westerns that James Cagney made and in my mind it is easily the best of them. The Cagney of Yorkville is left way behind in a way he wasn't in The Oklahoma Kid.

Cagney is a recently pardoned prisoner who spent six years in jail for a crime he didn't commit. He meets up with young John Derek on the trail and the two hit it off. But unfortunately they are mistaken by some panicky railroad employees as members of a local gang and get a sack of money thrown down at them. Then its further compounded by a trigger happy sheriff played by Roy Teal who shoots them both down, seriously wounding Derek.

Derek is bitter as the result of permanent injuries to his leg, but the townspeople warm up to Cagney and replace Teal with him as sheriff. But Derek isn't up to the job of deputy in a few senses of the word.

Derek did his mending on the farm of Jean Hersholt where there's a lovely Swedish farmer's daughter in Viveca Lindfors. She and Cagney hit it off quite well. In fact this was the farewell screen role for Jean Hersholt.

Grant Withers makes a fine sinister outlaw leader with Ernest Borgnine as a very sly second in command. Their robbery scheme sets up the whole inevitable climax between Cagney and Derek.

Cagney was a far better westerner in Run For Cover than in any of his other two westerns. I like very much the way director Nicholas Ray built up his two leads and there's good development of the secondary characters, always the mark of a good film.

Run for Cover is directed by Nicholas Ray and adapted to screenplay by Winston Miller from a story by Harriet Frank Jr. and Irving Ravetch. It stars James Cagney, Viveca Lindfors, John Derek, Jean Hersholt, Grant Withers, Jack Lambert, Ray Teal and Ernest Borgnine. A Technicolor/VistaVison production, with music by Howard Jackson and cinematography by Daniel Fapp.

When Matt Dow (Cagney) and Davey Bishop (Derek) meet up they quickly become friends, but events conspire to see them wrongly suspected of robbing the train heading for Madison. Hunted down by a Madison posse, Bishop, a Madison resident, is severely injured and Dow taken to town for possible lynching. What unfolds is the truth comes out and the two men end up working as the law in town, but there is many more secrets to be unearthed in this part of New Mexico...

Nicholas Ray brings a meditative state to the picture, ensuring the thematics of surrogate families, generation conflicts, mob justice and the corruption of youth, are all delicately handled by the great director, even dealing in Freudian textures for the key character relationship. There's a whiff of High Noon in how Matt will inevitably have to stand alone, and he will also have to fight inner turmoil about injustices and cope with disappointments as things refuse to go to plan under Madison's glaring sun. But this is a skilled character piece able to stand on its own terms.

As a looker the film is quite simply stunning. Filmed out of Durango, Silverton and Aztec (the latter providing the finale set in the Aztec Ruins), the scenery is breath taking, Ray and Fapp surrounding the story with an imposing beauty that is hard to take your eyes from. Cast are led superbly by a restrained and reflective Cagney, who can say so much with just one glance of his eyes, and while Lindfors as Cagney's love interest is a bit wooden, she's at least given some decent scripting to work with. Elsewhere nobody fails in bringing their respective characters to life.

Absolutely lovely Oater, one that may not break new ground with its formula of plotting, but comes out roaring regardless. It makes you wish Cagney had made more Westerns, Nicholas Ray also, while Fapp's photography here is alone worthy enough to consider catching this on any potential Blu-ray release. 7.5/10

Not a terribly deep western, but a satisfying one that makes some decent social commentary. Unfortunately, this is a VistaVision film, but the copy I saw was in Academy ratio. So I can't comment too much on the cinematography... I'll just say I didn't see anything there that hinted at greatness. I'm not the world's biggest Cagney fan, however I liked his performance here as a man of upstanding integrity. This might also be the film's biggest weakness, the protagonist is a little too perfect. But he's a hero that's enjoyable to watch interact with those around him, especially those of lesser character. The supporting roles by John Derek and Viveca Lindfors are unremarkable but solid. The movie keeps things moving at a steady pace, maybe too steady but quite watchable. There are a couple of interesting surprises as well. There are certainly better westerns out there, but you could do a whole lot worse.

Nicholas Ray will be remembered for "The Lusty Men," "Johnny Guitar," "Run for Cover," and "The True Story of Jesse James."

With a slight echo of "High Noon," the film is Cagney's first Western, shot in stunning Technicolor and VistaVision, since Lloyd Bacon's "Oklahoma Kid" in 1939...

Cagney was beginning to show his age, but his performance is colorful as always... It is interesting to remark that Grant Withers whom Cagney had supported in his film debut ("Sinner's Holiday," 1930) and his third movie ("Other Men's Women", 1931) is in his support as Gentry....

Released from a six-year prison term for a crime he did not commit, Cagney goes West, where he meets John Derek...

Riding along, they innocently become involved in a train robbery and are later ambushed by a posse... Derek's leg is smashed and is taken to Viveca Lindfors' farm where she nurses him and falls in love with Cagney...

The townsfolk offer Cagney the tin star, and he appoints Derek (who is now a cripple), as his deputy...

Derek's bitterness over his bad accident separates the two men in different directions and soon are seen on opposite side in a fight involving Grant Withers' widely known gang and a group of Indians...

"Run for cover" occupies a curious place in Nicholas Ray's brilliant filmography.Sandwiched between "Johnny Guitar" and "Rebel without a cause,it suffered accordingly.They say Ray himself disliked it.And however,in "Run for cover" he opened up as he never did before.

In "knock on any door" ,Ray had already displayed a "father" -"son" relationship between Bogart and John Derek (who takes on here roughly the same kind of part he played at the beginning of the fifties).Ray would reach his peak with the following work ("Rebel" ) where Plato wanted Jim to be his dad and began to think of a new family with his pal and Judy.

Davey is a tragic character .He seems to be born under a bad sign ,he is known to have a very bad reputation wherever he goes.It's obvious in the scene of the train:whereas Matt (Cagney) wants to give the money back to the town,Davey is thinking of the life he could lead if this loot were his.

Matt knows that Davey needs someone to become a man .Alone he would walk on crutches .His leg is a transparent metaphor.Maybe he thinks of a new family he would rebuild with Helga (Viceca Lindfords).The relationship between the mature man and the Swede is full of tenderness and human warmth,a permanent feature in Ray's canon (see the lovers of "they live by night" and the teenagers in " Rebel without a cause".Like Jeff in "lusty man",Matt had a raw deal and he wants to make the best of the years which he's still got to live.Jeff will help Wes become a man in the cruel world of rodeo,but it's a different matter with Davey Bishop (what a surname!).

It's remarkable that violence appears twice after scenes depicting children: the first time when Matt is making a wooden gun for a boy ;the second time in the church as a choir of little boys and girls is singing a canticle to praise the Lord.

"Rebel without a cause" is probably Ray's most underrated work.Davey remains his most moving character ;without any mawkishness ,the director paints the picture of the rebel with a cause,who cannot understand why he should work for eight dollars a week when there's plenty of money to take.

The last line is my favorite in any Ray movie.In its own special way,it preserves the viewer from despair.