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Quite possibly the most bizarre mainstream Hollywood feature film of all time, "The Wild and the Innocent" can in part be explained as another thrown together assembly line vehicle for Audie Murphy, green lighted without a reality check. As an actor Murphy is underrated in large part because he churned out countless films that each year could range from a quality western like "The Unforgiven" (1960) to something absolutely horrible like "Battle at Bloody Beach" (1961).

But things got interesting when the producers cast breakout teen sensation Sandra Dee in the role of mountain waif Rosalie Stocker. It is now commonly accepted that Dee's mother added two years to her age when she started out as a young model in New York. She was actually born in April 1944 and this film was shot in November 1958 so you basically have a precocious 9th grader playing a femme fatale in a triangle with one actor in his mid 30's and another whose leading man days included silent features with Clara Bow. But the oddest thing is that despite the need for considerable suspension of disbelief about many things in this screenplay, Dee successfully sells her character as the motivating force for the entire story. Go figure.

By 1958 Dee had already made six feature films and had long been exhibiting anorexic tendencies to which many attributed her incredibly youthful appearance rather than suspecting her actual age. She had considerable natural talent and took direction well but had clearly been acting in all those prior roles. Her performances were pleasingly underplayed until "Gidget" earlier in 1958 where she successfully broke out and demonstrated her considerable range.

But how to play Rosalie Stocker was a mystery and Jack Sher was basically a writer who had only directed two films and was inexperienced giving acting for the camera direction. So I suspect that Dee's Rosalie was pretty much a natural portrayal with Sandra Dee basically just playing Sandra Dee. Yet not only does it work but it is the reason for seeking out the film.

Dee's physical fragility and tentativeness make it onto the screen, exactly the qualities that sell Rosalie. When she is poured into sexy outfits she is visibly uncomfortable with the effect she is having on men. The contrast is incredible. To a viewer she becomes the "Innocent" in the title and is believable as the object of desire and the main motivation to men seeking redemption.

In Wyoming a mountain man goes to the nearest town to sell his pelts, across the way he meets an innocent, runaway girl : Sandra Dee and both of whom join to go his destination . There he attempts to save her from the claws of the Saloon owner who at the same time results to be the nasty sheriff : Gilbert Roland of the little town . Along the way, Murphy falls in love for a Saloon Girl : Joanne Dru who is alienated by the townspeople . The wild and wonderful story of the exciting young frontier !

A decent and attractive Western about two innocent people who become involved in problem when they go to a noisy town to trade pelts and where inhabitants attempt to take advantage of them . It contains thrills, emotion, fights , duels, though no much action. Audie Murphy as a mountain trapper gives a nice interpretation in his usual style, though this time he plays an innocent as well as tough man. Murphy, who died early due to a plane accident plane, had a short life but a prolific cinematic career, outstanding in Western genre, starring a lot of them , such as : Sierra, Ride a crooked trail, Billy the Kid, Red Badge of Valor, Duel at Silver Crek, Cimarron Kid , but being his two biggest successes : the drama titled The Quiet Man and the warlike movie To Hell and Back. His partenaire is the famous teen of the 50s : Sandra Dee as the girl in distress who Murphy wants to save from her shameful job as a Saloon girl. Alongside the always beautiful Joanne Dru as woman isolated by the local citizens, Jim Backus as the hardware seller , Strother Martin in a sympathetic role , Peter Breck, George Mitchell and of course the veteran secondary Gilbert Roland as a corrupt sheriff.

It packs a colorful and evocative cinematography by Harald Lipstein. As well as thrilling and moving musical score by Hans J Salter. The motion picture originally titled The Wild Innocents was professionally made by Jack Sher, though it has some flaws and gaps. Sher was usually a writer, and produced some films and directed a few movies , such as : Kathy O, Love in a Goldfish Bowl, Four girls in Town, and his greatest hit : The 3 worlds of Gulliver. Rating : 6/10. Acceptable and passable. The movie will appeal to Audie Murphy and Sandra Dee fans.

I really should have given it a 5 of 10, but it just felt good to watch.

This movie reminds me of some of the Elvis movies where they surrounded him with great character actors. Audie was famous years before Elvis, but in a different way. I would not be surprised if Audie was a hero of Elvis.

Anyway, this is a vehicle movie made for Audie, and it works fine. Audie is a good actor, and you will always get what you expect from one of his movies. Sandra Dee is good as well; she conveys much with her pouty face without ever saying a word.

Worth watching.

This is a good example of why older Westerns, pretty much before 1965, were grittier and more credible than the ones that showed modern day dorks in the old West.

The movie seems light hearted, yet mixes in the grit just the way it fits in real life, in ways uncomfortable. Audie Murphy plays a very real character, a backwoods nineteenth century trapper who ventures into the big city. His "good eyesight" becomes critical as the film continues. Indeed, good eyesight is something of great value in the old West, and it makes the two main male characters what they are.

The supporting characters are also very believable for nineteenth century characters. A great diversion from the usual garbage that made you think more that the actors were playing video games off set. Fortunately, there has been a resurgence of the reality and grit that made the fifties great.

The "mood" comes across very clear and works great. The old West city struggles between civilization and savagery, as we see in the way the store owner played by Jim Backus behaves. The store owner depicts pretty much the status quo of the town.

This film has a lot going for it, particularly in believable character motivation.

Solid acting. Hooked from the first scene. C'mon man. It's a sweet story. If you hate this, then I know who you are.