La loi des hors-la-loi

This is another obscure western that I just watched on Netflix streaming. It stars Howard Keel as Waco, a formerly jailed gunman who's pardoned by the governor and sent to Emporia to tame that town. Unfortunately for him, his former lover Jane Russell is now married to preacher Wendell Corey who was a former gunman himself. I'll stop there and just say that while the triangle that I just described makes some of this oater dramatically compelling, it's not the only exciting part of this movie. There's also the Jenner family who holds a grudge against Waco for killing one of their members and then there's DeForest Kelley who's the bouncer at the local casino who's also anxious to eliminate him. Oh, and there's also a pretty good story-song about the title character as told by Lorne Greene. So on that note, I highly recommend Waco. P.S. Not long after Kelley made this, he would soon become a Sci-Fi icon when he began playing Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy on the original "Star Trek".

WACO is the name of the character who is the stereotypical Western hero in Hollywood Westerns. He's fast on the draw, tough, and an outlaw in the beginning, which is standard for Western heroes.of that would be okay, except we never really care for this Waco guy played by Howard Keel. Don't expect the joy ride of THE WAR WAGON. This is strictly Hollywood hate formula. Waco has absolutely no credible motivation. Keel comes across a bit like Joe Don playing Buford, but without the incentive. Absolutely none. Motivation has to be a key, but in the sixties, Hollywood would have none of that. For about three decades, they threw characters who were spoiled brats with unrelenting and unprovoked hatred at us, expecting us to empathize with them. Well, only the sickest and most demon possessed were able to do that, and they were generally the control freaks who decided what the rest of us had to watch. This is a perfect example of what was wrong with the Hollywood era of mid sixties to mid eighties All of that is made worse by the big names being wasted here. As in the hero, motivation is suspect, although Waco is the worst written character perhaps in any Western. That takes away any thrills, and makes this all ho hum, no matter how many horses you see, no matter how many gunshots are fired.

1966's "Waco" opens with the powerful voice of BONANZA's Lorne Greene intoning the lyrics to the title song, an excellent choice to set things up for Waco, not the setting but the gunman played by Howard Keel, the new sheriff of Emporia, a lawless town in Wyoming. The folks have grown tired of violence playing out in front of the saloon of Joe Gore (John Smith), resulting in the death of previous lawman Billy Kelly (Richard Arlen), so the Mayor (Robert Lowery) has reluctantly agreed with leading citizen George Gates (John Agar) to allow the governor to pardon outlaw Waco to replace Kelly, having spent five lonely years behind bars. Gore knows how much the Jenner clan want to kill Waco (he killed one of the brothers years ago), but their attempted ambush is easily foiled, and saloon bouncer Bill Rile (DeForest Kelley) isn't a good enough shot to take him out. The one person who might be able to figure out Waco is his former sweetheart (Jane Russell), now the bride of a preacher (Wendell Corey), who himself used to ride with Quantrill but believes that a man can change. It's Waco's unpredictable behavior that maintains a high interest level, and better character touches than most Lyles oaters, with the best performance from Gene Evans as the ineffectual deputy reformed from his drunken state by Waco. John Smith, on the side of good on CIMARRON CITY and LARAMIE, is cast as the main villain, simply lacking the kind of menace the part calls for. DeForest Kelley, in the last of four Lyles Westerns, had been paying his dues in roles like this for over a decade, soon to achieve a legendary status as Dr. McCoy on STAR TREK. Among the baddies are Jeff Richards, in his final film (Howard Keel's costar in SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS), Willard Parker, and Anne Seymour, pretty Terry Moore a delight as saloon girl Dolly, Brian Donlevy in a 'blink and you'll miss him' cameo for his third billing. Howard Keel would topline two more oaters for Lyles, "Red Tomahawk" and "Arizona Bushwhackers."

If you decide to sit down and watch Waco, you'll probably think it belongs to the genre of western spoofs. I considered the possibility, but as the movie dragged on and didn't contain any actual jokes or banana peel pratfalls, I realized it was an actual western.

Jane Russell is married to Wendell Corey, a preacher, but her ex-sweetie-pie Howard Keel has just gotten released from prison and is travelling to their town to take over as sheriff. The only trouble is, he doesn't know Jane's married, and Jane still has feelings for him. Plus, the town is desperately in need of proper law and order, and when Howard shows up and causes a stir, it turns into a shooting free-for-all.

Yes, Waco is a ridiculously cheesy western, but it's the acting that really places it in terrible movie territory. Jane Russell was the main one who made me think the movie was a spoof, because almost all her lines were delivered like she thought the cameras were off and she wanted to make fun of the terrible lines she was given. Wendell Corey gives his best John Wayne impression, but it just doesn't work to see him as a preacher, since he's usually very unlikable bad guys. This movie just isn't worth watching, unless you're die-hard fans of the cast and insist on watching every movie your favorite actor or actress made.

In this movie Keel is NOT a unloving-turned-loving Adam Ponifee nor a kind Wild Bill Hickok. Rather, he is about the meanest man anybody can find anywhere. He knows no bounds to treating people mean. Of course, in this particular movie he is the sheriff of a wild town which tries to be run by vengeful outlaws, outlaws who meet their match with him. The beautiful Jane Russell is superb as his love interest, but even she sometimes is frustrated with him. He is excellent in this role as the mean, no-nonsense marshal. A great acting feat for him. But I would hate to think for the people that knew him that he was ever this cold, hard, and mean!