The Jayhawkers!

The Jayhawkers! is directed by Melvin Frank and Frank shares writing duties with A. I. Bezzerides, Frank Fenton and Joe Petracca. It stars Jeff Chandler, Fess Parker, Nicole Maurey, Henry Silva, Leo Gordon and Frank DeKova. Music is by Jerome Moross and cinematography by Loyal Griggs.

Territory of Kansas . . . Shortly before the Civil War.

In short order form the plot finds Chandler as a driven empire builder Luke Darcy, who is taking advantage of Bleeding Kansas. Insinuating himself into Darcy's gang is Cam Bleeker (Parker), who has a very personal ulterior motive for doing so.

The Ace of Spades!

It's one of those films that has some great literary ideas, with some stoic characterisations and deft hints at the turmoil hitting this part of American history, and yet it never truly delivers on its powerful potential. Action is in short supply so we are very much asked to invest fully in the key players, their motives and drives, reasoning's etc, with the Darcy/Bleeker relationship and the shades of grey holding the attention whilst simultaneously holding the play together.

Love-And-Death. That's everyone's fortune my friend.

Bonus point also are the tactics used by Darcy to build his empire, which coupled with his beliefs - and Bleeker's growing conflicted values (Bromance does that to a guy apparently) - marks it out as a good try at something more deep and meaningful. Filmed in Technicolor/VistaVision, pic looks lovely, but not enough is made of the outdoor locations, while Moross provides a big bold booming score - which is great - it's just in the wrong film as it belongs in a ripper of an action piece.

All told it's a very mixed bag, and stripped down it's a undercover story dressed up in familiar Western attire. It works for those who enjoy well written speeches and simmering tensions/passions, but it's a trick film to recommend with confidence. Oh and serious history buffs should give it a wide berth. 6/10

I would say that this film is for Melvin Frank what THE TRAP was for his former buddy Norman Panama, both who earlier in their careers made comedies, only comedies, light ones. It could have been far far worse for those directors whose this was their first try in the western, crime, action genre. Of course, this is not John Ford nor Howard Hawks or even Delmer Daves nor hank Hathaway, ut Jeff Chandler is here and helps a lot. Good western.

It's been a while since I saw this movie, but I remember being impressed with the performances of both Fess Parker and Jeff Chandler.

The other person who commented on this movie implied the Chandler character murdered Parker's wife. I don't think that's correct. He just dumped her and she killed herself, or some sort of indirect thing like that.

I've since heard part of the movie score on a soundtrack CD showcasing the music of Jerome Moross. Wow! No wonder I liked the movie, the score is really great with a driving main theme. Look for a CD called "The Cardinal - Classic Film Scores of Jerome Moross". There is 16 minutes of music from "The Jayhawkers".

There is a French touch in this western which is closer to a political fable than to the usual stuff.Besides,the family Parker meets is French ,which is very rare in the genre.

Jeanne Dubois tells him so :"we came in America ,because we were in search of liberty";if the movie takes place at the end of the Civil War,then it was still )Napoleon (the Third , the nephew of Bonaparte)who was ruling the country (1848-1870);it was a dictatorship that led the country to war with Prussia / Germany (with disastrous consequences later in the twentieth century).Hence Jeanne's remark ,even though she does not hint at both emperors at all.

On the other hand ,Luke Darcy admires Napoleon (the First),with his inflated ego;it's not a cardboard character though ;he is a true demagogue,like far-right wing leaders ,he promises lots of things (schools ,hospitals),he's perhaps convinced he works for the greater good of his future subjects ,for he has an empire in mind ;and yet he remains deaf to the father's plea .As for Parker's wife ,her fate remains ambiguous ;as is his relationship with his enemy who reminds him of his own brother.

In spite of some implausibilities (the little girl survives the stampede),the story is not that simple .

A note about Nicole Maurey ,who recently passed away:she began her career with a masterpiece ("Journal D'Un Curé De Campagne " aka "diary of a country priest" by Robert Bresson) ,then continued to work in her native country ("Action Immédiate" )and in the US ('secret of the incas" opposite Charlton Heston.);but trying to do too many things at once ,she never became a true star in both countries.

Henry Silva ,who plays a supporting part in "the jayhawkers" ,enjoyed a career in Europa (mainly in Italy) in the seventies .

Tightly acted and directed Western with outstanding performances from Jeff Chandler and Fess Parker.

The latter is the conscience, and Parker is terrific as the guiding force who proves effective at carrying out a difficult task while maintaining his humanity in a war-scarred environment. He lifts his screen game from the aw-shucks, King of the Wild Frontier character to legit leading man.

This is the best I've seen from Chandler, always a capable and gifted performer. Here, he holds firm to the ruthless power-monger of his Darcy character while speaking about, and occasionally showing, his human side.

So many Westerns are black versus white, good v. evil. This one gets into the gray areas, actually spends most of its 1:40 run time in the gray. I expected a B-movie, instead saw a solid A effort with a special nod to Melvin Frank, who directed and was part of the writing team.

It's a Western that shakes off the dust and sets down the six-guns, if you dig deep and think about it.