La grande sfida

Twentieth-Century-Fox was second only to Warner Bros. in rehashing the plot lines of its earlier films. "The Proud Ones" was made a mere four years after "Red Skies of Montana" - but the similarities between the films are only too obvious. The newer film even features the same star, Jeffrey Hunter. Not only that, "The Proud Ones" incorporates music cues that Sol Kaplan composed for "Red Skies of Montana." The story of the Cinemascope picture is bound to evoke deja vu: a young upstart seeks vengeance on an older man he believes is responsible for the death of his father. As the young man, Jeffrey Hunter deserves credit for lending credibility to a character whose actions are anything but credible. He did the same miraculous job in "Red Skies of Montana." If anyone thinks Hunter was just a pretty face, his subtle work in these films should prove he had much more to offer.

The rest of the cast in "The Proud Ones" is also excellent, helping to make this one heck of a movie. Unlike its also good predecessor, this "remake" is a western. The genre was obviously chosen to make it seem different from the original. But make no mistake, the two movies are essentially the same. Watch them both and enjoy!

An ageing sheriff attempts to run a crooked gambling syndicate out of town but has to contend with public mistrust given his reputation as 'trigger happy' in this Old West drama starring Robert Ryan. While he looks old enough to be the father of love interest Virginia Mayo, Ryan delivers a very human performance here as he laments the fact that his trigger happy reputation is based only on his word against others and as he states confidently that his "ambition is to be oldest living marshal west of Kansas City". The film features some dialogue that simply simmers with wit too; early on, Ryan is told that "pride can kill a man faster than a bullet", to which he quickly responds "so can overconfidence". The conclusion of the movie feels a bit too neat and tidy for credibility, but this is a pretty solid movie overall with Mayo's underwritten, thankless role probably the biggest detractor; it is either that, or the repetitive whistling music at key dramatic parts. When the film focuses on Ryan though and the trust he tries to build with Jeffrey Hunter, it is top tier stuff with the highlight of the film being an incredibly intense scene in which they practise shooting. Apparently, this was one of Akira Kurosawa's favourite movies. It seems an unusual choice, but with such excellent character drama, it is certainly more notable than the average western out there.

"The Proud Ones" has an extremely fine script by Edmund H. North, veteran screenwriter; its plot vastly improves on the novel on which it was ostensibly based. Robert D. Webb's direction is taut, featuring dense images, helping his actors to achieve top-notch performances. Every element of this production works, from the art direction by classy Lyle Wheeler to the memorable theme song, the music by Lionel Newman, the sets, and the costumes by Travilla. Among the outstanding performances are those given by Robert Middleton as "Honest John", villain of the piece, George Matthews as his 'segundo', Whitner Bissell and others as townsmen and henchmen; the film is far-above-average in acting. This well-remembered dramatic western stars Robert Ryan, Virginia Mayo and young Jeffrey Hunter as a youth who is befriended by an aging marshal (who has been run out of a town poisoned by the lies of a delusive gambling joint owner). Hunter acquits himself well, as does Ryan, as the younger man tries to forgive the man he begins to admire, even after he has killed the boy's father in the line of duty. Virginia Mayo achieves considerable skill and charm as the woman who loves Ryan. The story's theme of honesty set against plausible pretense is unusual and difficult to carry off; the adjective "proud" has been forced to carry two contradictory meanings for years. Here it is used correctly in a secular sense to refer to men too honest to be bought off and too brave to be scared off, the sort of men who will fight when necessary, refusing to be intimidated. All-too-rare are films that celebrate objective minds, people who can be honestly wrong but act ethically when the chips are down. Whole genres are based on the betrayal of such commitments by people who argue they "can't help being what they are".As the beleaguered marshal in this story faces a town full of profiteers with the wrongness of their selling out to be opportunistic looters of unearned wealth during a boom, the film is raised to heights of thoughtfulness and of clearly-exampled good and bad behavior seldom found in the western genre. This is a very good and a very memorable achievement of cinema. Incidentally, it is physically beautiful to watch as well.

This is the best of three efforts by director Webb I watched in quick succession; like WHITE FEATHER (1955), it's a Western that – as far as I'm aware – has never been shown on Italian TV (which is how I first became familiar with a good many vintage Hollywood title).

The film revolves around one of the most popular Western themes – the tough Marshall (in this case, a typically impressive Robert Ryan) taming a lawless town. A couple of unusual twists which heighten the tension considerably concern the fact that the young man (Jeffrey Hunter) he appoints as his deputy – and on whom he comes to depend due to his gradual blindness – bears him a personal grudge; on the other hand, Ryan has his own score to settle with the apparently omnipotent boss (Robert Middleton). For the record, this was the first of three films in which Ryan and Hunter would appear together: the second was the Biblical epic KING OF KINGS (1961), in which the former portrayed John The Baptist and the latter (controversially) Jesus Christ, and the last the historical Western CUSTER OF THE WEST (1967), where both only had supporting roles.

As ever, the hero's woman (Virginia Mayo) becomes embroiled in the violent proceedings – while the eminent members in town prefer to stand aside; then again, not much help is forthcoming from Ryan's own associates either: in a role he'd perfect in RIO BRAVO (1959), Walter Brennan is the cantankerous jailer who all he seems to do is read the newspaper – whereas Arthur O'Connell brings up his wife's imminent motherhood to be excused from the inevitable showdown. The numerous shoot-outs (in a saloon, on the street at night and an all-out gunfight in a barn) denote obvious highlights; however, also notable is a town-council sequence which ends with Ryan's hardboiled comment to his peers: "If I were you, I couldn't look into a mirror without vomiting!" The evocative score by Lionel Newman includes a whistling motif which effectively comes in at particularly revealing moments in the narrative. In the long run, the film proves an underrated entry to emerge from the genre during its most prolific and mature era.

The Proud Ones is just that: A Western about the proud men of the Old West starring Robert Ryan and Virginia Mayo and a host of other good performers. The plot is simple: A lawman is trying to keep peace in town when the trail drovers arrive. One of them, a young cowboy with two sixguns on his hips, has a grudge against the lawman because the lawman killed his father a few years earlier in another town. Ryan, playing the lawman, takes the youth under his wings and trains him. Eventually, he comes around. But that is not the main problem. Ryan, suffering a wound, is having trouble with his eye-sight and it's effecting his work. That will pose a great problem before the movie ends.

Robert Ryan has always been a great actor. He plays the tough, hard character in nearly every film and does it as though it were as natural for him as eating dinner. And he comes through in amazing style in this Western as the lawman.

It's a really good Western with some solid Western action and, for those who are Western fans, it is one well worth viewing over and over. For the mainline theme is: How much will a man/woman do in order to retain their honor and pride? It's a question each of us have to face in life and this movie offers some good feedback about the answer.

I strongly recommend the movie to all.