Le souffle de la violence

Caught this on TCM late last night. Could not resist watching a film with Glenn Ford, Edward G. Robinson, Barbara Stanwyyck Barbara is the attractive woman you love to hate and plays it to the hilt. Edward G. Robinson is convincing as always as the villain-in-chief. Glenn Ford always a pleasure to watch. The scene in the saloon where Glenn Ford faces down the murdering henchman, surrounded by his cronies, is just what you want to see a reluctant hero do.

But what caught my attention most was the scenery. I am sure this is one of the 100 or more movies filmed in Lone Pine, California amidst the Alabama Hills* lying just north of town. Rock formations provide the rugged scenery where over 100 cowboy movies have been filmed with every major cowboy movie star. It was the setting for "Bad Day at Black Rock" with Spencer Tracy, Ernest Borgnine and Jack Palance. Films were made here with John Wayne, Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, Hopalong Cassidy, and it was also the setting for, surprisingly, "Gunga Din". With snow-capped Sierra Nevada peaks in the background, I tried but could not possibly identify Mount Whitney, at just under 15,000 feet, the highest point in the lower 48 USA states.

One reviewer above complains about the use of stock footage for the cattle stampede as well as for stampeding the (enemies') horses. I just marvel at the motion picture arts that they could even create such scenes at all. Did they pay some huge rancher to allow a cattle stampede??? That must have run off many pounds of expensive beef. The horse stampede must likewise have been expensive. If these were wild horses filmed at large, they sure did a skillful job intercutting the clips with the ranchers' corrals in the film.

All in all, a standard oater but with great movie stars, scenery and action, I enjoyed watching. I think you will too.

(* Oh, yes. The Alabama Hills. In California? They were named during the Civil War by miners sympathetic to the Confederate cause. If you should drive North on California State 395 en route perhaps to ski at Mammoth Mountain, spend a few minutes to detour through the Alabama Hills. And take your camera! You'll be glad you did. Well worth the time.)

Stanwyck at her villainous best, Robinson her equal - as ruthless land barons in this fairly ordinary western.

Some good action scenes, strong use of location, colour and Cinemascope. But why the obvious use of stock footage in the stampede scene?

Ford is dependable as always and Foster is strong as Robinson's daughter, but it is the baddies' film. And it's not just Stanwyck and Robinson - Brian Keith makes a surprisingly dashing villain as Stanwyck's lover, and Richard Jaeckel is unforgettable as a cold-hearted killer.

See it for the camp value.

Lee Wilkison runs Anchor Ranch and has coerced, bullied and killed his way through other farmers to become the biggest land owner in the area. When former Civil War Captain turned farmer John Parrish decides to sell up and head back east to marry fiancé Caroline, he decides to sell to Wilkison despite the objections of the only other remaining landowner Purdue. However Wilkison only offers $15k for the whole shooting match and advises Parrish accepts because either way he intends to own the land. Parrish still plans to sell anyway but when one of his men (Bud) is murdered by Cole Wilkison, he changes his mind and decides to stay and fight.

On paper the plot summary for this western makes it sound like a very straightforward affair, which in a way it is, but it does also have other stuff going on as well. On the basic level it is a solid story of right versus wrong but it is enjoyable as it uses Parrish's military background to make the conflict interesting and different from the usual shoot out scenes. I don't agree with another reviewer that the barroom shooting was as wonderful as all that but it was nice to see the psyching instead of the usual bravado. On top of this it was good to have Parrish be too tired for fighting – not idealistic or naturally peaceful but just uncaring about the wider issues, a nice change for the lead in this genre. This character is well backed up by old Wilkison, who is driven by forces he doesn't totally control to own the whole valley; meanwhile he is dominated by his unfaithful and unscrupulous wife – they are strong characters and it is a shame that the script just sets them up rather than exploring them, but this is a genre western after all I suppose. This lack of depth is shown in the weakness of the ending. Although the change makes sense, the speed it happens at doesn't and a bit of character development would have helped make it much more convincing.

Despite this the characters are helped by the strong cast. Stanwyck may not have the depth but she has the presence to make her character enjoyably evil. Robinson allows her to dominate to create a character that is both "bad" and weak at the same time; sure, he could have been better but he is good with what he has. Ford stands up well alongside this showy support and the script helps him stand out from the genre staple of wide chest and big chin – he isn't amazing by any means but he does embrace the chance to work with a character a bit different from the norm. The rest of the cast are solid enough with turns from Keith, Anderson and Foster as well as a few others.

Overall then a solid genre western with enough about it to make it slightly better than average. Not all the characters and themes are as well developed as I would have liked but they still add value to the film and make it a better prospect than it seems. The cast helps and it is just a shame that the material is not as strong as it could have been (best seen in the slightly unconvincing ending due to a step change in a major character rather than a gradual change).

The Violent Men is a good western. Perhaps the story is not an original one -big ranch owner dedicated to run out small competitors out of a valley he needs for his increasing cattle- but the film has many ingredients that raises its level and makes it worth seeing.

The cast is a highlight. There's the reliable Glenn Ford (John Parrish) as a former army officer and now one of the small ranchers, who tries to stay out of troubles until he is pushed to hard. Edward Robinson (Lew Wilkinson) is as good as always as the crippled big man and Barbara Stanwyck (Martha) plays his treacherous wife in one of her usual mean woman roles she deals with easily (others were in "Double Indemnity" and "Blowing Wild). Brian Keith (Cole) does it perfectly as Robinson's gunman brother, an ambitious man trying to take over his brother's big ranch no matter what. Regular 50's westerns villain Richard Jaeckel (Wade Mattlock) is there too and ends as usual (no surprise there). Dianne Foster (Judith Wilkinson) plays Robinson's daughter who does not approve his father, mother and uncle's way of handling things with their neighbors.

Rudolph Mate brings a standard but acceptable direction, perhaps helped by beautiful and wide open scenery and a fine and appropriate music score helps too.

The inevitable final showdown between Ford and Keith is one of the best in western movies. Each man in his own dueling style (notice Ford's shooting with his straight arm and aiming at its target in the military way) settle their differences then and once and for all.

This is for sure one of Glenn Ford's best western appearances, second only to the classic "3:10 to Yuma" he made two years later. It's probably the cast that puts the film as an "A" rate and, as for me, it enters the top 10 list of the genre.

A western through and through. As the title character portrayed by Glenn Ford says, "No, I don't want to fight, but I will if it's forced on me." This movie is about being intelligent, strong, and fighting for one's beliefs. With courage, never stop striving for what you feel is right. Great action and mostly quick paced. Good to see Brian Keith in this role and Edward G. Robinson as an older western man. Glenn Ford lives up to his western image. Thoroughly enjoyable film includes strategic non-military warfare. Of course it's violent, like the title states, but not too graphic like in the computer-generated era films. It's mostly about strong personality clashes.