Le Shérif

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.

Robert Ryan, Virginia Mayo, and Jeffrey Hunter star in The Proud Ones a pretty good western from 20th Century Fox. It deals with a town marshal in a town that says it wants law and order, but is more interested in the profits that being wide open can bring.

The guy who is bringing in the profits and the lawlessness is saloon owner Robert Middleton and he's got history with Ryan from other towns. Who else has history is Hunter whose father Ryan killed a gunfight. What will happen is anyone's guess.

And if that isn't enough Ryan who sustained a wound to the scalp in a gunfight in Middleton's saloon is having recurring bouts of blindness since the incident. A lot like John Wayne was having bouts of paralysis after being wounded in El Dorado. Ryan also takes his time seeking medical attention just hoping the bad guys don't find out about it and do him in.

The Proud Ones is a nicely done adult western with a good cast giving life to characters you care about. Pay attention also to a nice performance by Walter Brennan as Ryan's deputy. With his character the producers took him and his fate from Destry Rides Again.

No western action fan could possibly complain about the shootout in a stable between Ryan, Hunter and assorted miscreants. That one was taken from High Noon. One of the best staged climaxes I've ever seen in a western.

And western fans should not miss The Proud Ones.

"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.

My brother gave me this movie for Christmas because he knows I love Robert Ryan. There's just something about middle-aged character actors from the "golden age" of Hollywood that appeals to me; they're so cool and tough in ways that modern actors just can't match.

And this movie did not disappoint me. Ryan is great in it. He's macho and wise but also vulnerable. There were times when I was genuinely worried that the bad guys would get the upper hand over him.

In fact, quite a lot of this movie is suspenseful. It has many unexpected twists, not only in terms of "surprise" action but also character development. The constantly evolving relationship between Ryan and Jeffrey Hunter is a particular source of interest.

Even the mandatory love interest - Virginia Mayo - gets a lot of solid character development, though she does disappear from the movie for somewhat long periods of time.

Best scene? When Ryan rips into the cowardly town council. It's simply awesome.

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.