Bandits de grands chemins

This Universal B picture is yet another example of Hollywood taking a famous character of the old west and fashioning their own story about him without a bit of reality to it. All that I can say is that Black Bart did go by the real name of Charles Bolles and they did do his crime thing in California in the 19th century. Other than that this film has nothing to do with Black Bart's real story.

Among other things Black Bart was always a gentleman and left a bit of poetic verse at the scene of each robbery. Not a line of poetry comes from Dan Duryea's lips. As Black Bart died in 1888 and Lola Montez died in 1861 it's highly unlikely they ever even met.

Yvonne DeCarlo plays the exotic dancer who had King Ludwig of Bavaria panting for more. But that's all done with, Lola's in America on a tour and she's now in San Francisco. On the way there she meets up with Black Bart when he holds up the stagecoach. Also along are a pair of Duryea's associates from his past, Jeffrey Lynn and Percy Kilbride. They know Duryea even behind the mask and want in on the set up. Lynn also wants in on Lola Montez.

Black Bart despite its gross historical inaccuracies is an interesting and unique film. No happy endings for anyone here as Duryea and Lynn go out like Butch and Sundance. Yvonne DeCarlo is properly fetching as Lola though I think the one who should have played Lola in a better film of her life should have been Greta Garbo.

Dan Duryea is Charles Boles, a respectable rancher in Gold Rush California. He's also Black Bart, who holds up stage coaches. Wells Fargo has put a $10,000 reward on him. When his old confederates, Jeffrey Lynn and Percy Kilbride come to town, they take jobs with Wells Fargo. They're also working for themselves when they recognize Duryea and want in. However, Yvonne De Carlo has come to town -- she's Lola Montez -- and she and Duryea fall in love.

It's a highly entertaining and beautifully shot A western from Universal, directed by Henry Hathaway. It's also the ahistorical piffle that infused westerns. Lola Montez (real name: Marie Dolores Eliza Rosanna Gilbert, Countess of Landsfeld) was indeed in the US and performing on stage by about this time, she died in 1861. The real Charles Boles/Black Bart flourished as a stagecoach robber from 1875 through 1883, was captured, spent four years in prison, was released in bad health and disappeared. No one in Hollywood ever let a little thing lack facts get in the way of telling an amusing story.

The highlight is Miss De Carlo's dances as Montez. She had spent half a decade playing uncredited eye-candy roles in Hollywood, before shooting to recognition in SALOME WHEN SHE DANCED. I remember her as Lily Munster, of course, and as one of the cast in Sondheim's FOLLIES; like many a beautiful woman, she had a great sense of humor and comedy about her beauty. She died in 2007, age 84.

Gorgeous Miss De Carlo often portrayed historic figures:from Sephora to Calamity Jane and from La Castiglione to Lola Montès (spelled "Montez" ,unlike in Europa).Many users probably know Max Ophuls' last opus (1954) which showed a Lola short of the readies,(Martine Carol)who had to work in a circus -under a cynical MC 's Thumb played by Peter Ustinov) Lola was king of Bavaria LudwiG Der Erste 's lover (not to be mistaken for gay Ludwig Der Zweite)and in the movie,you can hear Lola talk about the jewels he bestows on her;"you look at my jewels the way the king used to look at me" ) The story is a bit tongue in cheek and the tale of this masked brigand is not particularly exciting but Lola adds some spice to it.

This film manages to be relatively non-formulaic, and even more non-historical, though the real Black Bart was indeed named Charles E. Boles as portrayed. British-born Boles, however, did not conduct his outlaw career as a Zorroesque black-clad horseman, but hiked to all his holdups and wore a long linen duster, with a flour sack over his head. He was also pushing 50 when he started robbing the stage. So much for a romantic image! If the intention was to make Bart/Boles a dashing figure, I think another actor would have been a better choice than Dan Duryea, who after all pretty much built his career on playing creeps. But it's always interesting to see a departure, and the script is more clever than that of the routine horse opera of the day.

As Lola Montez, Yvonne De Carlo makes no effort at a real characterization of the famous Countess (former mistress to Ludwig I of Bavaria), but acts-- well, like Yvonne De Carlo, delivering her lines in her usual flat New World tones. The witty, volatile and multilingual Lola (nee Eliza Gilbert), though Irish by birth, affected a sort of Spanish accent to go with her assumed Sevillian identity. De Carlo's dancing, I fear, bears little resemblance to Lola's, but it's always a pleasure to watch Yvonne in her early roles; this film came only three years after her dazzling debut in 1945's "Salome, Where She Danced", in which she played a quasi Lola Montez, thereby confusing the record considerably.

In reference to this: the real Lola never danced as Salome nor visited Arizona, and the town there called "Salome, Where She Danced" was named in 1904, and for quite another lady. To play Lola or a quasi-Lola, De Carlo does certainly fit the bill visually as a stunning blue-eyed brunette with a memorable figure. As to Lola ever encountering Black Bart-- well, when he began his career as a highway robber in 1875 Lola had been in her grave for fourteen years. So much for romance!

Black Bart is an interesting movie and well above the norm for the standard studio product of its day.Not only is it splendidly photographed,with a lustrous use of colour that sets it apart from the herd,it has a wonderfully dry and laconic wit that adds a touch of verbal eloquence to proceedings.Indeed I was reminded at times of "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid"in the banter between characters some of which would have sat well in the mouths of characters in a Philip Barry movie or other practitioners of the drawing room comedy.The script is also insouciantly epigrammatical with a pleasing sense of amorality--its leading characters are outlaws and perfectly at home with themselves and their profession.Naturally.this being a 1948 movie they are not allowed to get away with it but the morality is quite unique for the period

We first meet Charles Bowers,later to become the title character,when he and his compadre "Lance"are about to be hung,a fact they greet with stoicism and flippant banter,when they are rescued by ex banker turned outlaw the grizzled veteran Jersey--well played by Percy Kilbride(old Pa Kettle Himself)They split up and Charles ,with the connivance of an old friend,sets himself up as Black Bart a black garbed highwayman making away with Wells Fargo bounty in a series of stagecoach robberies.Lance and Jersey re-appear,recognise him and try to cut in on the deal.Matters get complicated when Bart falls in love with Lola Montez the celebrated singer and dancer who reciprocates the feeling but insists Bart lay aside his illegal trade and turn to more legitimate pursuits

It is a well acted movie with Duryea and Kilbride especially fine and De Carlo enters into the spirit of things with a brash and outgoing performance

Minor but interesting and I enjoyed it .Give a go -you won't regret it