Le Désert de la peur

Colorful western wonderfully photographed in black and white on location in Arizona . Beautifully filmed , though little known Raoul Walsh film . Kirk Douglas' first Western has the usual horse opera cliches supported by magnificent cinematography by cameraman Sidney Hickox and thrilling musical score by David Buttolph. A U. S. sheriff named Len Merrick (Kirk Douglas) and two deputies (John Agar , Ray Teal) rescue a cattle rustler called Tim (Walter Brennan) from a lynch mob led by a local cattle baron , Ed Roden (Morris Ankrum) , convinced that the rustler also killed his son. Then the Marshal and deputies make their way across the desert with Tim and his daughter (Virginia Mayo) . Along the way they hold storm , betrayal and pursuits against a spectacular desert backdrop . A Marshal whose hide no bullet could touch...and the girl who got under his skin!. "Who's the prisoner now, law-man?". An adventure that avalanches from the bullet-proof of the Rockies to the fiery desert floor ! .

His enjoyable film with an unusual detective element to the plot , containing noisy action , crossfire , formidable villainy , go riding , relentless chases , and gorgeous Arizona locations . A paronamic western , being spectacularly screened ; as the plot is plain and simple but little by little results more complicated and surprising , in which a sheriff must bring a falsely accused murderer to trial . This movie has a compelling combination of fine performances , intense drama , crossfire and spectacular outdoors . Director Raoul Walsh aims for psychological realism with a contemporary treatment and about an upright sheriff who has a dark past . A blending of talent actors with great leading players of whom Kirk Douglas holds the best character as the obstinate Marshal who'll stop at nothing to get his purports . Along with the alwys great Walter Brennan as a suspicious killer father , they are the key factors that lift this Warners Western above the ordinary . The hothouse plot drives mercilessly forward with action , shootouts , thrills , attacks and turns . The tale is strong one and the yarn is marvellously located against a background of Arizona and California mountains . Very good main and support cast giving hard-driving acting , standing out Virginia Mayo as the lady in distress and Morris Ankrum as the stubborn pursuer ; in addition notorious secondaries as John Agar , Ray Teal , Hugh Sanders , James Anderson, among others.

Blazing and gorgeous cinematography by Sid Hickox shot on location in Mojave desert , Yuma , Arizona , and Alabama Hills, Sierra Madre Mountains , California. The motion picture was competently directed by Raoul Walsh . Direction in the capable hands of Walsh who ensures that the pace is surprisingly nice and action scenes hit hard . From his starts in the silent cinema he achieved successful films until the 50s and forward , early 60s , when he was less dominant , but is still stayed lots of lusty adventure , stories of comradeship and friendship , and Raoul Walsh usually makes the most of plentiful action scenes . Walsh was an expert director of all kind genres but with penchant for Western such as ¨Colorado territory¨, ¨They died with their boots on¨, ¨Along the great divide¨, ¨Saskatchewan¨, ¨King and four queens¨ , ¨A distant trumpet¨ , ¨The Sheriff of Fractured Jaw¨ ; Adventure as ¨Thief of Bagdad¨, ¨Captain Horatio Hornblower¨, ¨World in his hands¨, ¨Blackbeard the pirate¨ , ¨Sea devils¨ ; Warlike as ¨Objetive Burma¨ , ¨Northern pursuit¨, ¨Marines let's go¨ ; and Noir film as ¨White heat¨, ¨High Sierra¨, ¨They drive by night¨, ¨The roaring twenties¨. And this acceptable ¨Gun Fury¨, rating : 7/10 ; fairly straightforward movie and acceptable Western adventure . This decent Western film will appeal to Raoul Walsh enthusiasts.

This is the western Walsh made after "Colorado territory"("White heat" which is "Colorado'"s follow up is a masterpiece but not a western- and it nearly matches its brilliance.A rather short movie,it's an action-packed story which never loses momentum.Beginning with a very tense situation (a lynching) it remains suspenseful and absorbing all along the great divide.The characters are wonderfully depicted and any of them could be the subject of a movie.This is like" Colorado 's territory" or "pursued" ,an intellectual western.The hero,Merrick ,carries the weight of his father's death.Kirk Douglas gives a fine performance ,being in turn nice or unpleasant.What's really fascinating is that his tragedy is about to happen again:his prisoner may be innocent and he will have another fault on his conscience.Pop Keith (Walter Brennan) and his daughter Ann (Virginia Mayo who was at the time Walsh's favorite actress:she's in the two movies I mention above as well) are an endearing couple:the girl is a strong personality -the part was tailor-made for Mayo-while his papa is a resigned old man,whose favorite weapon is nothing but a ditty which he knows reminds Merrick of his past he cannot forget.One can go as far as saying that Merrick sees Keith as a father who returned from the grave.Another relationship father/son is also featured: Roden who demands Keith's head because he thinks that he killed his son Ed-"I buried my heart in the grave" he says- and his second son ,the ugly duckling.Roden speaks of his late offspring as a perfect boy .

Walsh's movie raises many questions .Sometimes we wonder where justice really is and who is on the right side of the law.This exciting western deserves to be upgraded

Walter Brennen, three time Academy Award winner, and one of the greatest character actors of all time, is combined with Kirk Douglas for 88 minutes of action and drama. This is what a great Western is supposed to be! Gunfire, fistfights, and Walter Brennen almost getting his neck stretched, twice! One of my video guides says: "the pace is slow, but the scenery is grand". Most of the film was shot in the Alabama Hills, just west of Lone Pine, California. Over 300 movies have been filmed at the base of Mt. Whitney, the tallest peak in the lower 48 states. "Joe Kidd", "The Tall T" and hundreds more were made in those rocks that are so famous. Almost as famous as any actor. "Along The Great Divide" is a great ride, and lots of fun.

I caught this on the Grit channel a few weekends ago and while I don't really watch Westerns, I really enjoyed this movie. I didn't know Kirk Douglas was around long enough to be in Black & White movies!

It's a solid movie with undertones of "obeying the law" vs "doing what's right".

The heavy-handed script of ALONG THE GREAT DIVIDE puts every possible obstacle in the way of a saintly sheriff (KIRK DOUGLAS) intent on bringing a suspected murderer to justice and away from the men who want to lynch him for killing a rancher's son.

The plot gets off to a good start with a lynching interrupted by good guy Douglas, who saves the neck of WALTER BRENNAN from the hangman's noose. But the plot gets a bit too thick by the time we encounter Brennan's fiery daughter (VIRGINIA MAYO) and the bad men who want to stop Douglas and his party from reaching a town where a jury can decide Brennan's fate.

Despite the gorgeous outoor scenery filmed in crisp B&W, there's a low-budget look to the night scenes filmed on indoor stage bound sets. Director Raoul Walsh keeps things moving, but the plot is so full of tiresome obstacles and shifting loyalties that the thirsty desert scenes seem to drag as the film nears its conclusion once the party has reached civilization.

JOHN AGAR is decent enough as Douglas' ill-fated sidekick but it's JAMES ANDERSON as the no good son (brother of the man Brennan is supposed to have killed), who manages to steal scenes with his shifty manner as the villain of the piece. Too bad his career was cut short by his premature death at 48.

VIRGINIA MAYO is improbably cast and her romance with Douglas is strictly full of clichés as they fight incessantly over his intent on bringing her father to justice. The story is pretty routine and even though the running time is brief, the film runs out of steam before the party reaches its destination in a nearby village so that the finale seems anticlimactic.

It remains an average western despite the good cast.