L'homme aux colts d'or

What looks at first like it will be an enjoyable but mindless genre Western turns gradually into something rather darker and more nuanced. Almost nobody in this film is who they seem at first, and several characters undergrow gradual inversions, with results ranging from noble to deeply creepy. Who are the heroes? Who are the villains? You'll leave this movie much less certain than you were when you arrived.

Henry Fonda and Anthony Quinn are nearly upstaged by -- of all people -- DeForest Kelley, seen here just a few years before his career would be wrenched sideways by the role of Leonard McCoy in the original Star Trek.

Warlock is a little mining town in the Wild West. Local heavies from San Pablo are terrorising the citizens of Warlock, and the movie starts with the sheriff being run out of town. The citizens' committee decides to hire the notorious Clay Blaisdell to reimpose order.

Ethical positions are relative in the strange little world of Warlock. The citizens are willing to give Blaisdell free rein when it comes to cleaning up the town, even though his methods are famously ruthless, and his 'package' includes installing himself and his partner Tom Morgan in the saloon with their travelling casino. Blaisdell intends to earn a rake-off as the faro dealer. He will also collect $400 per month as the 'marshall', even though Warlock has no town charter and does not qualify for a marshall.

Blaisdell is himself a man of deep moral equivocation. Henry Fonda plays him as an emotionless killer who paradoxically forms deep personal attachments - first to Morgan, then later to Jessie Marlow (Dolores Michaels). He crusades to rid western towns of their bad guys, but does so on a strictly commercial basis. Blaisdell knows that the citizens' hero-worship will turn in time to resentment, and he and Morgan will have to move on to the next beleaguered town.

Morgan, too, is a man of profound contradictions. The cynical casino owner has little regard for the human race, but adores Blaisdell, "the only person ... who looked at me and didn't see a cripple." Morgan is Blaisdell's partner in the law-and-order campaign, and yet there is a strong suggestion that Lily is a whore and Morgan her pimp. The relationship between Blaisdell and Morgan has a definite homoerotic tinge, and when Blaisdell takes up with Jessie, Morgan behaves like a jealous lover. Eventually, he even gives up the will to live.

"Warlock" is an idiosyncratic film with its own look, its own terminology and a curious plot. The quaint high street with its rutted red clay is quite unlike standard western towns. When the characters talk of 'road agents', they mean stagecoach hijackers. 'Backshooters' are men who shoot others in the back. In the mean moral climate of Warlock, backshooters are everywhere. McEwan never sets up a confrontation without putting his backshooters in place, and Blaisdell's answer to the San Pablo boys is to cover their backshooters with backshooters of his own.

Richard Widmark plays Johnny Gannon, the San Pablo man who throws his lot in with the people of Warlock. Johnny is the measure of the town's growing maturity. If the people are prepared to back Johnny against the bad men, there will be no need for hired guns such as Blaisdell. The judge warns Johnny that his status as the town's totem will single him out for trouble - "You're a target, a symbol, and they must come after you." And so it transpires.

Changes of clothing signify changes of heart. Once Johnny decides to embrace the law, he doffs his denim jacket and starts wearing fancy duds. When Clay transfers his allegiance from Morgan to Jessie, he discards the silk waistcoats which are Morgan's 'uniform'.

"Star Trek" fans will spot DeForest Kelly ("Bones") in the role of Curly, the sarcastic joker of the San Pablo gang. We quickly form the view that Curly is not as brutal as the others, and this is borne out when the shooting starts in earnest.

The film has two climaxes. First, Johnny has to face down McEwan and his men, and then there has to be a reckoning with Blaisdell. This eccentric film manages to contrive an unexpected ending.

In a strong cast, Fonda and Quinn stand out as the ill-matched friends - the cold killer and the emotional gambler.

Complex psychological western. I like another reviewer's point about the conflict between law and order in the film. Only Widmark's Gannon appears concerned with enforcing law in addition to order, while the rest of the town is more concerned with simply order. Fonda's Clay Blaisdell stands as the pivotal character, a morally ambiguous gunslinger with a dubious past. The mutual attachment between him and sidekick Morgan (Quinn) is highly unusual for a macho western. As hired gunslingers, they're a formidable team. However, it turns out that Clay is stuck in the risky business as long as he and Morgan remain together. On the other hand, Morgan's definitely unhappy with Clay's budding relationship with blonde Jessie (Michaels). It's likely that Morgan uses their hired status to keep them together, as the ending appears to show. I expect casting the macho Quinn in what amounts to a suggestive role was no accident.

The 2-hour runtime is pretty well filled as the various undercurrents and conflicts play out. Viewers who cotton to dramatic showdowns should love this screenplay, which has at least four. Surprisingly, it's hard to predict who will be involved, a tribute to the screenwriter. Overall, it's an unusual oater that doesn't follow genre formulas. On the downside is a lot of talk, plus complexities-- especially the characters' backstories-- that at times are hard to follow. Nonetheless, the three leads are excellent, especially an emotional Quinn, along with a supporting cast of familiar 50's faces. So, for western fans, the movie's well worth snagging despite its relative obscurity.

This popular Western isn't among the more highly-regarded genre efforts (emanating as it does from its 1950s heyday), despite the imposing credentials (many of whom were fixtures and had therefore worked on better films along the years) - but it's a pretty good example nonetheless, with solid production and an evident maturity in content and style.

The three stars - Richard Widmark, Henry Fonda and Anthony Quinn - are well-cast (in fairly typical roles) and their interaction, allowing for several tense scenes, keeps one watching (for a 2 hour film, thankfully, it doesn't feel too long). Still, Dmytryk's efficient handling is unexceptional - abetted by Joe MacDonald's colorful widescreen cinematography but somewhat overshadowed by Robert Alan Aurthur's literate i.e. pretentious script (with several soul-searching passages about loyalty and responsibility). Leigh Harline's music, too, workmanlike though it is, emerges as a relatively unassuming score. The action sequences, however, deliver the goods with several gunfights throughout and even a few instances of gratuitous brutality (fashionable by this time).

However, the rest of the cast is quite interesting, with Dorothy Malone and Dolores Michaels providing the romantic interest and several familiar faces in support: Wallace Ford and Whit Bissell as town officials and, among Widmark's former cronies, DeForrest Kelley, Frank Gorshin - playing the star's hot-headed younger brother - and Tom Drake, most surprising of all as the villainous leader of the outlaw gang.

Nice Western concentrates on psychological issues , complex characters and adult themes . The town of Warlock is plagued by a band of thugs , leading the inhabitants to hire Clay Blaisdell (Henry Fonda) , a famous Pistolero . As the villagers ask the experienced sheriff/gunman to rid the little town of bandits when a vicious gang of freebooters passes through . This is the story of the sheriff who'd worn it -till he'd faced one gun too many , and his crippled partner (Anthony Quinn) , they had to teach or watch to die . As a hired sheriff in the small town of Warlock must take a stand when a gang of nasty outlaws takes over his town . A gunfighter/sheriff that's what they gave you for protecting people who ran like rabbits when the going got roguish !

This stand-out , meaty Western contains interesting plot , intrigue , thrills , shootouts and results to be quite entertaining though slow-moving and excessively allegorical . Outstanding literate Western balances action , suspense and drama , including a high-voltage cast . It's a classical recounting about an experienced marshal hired to clean up the crime-infested location . As Fonda in charge of a little town full of cowards and frightening people ; being probably one of the best Western in the fifties and sixties . The highlights of the film are the climatic showdowns , the twisted surprises and , of course, the final confrontation . The traditional story and exciting screenplay was well written by Robert Alan Arthur though clichés run through-out , the enjoyable tale is enhanced for interesting moments developed among main characters and especially on the relationship between gunslinger Henry Fonda and gambler Anthony Quinn . As the picture relies heavily on psychological aspects of the peculiar relationship between them . As Anthony Quinn steals the show playing a particular role going very much against his ordinary type , as the often strong, tough , macho Anthony here is cast as a hesitant, even weak man . However , Richard Widmark is all but lost in the background as a guilty-ridden outlaw become a town sheriff . Being magnificently performed by Henry Fonda and Anthony Quinn , they are awesome experts in the art of conjuring sensational acting , here are reunited in this atypical but thought-provoking western with a lot of reflection , distinguished moments and dramatical attitudes , in addition a multitude of entertaining situations . Top-notch plethora of secondary actors playing vicious, sadistic sociopaths who take advantage of the frightened townspeople such as Tom Drake , James Philbrook , DeForest Kelley ,Frank Gorshin , Gary film debut of Lockwood as well as villagers perfectly performed by Wallace Ford , Richard Arlen , Ann Doran , among others . Wonderful cinematography in Technicolor and CinemaScope is superbly caught by cameraman Joseph MacDonald . Sensitive as well as lively musical score by Leigh Harline .

This is another superbly powerful though forgotten Western being stunningly directed by Edward Dmytryck . A veteran filmmaker, Dmytryck is one of Hollywood's most prolific directors who started his career in the early 40s . He was a craftsman whose career was interrupted by the activities of the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), a congressional committee that employed ruthless tactics aimed at rooting out and destroying what it saw as Communist influence in Hollywood . A lifelong political leftist who had been a Communist Party member briefly during World War II, Dmytryk was one of the so-called "Hollywood Ten" who refused to cooperate with HUAC and had their careers disrupted or ruined as a result. The committee threw him in prison for refusing to cooperate, and after having spent several months behind bars , Dmytryk decided to cooperate . Dmytrick's biggest film was ¨The Caine Mutiny¨ , but he also realized another mutiny film titled : ¨Mutiny¨ with Angela Lansbury . Edward was an expert on warlike genre as ¨Back to Batan¨ , ¨Battle of Anzio¨ , ¨Young lions¨ and Western as ¨Broken lance¨ , ¨Alvarez Kelly¨ , ¨Warlock¨ , among others . Rating : 7 , better than average . It's recommended for Western enthusiasts and big stars lovers . Well worth watching as well as to rediscover and it will appeal to Anthony Quinn and Henry Fonda fans .