Californie, terre nouvelle

An American gunslinger kills a Mexican man in California immediately after the Mexican-American war.

The killer is arrested and put on trial for murder with the Hispanic population waiting to learn of American justice.

Sounds like Miami today.

Heavy handed directing. No so good acting, even though Dennis Hopper is the main character.

I never thought he was such a great actor. He prove it here.

If anything, this movie serves to prove even in 1959 the left was churning out propaganda.

Usually a film held up in release is a sign that nothing good will come of it eventually being inflicted on the movie-going public. But in the case of The Young Land this is not a bad little western about an incident from the early days of California after we acquired it from Mexico. As it was a forcible acquisition the native Mexican population was anxious to see how they would do under American law and jurisprudence.

The issue comes to a head when a murderous young punk played by Dennis Hopper uses his fast draw to gun down a Mexican vaquero who works for Roberto DeLa Madrid. Sheriff Patrick Wayne whose job usually is to jail drunks disarms Hopper and arrests him. Now the job is to try him and for that Wayne sends for a federal judge played by Dan O'Herlihy who is a model of judicial decorum.

O'Herlihy is not terribly impressed with Wayne as a sheriff, but gradually they develop a certain respect for each other. And Wayne also grows some in the estimation of Yvonne Lime, daughter of Robert DeLa Madrid.

The Young Land is a simple straightforward tale told thusly for the audience. It's got some thoughtful and sincere performances by its cast. Hopper stands out in his role. And it even got an Oscar nomination for the song Strange Are The Ways Of Love which lost to the far better known High Hopes.

The story has worn well and The Young Land is as fresh as it was when it was sadly held up in release.

I got The Young Land in a one of those 20 western packages and was not expecting much out of it, especially since the lead was a very young Patrick Wayne. Let's face it, no sane film maker would have given him a lead in any movie if he weren't the Duke's son. I expected him to be perfectly awful, but he didn't live up to my worst expectations. He was what used to be termed charitably as "adequate". Well, almost so.

But the movie had such good production values and such a good supporting cast for young Wayne, it was thoroughly entertaining. The best surprise in the works was a Dimitri Tiomkin score. Also excellent were the sets, the cinematography, the costumes, and the props. The down to earth dialog, the characterization, the dress, and the props all combined the give it an authentic look and feel, even though it was not actually authentic in detail. For instance, all the revolvers were correctly cap and ball models, but not the ones that were available in 1848. Amusingly, Wayne was shown loading his rifle in the muzzle, which was appropriate to the time period, but the rifle was obviously a Sharps, which was a breach-loader! Never mind-- E for effort in that department.

Wayne's supporting cast was the movie's best asset. Denis Hopper did his usual disgusting, whining psycho. He was a one-note actor, but he did that well. Yvonne Craig as Wyane's Spanish girl friend was merely decorative, but she was very good at that, I should say! Dan O'Herlihy as the no-nonsense judge dominated the proceedings in more ways than one. Ken Curtis showed that he had possessed quite a range as an actor back in the days before he turned into Festus Haggen. But the actor who really stole the show was Cliff Ketchum, as the quiet but deadly marshal, the judge's right hand man. He was truly authentic. He reminded me of one of those old time rural Texas lawmen I used to know when I was a kid -- scrawny, dried-up, past middle age guys. They didn't look like much but could be tougher than any punk who might come along.

The Young Land had good production values, a great score, a good story, colorful characters, and just the right mix of action and drama. This enjoyable oat-burner was a bargain at the 25 cents I paid for it. Which is more than I can say for some of the lasagna-burners keeping it company in that 20- western pack.

If I would have had any clout in Hollywood in 1959, I would have drummed Dennis Hopper, Pat Wayne, and Yvonne Craig out of Hollywood - Not that those 3 set the world on fire with their acting abilities anyway. Actually, after watching Wayne, there's a good argument that he was the live action model for Woody from TOY STORY - except Woody is more lifelife. (watch him in his cowboy hat, shirt and skin tight jeans.) There is just not one thing in this movie that represents quality - acting, sets, costumes, sets, motivation. It's just a piece of crap. Considering that this film was released in 1959 - the same year as BEN HUR - it's just very difficult to see how it could even get one Oscar nomination - even for that ridiculous song by Dimitri Tiomkin.

Patrick Wayne had his first starring role in this handsomely produced film - a B western with many A western trappings, including a remarkable sound track - and, though only about eighteen years old when he did the movie, comports himself well. What's most impressive is the willingness of everyone involved to tackle a then controversial theme, for this is one of those mid to late 1950s westerns that dealt with racial prejudice during an era that saw the birth of the modern civil rights movement. Of course, civil rights dates back in our history, and so the incident in the film serves as an effective metaphor for what was going on at the time when this movie was made. A wild-eyed Billy the Kid type (Dennis Hopper, doing his umpteenth version of James Dean by way of Nick Adams, the rebel without a cause as a whining weakling) shoots down a Mexican citizen in the newly formed state of California. It's up to a very young lawman (Wayne) to hold him for trial. The Mexicans in town want proof that they are equal to Anglos now that California is American, and so want to see the prisoner hung - legally. Anglos, on the other hand, want the killer to go free. Though he's dating a beautiful Spanish girl (Yvonne Craig, with delightfully revealing décolletage), he's fair-minded and refuses to take sides - holding the prisoner for the judge who will decide. That character is played by the great Dan O'Herlihy, who brings this eccentric (and ultimately pivotal) character to vivid life. The result is something exceptional, and it's a shame this film is not better known.