Californie, terre nouvelle

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.

Patrick Wayne is the sheriff of the town town in this section of California with a jail. Sort of. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo has been signed, and California is now American. But there's been no official appointment, so he's just making it up as he goes along. So after he arrests Dennis Hopper for shooting down a Mexican, he's surprised to find judge Dan O'Herlihy riding into town with Deputy Marshal Cliff Ketchum. After the jury is charged and they retire to come to a verdict, the Mexicans gather to see what American justice looks like. So do Hopper's friends.

There isn't much subtext to this movie, and director Ted Tetzlaff runs things that way, with a competent cast that includes Yvonne Craig, Ken Curtis, and Pedro Gonzalez Gonzalez, all indulging in stereotypes of various sorts. Hopper is excellent, of course, as is Curtis as another bad man who fled to California and is appointed deputy to guard his old friend. Winton Hoch shoots wide vistas in Technicolor, and Dmitri Tiomkin picked up and Oscar nomination with Ned Washington for best song.

"The Young Land" is a western set immediately after California is ceded from Mexico to the United States following the Mexican-American War. Most westerns are usually set in the late 19th century...this one is in 1848. The story essentially is whether or not American justice applies to everyone, as a young punk (Dennis Hopper) kills a Mexican-American man for kicks...and he assumes no court will convict him nor will anyone care...since the victim was 'one of them'.

The appointed judge (Dan O'Herlihy) is a stickler for the law and for proper procedure...which is problematic because he only has a local sheriff (Patrick Wayne) and a US Marshall to assist him....and there are many Mexican-American vaqueros ('cowboys') and American cowboys who are bent on their own form of justice. You have no idea what's going to happen until the end...and it's a very tense setting.

As a former US History teacher, I appreciate the setting and plot. I didn't appreciate the historical inaccuracies. They are not horrible inaccuracies, but folks just didn't run around shooting each other with revolvers back in 1848. First, shootouts like you see in the film were incredibly rare. Second, at this time, revolvers of any type were exceptionally rare...only having been invented shortly before this. The same can be said for the lever action rifle used at the end...it wasn't available until about 1860. Most of the guns they use in the film were all of much later models than 1848. Now this doesn't destroy the film...it just makes it annoying for us ex-teachers. And, it could be worse, as in "The Alamo" (1960) there were TONS of repeating pistols and rifles...none of which had yet been invented!

The direction is good and the acting quite good despite there being no 'names' in the story for 1959. Dennis Hopper is great as the scummy villain...but he was definitely an unknown at the time. This is even more the case with Patrick Wayne, John Wayne's son, who plays the lead....he's good and handsome but like Hopper he added little to the film's marketability and most people wondered who the heck these folks were! Still, they were very good....and O'Herlihy as well.

By the way, while he may not have looked it, Wayne was an interesting choice in this film about race relations and prejudice, as in real life Patrick's mother was a Mexican-American and father the famous American icon.

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.

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.