Les reivers

Steve McQueen tools around in a classy car, dodging bad guys, loving the ladies, and not giving a cuss. This may read like your typical 1960s effort from him, but that's something "The Reivers" ain't.

What is it? I guess it can be summed up as a broad coming-of-age comedy set in the American South in 1905, featuring a boy named Lucius (Mitch Vogel) who, against his better judgment, sets off with a couple of older-but-not-wiser friends in his grandfather's stolen automobile to visit the wicked city of Memphis. In no time he is holed up in a local bordello, trying to help win back his grandfather's car in a desperate horse race.

At the center of Lucius's worries is the man who talked him into the whole adventure, Boon Hoggenbeck, who wants the car to impress one of the pretty Memphis prostitutes he has set his cap on. "He knows no obstacles, counts no costs, fears no dangers," Grandpa (Will Geer) warns young Lucius of Boon.

Okay, that does sound like McQueen the way Gramps put it there. But McQueen's Boon is more of an overgrown boy than stolid icon. A bucolic coming-of-age comedy based on a William Faulkner novel, "The Reivers" seems McQueen's attempt at stretching out from action-hero mode. He's quite a bit of fun with his sometimes outsized comic reactions, a bit old for the part but certainly a capable center in what amounts to his first ensemble piece since "The Great Escape."

Director Mark Rydell made life-affirming American-heartland flicks that celebrate homey characters and downhome values, and "The Reivers" certainly fits his oeuvre. He is abetted wonderfully by the sunny lenswork of Richard Moore and a graceful, jaunty score by John Williams. In its elegiac, serio-comic tone, it is a lot like the film McQueen chose to make this over, "Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid."

More a situation than a story, "The Reivers" introduces us to a shifting cast of characters and lets each spend some time with the viewer. Some leave stronger marks than others.

Rupert Crosse leaves the deepest impression as Lucius' distant black relative Ned, who drives Boon crazy asserting his rights as a member of the McCaslin family by virtue of a great-grandfather who impregnated a slave. Ned is a proud man who likes to push his point beyond the bounds of reason, stowing away on Grandfather's car when Boon and Lucius make their Memphis trip.

"If I wait until I'm invited I'll never will go anywhere," Ned points out when Boon tries unsuccessfully to toss him. Ned is the agent provocateur in "The Reivers," somewhat dangerous in his ways but valuable, too, played with a vulnerable, humor-filled grandeur by Crosse, who got an Oscar nomination for his work. You laugh more with him than at him, but it's a bit of both.

Where "The Reivers" goes a little wrong is with some of the other characters. Sharon Farrell is the proverbial prostitute with a heart of gold who bonds with Lucius, while other smaller parts are filled by memorable character actors who get little to do. "We were a pleasant and courteous people, tending to our business," Burgess Meredith explains in the voice-over narration, and often they seem a bit too much of just that. Even the bad guys, like a racist sheriff played by Clifton James, seem a bit toothless and too-easily- handled.

Still, I enjoyed this film, if more around the margins than in the main. It's not unusual to see McQueen wielding a pistol, but it is to watch the target josh him about his lousy aim between shots. Aided especially by Crosse and Vogel, "The Reivers" isn't maybe as wise or knowing as it tries to be, but does leave you with a warm and fuzzy feeling that doesn't stale with repeat viewings. A sleepy charmer, it shows even a king can make for a capable jester once in a while.

For a movie that starred one of the greatest box office stars of his time, based on a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by one America's greatest writers, "The Reivers" has continued to be something of an answer to a trivia question ("In what movie did Steve McQueen portray a semi-comic character involving a stolen automobile and a horse race?") I'm not sure of the reasons myself, but this movie has remained at the top of my "Favorite Movies" list since I first saw it in 1969. Maybe it was the out-of-character role of McQueen. Maybe it was the excellence of his supporting cast that includes Mitch Vogel, Rupert Crosse and Will Geer. Maybe it was the direction by Mark Rydell. Or maybe it was the outstanding score by John Williams (which has remained my favorite movie score of all time). Most likely, it is a combination of all the above. All I can say is that this movie has never lost its appeal for me. Watching the movie is like visiting an old friend with whom the passage of time will only strengthen the bonds of affection. This movie may not be for everybody, but I recommend it on the chance that you may be smitten by its special charm.

This was a great film written by the famous writer William Faulkner dealing with an old man going back to his youth sixty years ago. Steve McQueen, (Boon Hogganbeck) along with a few of his friends decided to take a trip from Mississippi to Memphis in an old time car which was relatively new during this period of time and taking along a very young boy named Lucius, (Mitch Vogel). Boon takes Lucius into a brothel where he stays over night in Memphis and learns a great deal about the birds and the bees and especially from a sweet kind lady named Carrie, (Sharon Farrell) who is a gal very much in love with Boon. There is a horse race and lots of laughs and drama to go along with the rest of the picture. There was a great deal of problems between the director of this film Mark Rydell and Steve McQueen, but the film was finally completed but the producer would never direct another picture with McQueen.

I have not read the Faulkner story on which this is based, so I can't comment on how much of this delightful film can be credited to him (doubtless Burgess Meredith's voiceovers are Faulkner's words), but this wonderful movie about the pain of growing up is laced with plenty of adventure and fun and deserves to become a classic. The John Williams score is superb. The acting is wonderful from all the leads, including the boy. This is one of the underrated Steve McQueen's best roles, and Will Geer is perfect in the small but rich part of Boss. The characters are all wonderfully and richly fleshed out, and there are many moments of human insight. To top it off, the cinematography makes the movie simply gorgeous to look at.

Considering the movie's manifold virtues it's interesting to note that one never sees it on any of the cable channels. The reason is obvious, and it's political correctness. The movie uses the "n" word multiple times, although always in the same way Mark Twain used it, i.e. to demonstrate the inhumanity behind the use of the word. Also Corrie has her eye blackened by Boone, and Ned explains to Lucius "what better sign can a woman want from a man that he has her on his mind." All this racism and sexual violence is of course abhorrent, but the forces of political correctness would rather pretend that it never existed than to look it square in the eye.

So to see this movie you'll have to buy it on DVD, which I strongly urge you to do.

A diverse group goes off on an adventure, each for his own reasons, and each comes back changed and much wiser. Romance, excitement, tough choices, new experiences, and a really great car -- what more can you ask for? In a just world, this would be considered a classic of the coming-of-age genre. It is one of McQueen's most complex and charming performances. Crosse, another actor who died much too young, is brilliant. It has some mature material, but it is a wonderful family movie to talk to kids 13 and up about what growing up really means.