The Sheriff of Fractured Jaw

Here's an odd formula for you. A very British actor, a busty bombshell, a British western (British?!?) and filming locations that would go onto bigger and better things within five years. What does all that add up to? A mostly entertaining, often fascinating 1960 western, The Sheriff of Fractured Jaw.

The son of the owner of a firearms company based in England, Jonathan Tibbs (Kenneth More) is looking for something to do. He doesn't feel quite at home in his father's company and is more comfortable building all sorts of crazy gadgets and contraptions. It doesn't take Tibbs too long to figure out a solution. Reading the newspaper one day, he reads a story about the violent wilds of the American west...where guns are quite prevalent. His rationalization? Where there's violence...there's guns so Tibbs packs up and heads to the American west in hopes of expanding his father's business. After plenty of travel, he ends up in the lawless town of Fractured Jaw where sheriffs can't seem to stick around too long. Well, they've got a new one. Through a series of misunderstandings and miscommunications, Tibbs becomes the new sheriff and the key to getting through it? A tough saloon owner, Kate (Jayne Mansfield), who takes a liking to the semi-clueless Brit. 

Go figure. This oddball, schizophrenic formula....it kinda works. In one of his last films, director Raoul Walsh helms this goofy, off the wall western. He was past his heyday back in Hollywood's Golden Age, working often with swashbuckling star Errol Flynn, but it's just one more choice you'd think wouldn't work but ends up working quite well. I'll watch anything western but a British western? It wouldn't/shouldn't seem to fit. Look, this isn't a classic. Far from it, things falling apart nicely in the last 30 minutes. When it does work, it's a pleasant change of pace, an entertaining mess. Oh, and those filming locations? 'Fractured' films on-location in Almeria, Spain where in about four years hundreds of spaghetti westerns were filmed. Makes sense, don't it?

Okay, let's cast a male and female lead, two actors who you'd never think would star in a British comedy western together. Hmm, and they're going to have to show off some lovey-dovey chemistry? How about Kenneth More and Jayne Mansfield? DONE! But once again, 'Fractured' gets the last laugh. More is by far the best thing the movie has to offer. A character development that depends on misunderstandings sounds tenuous at best, but More just commits. He plays it all straight and never seems to be going really hard at getting the laughs. He just gets them. The fish out of water routine -- the gentlemanly Brit in the rough and tumble west -- works over and over again. More's Tibbs is a gentleman, polite and trying to make friends and in the process never seems to realize he's doing everything in about the exact wrong way you're supposed to do it. An example? Indians attack the stagecoach he's on so naturally he tries to approach them peaceably to tell them to stop. Oh, by the way. His plan works.

Because More is so good, the chemistry with Mansfield works. One of the biggest sex symbols of the 1950s and into the 1960s, Mansfield isn't a great actress but she makes a go of it. She's here to look sexy, wear very tight dresses and let her natural endowments do the rest. She also sings three different songs, but she's dubbed so that's not her real singing voice. Instead, we're left to consider how anyone could actually be built like that. She's a real-life Barbie doll!

Who else to look for? Some familiar western faces to help ease viewers into...GASP...a British western!!! Henry Hull gets the most screentime as Masters, the Mayor of Fractured Jaw who likes Tibbs immediately, even if he has no idea that his new sheriff can barely handle a gun, much less live up to a reputation of a hardened fast draw. Also look for Bruce Cabot as a rancher who wants to test Tibbs, William Campbell as the real deal, a real fast draw and gunfighter, and Robert Morley as Tibbs' uncle.

So 'Fractured' runs about 103 minutes and for 60 minutes or so, it's really good. Then it takes a detour it never really recovers from. More's Tibbs gets caught up in a sticky situation with two warring ranches and their armies of gunslingers as well as an Indian tribe looking to stir up some trouble. The fish out of water bit wears a little thin as things are stretched out to fill that running time. Still, the first hour is really fun, and I enjoyed it a lot. So in the end, it's an enjoyable mess with some surprisingly good performances. Yep, a British comedy western actually works. I would have bet big money against that thought!

The Sheriff of Fractured Jaw (1960): ** 1/2 /****

Breakthrough (1950)

Maybe it's the difference in wars, but with the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, movies about those conflicts have almost 100% in theaters. Audiences don't want to see those stories that are so fresh in their minds and memories. Why then after WWII were audiences hit with waves of war movies? Was it just a different war? Did people feel differently? Was it because the United States won? I'm trying to figure it out myself. Released just five years after the war, 1950's Breakthrough is a strong example of what was to come in the war genre.

In England in the spring of 1944, the Allied invasion force is prepping for the coming invasion of France. Among the armies is Lt. Joe Mallory (John Agar), a young, inexperienced officer fresh out of training school. He's been given command of a veteran rifle platoon that's been fighting in North Africa and Italy for two-plus years, with their former commander, Capt. Hale (David Brian), now placed in command of the company. Hale turns to Sgt. Bell (Frank Lovejoy), the similarly veteran soldier, to help Mallory adjust and keep an eye on the platoon. With the coming D-Day invasion, the platoon will have to count on each other if they hope to make it through the campaign alive.   

This straight forward, no frills WWII flick premiered recently on Turner Classic Movies so I took my chance and recorded it, remembering seeing an old VHS box of it years before at a local video store but never picking it up. It isn't a classic, but it is interesting to watch considering how much it foreshadowed what war films would become over the next 10 years. From director Lewis Seiler, it is an early example of a unit picture, a story focusing on a squad, platoon, company, regiment, brigade...you get the idea. Lovejoy's narration is solid without trying to be the end-all, be-all in narration, and the story chooses to focus on the platoon's involvement in the fighting, not the bigger picture of how the war effort is going.

I can't quite put my finger on it, but there was something appealing about this war movie. It doesn't have that whitewashed feeling of so many WWII movies made so close to the end of the war. It's war with one side fighting the other. No bigger picture about why they fought or for who. The Germans are the enemy, but they're not demonized. The Americans are regular troops from all walks of life, individuals forced to work together to help each other survive. It isn't a graphic movie, but it is certainly intense, especially considering its 1950 release, including one battle sequence late. The story follows the 3rd Platoon from spring 1944 to late summer 1944, following them through training, onto Omaha Beach at Normandy, and then through the hedgerows in the French countryside. The formula -- from the episodic story elements to the character archetypes -- would be used countless other times in the years to come, but this is one of the earliest ventures and one of the best.

I'll say again, but 'cliched' isn't necessarily a bad thing. The character archetypes here have been used in countless war movies before and since and will keep on being used as long as there's more war movies. The three lead performances are some of the basics, Brian's Hale the hard-edged commander, Agar's Mallory the newbie trying to learn on the job, and Lovejoy's Bell the veteran soldier who knows how to survive and get his men to do the same. Lovejoy especially represents himself well, having some fun with a familiar character. The platoon includes Cpl. Dominick (William Campbell), the motor-mouth aspiring politician, Rojeck (Paul Picerni), the natural soldier and better complainer, Finley (Greg McClure), the fitness freak, Nelson (Richard Monahan), the wet behind the ears newbie, Henderson (Edward Norris), the family man, Jimbo (Matt Willis), the amiable Southerner, Hansen (Dick Wesson), the jokester, with William Self and Danny Arnold having less visible parts.

Nothing fancy, and nothing that will startle or amaze you, just a good, old-fashioned war story. Solid casting, fast-moving, effective and interesting story, and an honest, forthright look and feel of what it must be to be a soldier. Well worth tracking down a copy if you can find one.

Breakthrough <---short Youtube clip (1950): ***/****

The Secret Invasion

Released in 1967, Robert Aldrich's The Dirty Dozen came along at just the right terms for movie audiences with its cynical tone and generally pessimistic look at society and any sort of hierarchy and power.  The story of 12 convicts chosen to take part in a suicide mission just before D-Day was unlike anything audiences had seen.  To Aldrich's credit, he made the premise unique and damn entertaining.  Really though, the idea of convicts turned commandos had been used countless times before.

Take 1964's The Secret Invasion from the master of schlock, low-budget B-movies, director Roger Corman. The cult director made a career of doing a lot with very little in terms of money in the budget as well as producing some 300-plus movies.  But when given the chance, Corman showed what he was able to do with even a mid-sized budget like in 1964's The Secret Invasion, a WWII story that uses the same basic premise as Dirty Dozen.  Don't be confused though, 'Invasion' is still a B-movie without any notion of being anything else.  On the highly positive side, it's a prime example of how good a B-movie can be when everything goes right.

Stationed in Cairo in 1943, British Major Richard Mace (Stewart Granger) has assembled a dubious crew to help him on a dangerous mission in the Balkans.  From prisons and penitentiaries all around the world, Mace has assembled a crew of criminals -- all experts in one way or another -- to join him.  Just days away from the Allied invasion of Italy, Mace and his team will sneak into the Balkans and help an Italian general (Enzo Fiermonte) escape from a heavily guarded German prison.  With the general's help, Mace hopes to turn the Italian forces against the Germans, making the Allied invasion even a little bit smoother.  First though, the major has to worry about keeping his team of crooks in line, many of them willing to shoot him and escape the first chance they get.

Now with a B-movie -- even a really good one like this -- you can't expect a bunch of A-listers starring.  Instead, you get something better.  Actors you know and have seen countless times but usually in supporting roles.  Some were past their prime and others still on the rise.  Corman hits a home run with the casting of his dirty half-dozen including Raf Vallone as Rocca, a mafioso and expert planner of strategy, Mickey Rooney as Scanlon, an IRA explosives expert, Edd Byrnes as Fell, the master forger, Henry Silva as Durell, the hired assassin, and William Campbell as Saval, a master of disguise and deception.  These were all solid character actors given a shot at starring roles, and the ensemble doesn't disappoint.

With any 'men on a mission' movie, there's a certain dark element that makes them intriguing.  By the end, you know most if not all won't make it so early on make your choices.  'Invasion' certainly has some fun with this notion as to who survives and how.  The cast is clearly having some fun with these cardboard cutouts for roles.  Vallone as the reliable second in command speaks in that heavily accented English and certainly makes a positive impression, as does Silva as the dead-eyed killer.  But by far, the most surprising and enjoyable part is for Rooney as the half-mad Irishman and explosives expert.  Playing completely against type -- as he would do again two years later in B-movie Ambush Bay -- Rooney absolutely steals the movie.

As much as I like a good, old-fashioned long movie (even The Dirty Dozen was 150 minutes long), a quick-paced B-movie can be just as enjoyable.  With his 95-minute movie here, Corman keeps the story going at all times with some snappy dialogue or a quick action set-piece.  The story flies by and never really slows down.  It's never long before the half-dozen find themselves in some sticky new situation they have to get out of.  Along the way, they dodge either, work with some partisans, and then finally must fight their way out of the German fortress.  Sounds easy, don't it?

Taking advantage of a bigger budget, Corman filmed in Yugoslavia and Croatia, giving the whole movie a unique, realistic feel to the proceedings.  The on-location shooting is great, but Corman saves the best for last.  Chased by hundreds of German soldiers, Mace's crew must escape up a seaside hill with the Germans close on their heels.  He clearly spent some money on this battle sequence with an epic feel.  Lots of extras working as German soldiers, explosions and shootouts galore, and some surprises as to who survives and who doesn't.  It's a great action sequence, and Corman almost lulls you to sleep early with so little action.  He certainly makes up for it in his finale.

I stumbled across this war flick at IMDB a few years back and am I ever glad I did.  It's exciting right from the start -- opening scenes included below -- and never really slows down.  Cool choices in casting, gorgeous locations, and a wham bang action finish.  Maybe it doesn't have the high hopes a movie like The Dirty Dozen did, but from master director/producer Corman, this is about as good as a B-movie can be!

The Secret Invasion <---opening (1964): *** 1/2 /****

Code Two

Did you ever watch an episode of CHiPs and think 'Man, I wish they made a movie about these guys?' Yeah, me neither.  But if you did, 1953's Code Two might be just the movie for you except without Erik Estrada, way too tight biker pants, and police seducing women every chance they get.  Almost serving as a public service announcement about how cool it is to be a motorcycle cop, Code Two has its moments in a quick 69-minute running time.

Made with a relatively unknown cast and with a smallish budget, 'Code' benefits from some cool on-location shooting in Los Angeles and the surrounding area which gives a nice window into 1950s California.  Add on top of that some even cooler footage of vintage motorcycles whipping around the city, and you've basically got this movie with a ham-fisted storyline thrown in for good measure.  Let's face it, what's a motorcycle cop movie without some ridiculous crime to solve?

Heading into the police academy, three officers-to-be dream of one day being motorcycle cops.  First, there's Chuck O'Flair (Ralph Meeker), a cocky, fun-loving SOB who wants to prove he's the best.  Second, there is Harry Whenlon (Jeff Richards), the boring All-American guy devoid of all personality.  Last is Russ Hartley (Robert Horton), a husband looking to provide for his young family.  But if these three crazy kids want to be motorcycle cops, first they've got to get through Jumbo Culdane (Keenan Wynn), the tough as nails veteran instructor who will throw everything in the book at them so they're ready for their jobs.  Even if they do pass, they've got the extremely dangerous job of patrolling the streets ahead of them.

Nothing from that storyline isn't straight out of the movie script cookie cutter formula maker.  Really, the plot is probably the last thing you'd look for in a movie like that.  'Code' at its best is with the trainees going through their equivalent of boot camp to get onto the LAPD and then their bike training to become motorcycle cops.  There's some great footage of these training sequences with much of the cast -- especially Meeker and Wynn -- looking like they did much of their own riding whenever possible.

The cast is nothing special with the only characters of interest being Meeker's cocky Chuck and Wynn's tough as nails Jumbo.  The All-American boy is about as cardboard as possible, and the family man cop tries to hide his job from his wife who worries about him.  Thankfully, not too much time is devoted to either of them.  Meeker does what he does best, play an a-hole, and while he's not particularly likable, he's at least interesting.  Wynn looks to be enjoying himself the most as Jumbo -- think the police equivalent of a foul-mouthed (for the 50s at least) of a Marine drill sergeant.

The already mentioned ridiculous crime that has to be solved is a doozy.  SPOILERS  During a routine traffic stop, Harry gets knocked out and run over by a cattle truck (William Campbell is the killer), but little evidence other than a tire track is left behind to provide clues.  Meeker's Chuck ends up breaking the case which even now having finished the movie makes me shake my head.  In 1952 Los Angeles, some criminal organization is rustling cattle, transporting them in trucks, slaughtering them and butchering the meat, and apparently running some sort of illegal deli.  Chuck tracks them down and gets in a shootout with a lot of nameless henchmen just waiting to get knocked off.

A completely forgettable movie but at least its entertaining.  Also watch for a young uncredited Chuck Connors in just his fourth movie, making a quick appearance as a sheriff's deputy.  Probably worthwhile for motorheads and for a nostalgic look at 1950s Los Angeles.

Code Two <----TCM trailer (1952): ** 1/2 /****

Battle Circus

For 11 seasons staring in 1972, MASH dominated TV as one of the best shows around, including a series finale that still holds the record for most viewers of an episode in the U.S. with over 100 million people watching. It was a unique show that came along at the right time which viewers connected with to the point the show lasted four times longer than the war it was based in, the Korean War.

Comparing the four major wars the U.S. was involved in during the 20th Century, the Korean War was a turning point, both because the U.S. didn't win but also with the changing technology between WWII and Vietnam. In the MASH tv show, the focus was on Mobile Army Surgical Hospitals, hospitals built near the front lines so casualties could be treated quicker and more efficiently. They were always on the move, going backward or forward depending on how the fighting went, and were always on-call in case of incoming casualties that needed to be treated. MASH dealt with all this in its 11-year run, but what about a movie made during the Korean War that dealt with these MASH units? Throw in an unnecessary romance plotline, and you've got 1953's Battle Circus.

It's the middle of the Korean War and nurse Ruth McGara (June Allyson) has received a posting to MASH 66 near the front lines. There she finds a camp with a commanding officer, Lt. Col. Whalter (Robert Keith), who doesn't seem to have much in the way of respect with one of his surgeons, Major Jed Webbe (Humphrey Bogart), basically running things. Ruth tries to settle in as best she can with the chaotic life led by the troops stationed at this MASH unit. With the front lines up in the air and a Communist attack always a possibility, Ruth falls for the roguish Maj. Webbe. While showing interest in the new nurse (almost like Hawkeye Pierce in training), Webbe has little to no interest in a serious relationship with Ruth. Can those two crazy kids keep it together?

Filmed with the help of the Department of Defense and the Attorney General and released in 1953, the movie lacks the typically blunt messages of a war-time movie. Little to no propaganda is thrown at the viewer, and other than a North Korean prisoner, the enemy is almost an afterthought that is spoken of but never shown. The semi-documentary style works well in showing the inner workings of this MASH unit. Where the TV show MASH unit never seemed to move, this one is packing up and on their way several times. Some great sequences with Keenan Wynn's Sgt. Statt leading these moves illustrate how crazy these units could be at times, usually just a mile or so from the front line.

The day-to-day life of MASH 66 are obviously the worthwhile segments in Battle Circus, showing similar things the TV show would deal with almost 20 years later. Several vignettes come to mind, including a helicopter pilot (William Campbell) flying into a hot zone to pick up a wounded soldier and then later trying to reach camp in the dark with his fuel running out. It's the type of thing that almost certainly happened thousands of times during the war, but seeing it brings it to life. The finale especially works as Bogie's Webbe evacuates the hospital with guerillas closing in on all sides, all the while trying to care for the most seriously wounded patients.

For whatever reason though, the day-to-day life portrayal must not have been exciting enough for the studios because Bogart and Allyson's love story was added in. I've never been a huge fan of Allyson -- she comes across as too whiney in all the roles I've seen -- and teaming her with Bogart (who was 20 years older than her at the time) is an odd pairing. Bogie is basically Hawkeye Pierce carrying a gun and has the look of a frazzled, often exhausted surgeon dealing with the neverending flow of wounded patients. He doesn't have much in the way of chemistry with Allyson, and their scenes together ground the otherwise enjoyable/exciting story to a halt.

Too bad because much more time is spent with the falling in love storyline instead of the inner workings of the hospital. Bogie is always cool, and it's fun to see him in a war movie, but the thrown together romance derails the movie. Wynn is solid in a key supporting role, as is Keith, but the division of the storyline takes its toll late. See this one for the sequences of a front-line MASH unit and fast forward through the smaltzy love scenes.

Battle Circus <----trailer (1953): ** 1/2 /****

The Naked and the Dead

When I think of author Norman Mailer, one thing comes to mind. Big books, real big books. I haven't read any of Mailer's stories, partly because I get intimidated when I see a paperback I could knock someone out with if using it as a weapon. His take on WWII in the Pacific, based on his own service, was a huge hit upon its release and surprise, surprise, turned into a movie of the same name, The Naked and The Dead.

Now looking at a reissue of Mailer's novel, the Amazon listing has it as over 700 pages so any movie version is going to have to cut things out. The 1958 movie clocks in at 131 minutes so I tried to keep that in mind while watching it. TCM's Robert Osborne said the novel upon its initial release was a huge success because of its 'salty language' with plenty of four-letter words and its frank way of dealing with some touchy subject matters. Of course, a movie from 1958 had to strip much of that away with censors. So right off the bat, the movie already has two strikes against it, but I'll move on.

The story centers around an American infantry battalion on an unnamed Pacific island midway through the war. Three main characters step to the front, giving the viewer a good sense of all the different ranks in the battalion. First, there's Sgt. Sam Croft (Aldo Ray in a part he was born to play), the leader of an intelligence and recon platoon that is understrength after several campaigns on the front lines. His men hate him almost to a man, and he gives them good reason. Croft is sadistic, killing unarmed prisoners callously and then prying the gold teeth out of their mouths. Second, there's Lt. Robert Hearn (Cliff Robertson), a young officer with connections back home. Translation = Earns a job far from the front lines. And third, there's General Cummings (Raymond Massey), the battalion commander obsessed with casualty estimates and striking fear into his men's hearts, often for pointless power trips.

I liked the idea of seeing the war from different perspectives, from the high-ranking general to the men on the front line. With war movies, it's typically one or the other. But in the execution, something doesn't translate. The first 70 minutes are extremely reliant on dialogue scenes meant to flesh out the main characters. Maybe this was the purpose, but none of the three are particularly likable. Croft is pure evil, Hearn is a cocky, arrogant spoiled son of a you know what, and Cummings borders on the crazy. These early scenes drag on too much.

The pace picks up when a twist to the storyline is thrown in. On this Japanese-held island, Cummings' advance has slowed to a halt. He puts into action a plan that should break the stalemate, but he needs behind the lines info. Croft and his platoon are selected to go behind the Japanese lines and set up an observation post for their advancing battalion mates. After pissing off Cummings, Hearn is given command of the platoon. So now, they're not only tangling with Japanese patrols, but a fight for power between Hearn and Croft.

The patrol segment is by far the better part of the movie. There's a natural tension as Croft and his men walk through the jungle (Panama substitituing for the actual Pacific) trying to get to their objective while avoiding the Japanese. What I enjoyed most in the movie was Croft's platoon which includes Richard Jaeckel, William Campbell, James Best as the bible-thumping, drawling medic, Jerry Paris and Rat Packer Joey Bishop as two Jewish soldiers, Robert Gist, and L.Q. Jones at his overacting best. Jaeckel and Jones are really the only ones given any development, and reading the book reviews it seems the platoon's back story was sacrificed from the 700-page plus behemoth.

For a WWII movie, the action is pretty sparse and when it comes along, it's pretty disappointing. The gunfire sounds like prop guns and the explosions look as staged as a movie explosion can be. As mentioned before with the censors, the violence is often off-screen, like a Japanese patrol burning in a lit-up field, and comes off as too tame. It's hard to judge a movie for the time it was made in, but if this movie was released in the 90s we're talking a Pacific version of Saving Private Ryan.

So compared to other WWII movies in the 50s and 60s, this one is pretty average but a lot of my complaints come from the censors. Director Raoul Walsh tried to make the definitive, honest look at a platoon of soldiers in the Pacific in WWII, but it is hamstringed by any number of forces working against it. Worth a watch for Aldo Ray's performance and the list of character actors who make up his platoon, but otherwise this one's only worth it for diehard war movie fans.

The Naked and The Dead (1958): **/****