The Yellow Tomahawk

Every so often, I just need a good, old-fashioned B-western. It doesn't have to be great or even particularly good, but I need that dose of WESTERN. So while 1954's The Yellow Tomahawk is pretty run-of-the-mill, I liked it. Entertaining, surprisingly violent and with a cool cast, it's a solid western that's worth a watch.

Riding out of the wilderness, frontiersman Adam Reed (Rory Calhoun) finds himself being chased by Cheyenne warriors. He's cornered and looks to be in trouble until his blood brother, Cheyenne warrior Fire Knife (Lee Van Cleef), steps in, all of it a show to arrange a meeting. Fire Knife has a warning and a message he would like delivered. The U.S. cavalry is building a new fort nearby with a commander, Major Ives (Warner Anderson), who lead a bloody massacre months prior against a peaceful Indian camp. His reputation has preceded him with Fire Knife passing his message along to Reed. What is it? Tell Ives to stop building the fort and risk an attack that will wipe out the partially-assembled fort. Reed rides down to the fort and passes it along but Ives isn't having it, doubting the truth of the threat. What awaits for the small garrison and the soldiers' families who have traveled west? Reed sees the writing on the wall but no one else seems to believe what's coming.

Nothing flashy here, nothing too crazy. From director Lesley Selander, 'Tomahawk' is nonetheless an entertaining, pretty solid western that isn't limited by its budget or limitations. A longtime director in film and television, Selander is a pro at spinning a movie like this. So often, westerns are town-bound. limited by a fake-looking set that never allows the story to breathe. This particular entry does not have that problem with virtually no sets! The cavalry building a fort allows for no sets other than a couple half-assembled walls. It was shot on-location at the Kanab Movie Ranch and Fort, giving the story a cool, intimidating, scary sense of the openness of the desert and wilderness. You're all alone out there, and with the threat of an imminent Indian attack, there's no place to hide.

A star of B-westerns who often played supporting roles in bigger budget pictures, Calhoun is a favorite of mine. He plays a memorable, roguish good guy, a solid anti-hero with an edge who is quite comfortable in the western and in the saddle. His Adam Reed character, a frontiersman and scout of sorts, is interesting because of his hinted-at backstory. It's never told in detail, but it appears he lived with the Cheyenne at some point, his brotherhood and family connection with a young Lee Van Cleef as warrior Fire Knife. If there was a little more time to breathe ('Tomahawk' is a very pleasant 82 minutes), maybe we could have learned some more about out hero. Still, what's there is pretty cool.

No A-listers on-hand here, but that doesn't detract from an overall good cast. Peggie Castle (Lily Merrill on TV's Lawman) is the necessary love interest, a beautiful woman visiting her fiance, a cavalry officer, at the budding fort. She's no damsel in distress either, a welcome addition to the genre. Noah Beery Jr. has some stereotypical fun as Tonio, an ay-ay-ay Mexican horse wrangler with a beautiful Indian girl, Honey Bear (Rita Moreno), who follows him around. As the stupidly blind officer, Major Ives, Warner Anderson is frighteningly uncomfortable, portraying an officer that was probably all too familiar in the wild west. Also look for Peter Graves (gold prospector) and Adam Williams and James Best (cavalry troopers) in key supporting parts.

One good western after another followed a simple formula. Introduce a disparate group of survivors and individuals, throw them into a survival situation with an ever-present Indian war party, and see who makes it out. After an intense, tension-building first 30 minutes or so, that's what 'Tomahawk' uses as a base. We follow a small group of survivors of an Indian attack trying to get across the desert to safety. The action itself is pretty intense in itself, especially the Cheyenne attack on the hastily-built and poorly-defended fort. It's not hugely graphic -- it is still 1954 after all -- but the violence is incredibly rough and if it had been shown on-screen, whoo, we're talking one nasty picture. The ending too is pretty honest for a mid-1950's western, something that surprised me, caught me off-guard a little bit.

A solid western overall. Worth checking out.

The Yellow Tomahawk (1954): ** 1/2 /****

The Sea Chase

First and foremost, John Wayne was one of the screen's most iconic cowboys. Sure, he took some detours along the way as soldiers, cops and on occasion, as sailors and captains. It can be kinda odd seeing him at see instead of in the saddle, but some of the ventures are pretty good, especially 1955's The Sea Chase. And it's not just the Duke that's interesting, but some generally unique choices in storytelling and tone. And away we go on the high seas!

It's the late 1930's and the German steam freighter Ergenstrasse, commanded by German captain Karl Ehrlich (Wayne), is in port in Sydney, Australia. Ehrlich has fallen from some impressive heights in the German navy because he refuses to support the Nazi party, but he's a supremely capable officer with a solid reputation among fellow sailors. Then the whole world is turned upside down when World War II breaks out, leaving the Ergenstrasse far from home and badly under-supplied. Before they slip out from Sydney though, Ehrlich is visited by the German consul who thrusts a German spy on-board, Elsa Keller (Lana Turner), who has important information and needs to get back to German soil. The British Navy doesn't want to let Ehrlich's ship get through though, setting off a cat-and-mouse across the Pacific and Atlantic of who can out-maneuver the other.

This isn't a movie remembered as one of John Wayne's best, but from the star's weakest decade overall, it's a pretty good entry. It isn't a classic, but I found it damn entertaining, director John Farrow at the helm (shipping/sailing pun intended) of a war thriller that's been generally forgotten. John Wayne as a German captain during WWII? Even if he despises the Nazi party, that's a risky play for a star associated with America and patriotism. 'Chase' was filmed in Australia and Hawaii, its sun-drenched locations giving the thriller one purty look. It isn't flashy, but it certainly gets the job done.

So Wayne as a German captain works surprisingly well. He commits himself to the part in the same way he would a cowboy or a soldier. His Karl Ehrlich is a career man, someone who lives by his word and expects others around him to do the same. Nothing is aggressive or heavy-handed about the background, just that Wayne's Ehrlich has little use for Hitler and the Nazis and is paying for those feelings by being sent to captain the far-off German steamer with no value and no hope of promotion. He knows getting back to Germany will end in trouble for his own future, but it is his duty and he feels compelled to do it, troubling results be damned. He looks comfortable to in the role and compared to some of those 1950's duds -- like The Conqueror or Blood Alley -- it's a classic!

In a long, distinguished career, Wayne wasn't always given too many roles with love interests. Okay, that's not true. Love interests other than Maureen O'Hara. Some reviews seem to disagree with me, but I thought the Duke and the lovely Lana Turner were pretty good together. They've both got somewhat checkered pasts and neither has a future that seems too pleasant, but those two stubborn kids, wouldn't you know that they end up falling for each other a tiny bit? Oh, sorry, SPOILER. A good pairing, the only time these two Hollywood legends worked together. It's a very solid pairing.

If a John Wayne at sea love story isn't your thing, the supporting cast here should pull you in. They're not always given a lot to do in a 117-minute running time, but the character actor star power is ON-POINT here. It's cool just seeing all these fellas together, starting with David Farrar as Napier, Ehrlich's friend and a British officer leading the chase, and Lyle Bettger as Chief Officer Kirchner, a die-hard, loyal follower of the Nazi party who's gonna cause all sorts of problems. As for the Ergenstrasse crew -- and I take a deep breath -- look for Tab Hunter, James Arness, Richard Davalos, Luis Van Rooten, John Qualen, Paul Fix, Alan Hale Jr., Peter Whitney, Claude Akins, John Doucette, and Adam Williams. Not bad, huh? Movie nerds will definitely appreciate that character actor-studded cast.

There are some slower portions during the midsection as Ehrlich and the Ergenstrasse improvises and picks up some supplies at a remote Pacific island. It's necessary though as we get to know the persistently stubborn captain and his beautiful German spy on-board. The international intrigue though picks up, especially when Bettger's Kirchner goes on his own and makes a dangerous command decision that puts the whole crew at risk. There's nothing too flashy from beginning to end, but this is a pretty solid sea thriller, meant to be watched on a rainy Sunday afternoon or late at night with some popcorn. A cool change of pace for the Duke with the beautiful Lana Turner and a fun supporting cast. Definitely worth a watch.

The Sea Chase (1955): ***/****

North by Northwest

Name a great director. A truly great one. Someone like Stanley Kubrick, John Ford, Billy Wilder, Orson Welles, and for today's review, Alfred Hitchcock. Ask any fan what their favorite movie is from their favorite actor, and you'll no doubt get some great answers; some agreed upon on and others surprising. For Mr. Hitchcock though, the Master of Suspense himself, that favorite movie is not worth arguing about, and I don't think it's that close either. Here's 1959's North by Northwest, my favorite Hitchcock movie by far and one of the best movies ever.

Working as an ad executive in New York City, Roger Thornhill (Cary Grant) leads quite the bachelor life in Manhattan. Well, he did lead quite the bachelor life. Visiting clients at lunch, Thornhill is taken by gunpoint out of the restaurant and driven to an isolated countryside mansion far from the city. There he meets a mysterious but eerily calm man, Vandamm (James Mason), who begins to ask him questions, questions that Thornhill has absolutely no idea how to answer. What do the questions lead Thornhill to believe? These men believe he's some sort of secret agent, a government official who's trying to stop them from doing...well, something. Vandamm and Co. have had enough though and decide to kill Thornhill, but he manages to escape. Now what? No one believes his improbable story. NO ONE. These men won't leave him alone though, and now, Thornhill is being framed for murder. He goes on the run, and the key to his safety may be a similarly mysterious but very beautiful young woman (Eva Marie Saint). Can Thornhill figure it out before his time runs out?

Sometimes, you just tip your cap to someone at the top of their game. That's Alfred Hitchcock here directing this 1959 mystery thriller. With more than a few genuine classics to his name already, Hitchcock hits this one out of the stadium. It's perfect. Smart, funny, frightening, impressive, so many adjectives come to mind. It's that Hitchcock does it all so seamlessly too. One scene, the tension is dripping off the screen. The next Grant and Saint engage some of the more scandalous dialogue to come out of the dialogue. Next up, a ridiculously charged chase scene. The movie clocks in at 136 minutes and covers a ton of ground, impressive when you consider the story basically has no plot, no huge reveals. So as I said, tip your cap. Some movies are untouchable, and this is planted firmly on that list. A master director at his absolute best.

A true test of a director's legacy is that all-important impact he/she makes with their films. One of Hitchcock's many, even countless impressions he's made is a little ditty called the 'macguffin.' It is a plot device that is SO FREAKING IMPORTANT, but never gets explained in the least. Like AT ALL. That's this entire movie. It's a movie about secret agents and the hidden government offices who run them. It's about bad guys who hold diabolical government secrets and must be stopped at all costs. So in that sense, there's literally no plot here. Yeah, Grant's Thornhill must stop Mason's Vandamm but...whatever. This is an epic case of mistaken identity that snowballs into something far more sinister, dangerous and potentially deadly. It takes a brave, talented and gutsy director to pull something like that off. I've always thought the 1950s were Hitchcock's strongest decade, and this is leading the way out front.

I got the sense watching 'Northwest' recently for this review that the Thornhill character was probably written for a younger actor. You know what though? It doesn't matter. Yeah, maybe Cary Grant was a little older than intended for the character, but his charming, likable on-screen persona and his smooth, deadpan delivery is beyond perfect for the part. As this case of mistaken identity unravels, Grant's charming, gentlemanly indignation fits effortlessly into the story. His chemistry with the lovely Eva Marie Saint is one of the best in film history, simple as that. Their dialogue is scandalous even a little bit now, ahead of its time for sure. You watch their scenes together and marvel. Just sit back and enjoy it. Hitchcock reveled in thumbing his nose at Hollywood's so-called rules, and my goodness, he pushes the envelope any time he can. I have to wonder, did the censors and studio just allow it? It's just too good to pass up.

The cast is so disgustingly good everywhere you look. Mason is the perfect foil to Grant, similarly charming, calculating and with a touch of diabolical intent. His henchmen are terrifying without saying more than a few words, Martin Landau and the creepiest eyes ever and Adam Williams as his knife-wielding enforcer. Just eight years older than Cary Grant, Jessie Royce Landis has a ball as Thornhill's worrying mother, the comic straight woman to all these antics, including her classic encounter with Landau and Williams in a packed elevator. There's also a great little part as Leo G. Carroll as the Professor, a mysterious, distinguished man interested in seeing how the proceedings develop. There's too many other familiar faces with small parts that pop up here and there to mention, but I noticed a cool, quick and you'll blink moment with a young Jeremy Slate as an alert policeman in Grant Central Station. A cool, very early part for a Just Hit Play favorite!

I hadn't watched this movie in years straight through, and man, it was fun catching up with this classic film. From Saul Bass' incredible credit sequence -- watch it HERE -- to composer Bernard Herrmann's phenomenal musical score -- give it a listen HERE -- this movie is technically perfect. Hitchcock uses some great visual tricks from matte paintings and green-screen techniques that trick your eye into seeing something you're not and doing it without calling attention to those techniques. Again, Hitchcock puts it all together. Sit back and take it all in.  

Talk to fans of the movie, and there's countless scenes that they'll mention as their favorites. There's the climactic chase ON Mount Rushmore (WHAT?!?), the painfully tension-riddled scene at an isolated crossroads with quite a twist in maybe the movie's most iconic scenes, and that's just two I'm willing to mention. If you haven't seen this movie, you are in for a treat. If you have seen it, go back and revisit 'Northwest.' There are few movies that click on all cylinders like Hitchcock's classic film does. From New York City to Chicago to Rapid City, a thrill a minute ride. A true, TRUE classic.

North by Northwest (1959): ****/****

The Lonely Man

One of those great Hollywood tough guys, Jack Palance was without a doubt, one of the best heavies around in film. He was great in those tough, can't keep down parts that ranged from heroes to dastardly villains, especially in 1953's Shane where he played one of the western genre's all-time great villains. So in the 1950s as he played a lot of anti-heroes, a lot of out-and-out bad guys, it's cool to see him in a well-told, somber western from 1957, The Lonely Man.

In a quiet, dusty western town, a man with quite the reputation, Jacob Wade (Palance), rides up the street looking to find someone. His reputation leans heavily toward the wrong side of the law, Wade gaining notoriety as a gunfighter, a killer, a bandit, and wherever he goes, that name precedes him. He finds the man he's looking for, Riley (Anthony Perkins), a young man, a bit of a loafer around town who goes about his own business quietly. Who is he? He's Wade's son, the son he hasn't seen in over 15 years since leaving him and the boy's mother, hitting the outlaw trail of sorts. After all those years apart though, Wade wants to do right by his son, setting him up with a ranch, some cattle. It will be small at first, but with some hard work, it can flourish....if Riley wants anything to do with his long-lost father's help. It's more than that though. Men from Wade's past are on his trail, men looking to exact revenge on the infamous gunslinger.

Well, here we sit. It is movies like this that make me such a huge fan of the western. There's nothing particularly out of this world unique, nothing you probably haven't seen in other, more well-known westerns over the years. And you know what? There's nothing wrong with that. From director Henry Levin, 'Lonely' is a well-told, old-fashioned story that I liked from the beginning. It gets to the core of what can be so right about westerns. Ultimately, it's about doing what's right, even if it'd be easier to turn and ride out. It's about living up to your word, standing by a friend when he's in trouble, and doing your damnedest to live up to what you should be whether it's loyal, honest or hard-working. As Davy Crockett said, 'Know you're right and go ahead.' In story terms, it doesn't get more straightforward than that.

We get that perspective that would be dealt with years later in movies like Ride the High Country, The Magnificent Seven and The Wild Bunch through the eyes of Palance's Jacob Wade (apparently not related to THIS Jake Wade). His outlaw is trying to put that outlaw past behind him, but that past may not allow it. He regrets the things he's done, the men he's killed, those he's put at risk. It may be too late to save himself, but in his son, there remains some sort of hope for a better future. Palance could be a gem at chewing the scenery, but he was at his best here when he underplays everything. He keeps it inside, the emotions brewing and waiting for an outburst. It is a part that brims with intensity, but it never comes over the top. The chemistry between Palance and Perkins is excellent, a father who wants to help the son he abandoned (supposedly), a son who wants nothing to do with the offer of help. The father-son dynamic works across most genres, and that's no different in the western.

Now that supporting cast. Yikes, just yikes. Some of those familiar faces would go onto bigger and better in the coming years, but that's our benefit. There's a very deep cast that western fans will definitely appreciate from top to bottom. Neville Brand gets the lead villain part as King Fisher, a former saloon owner who has a bullet he carries with Wade's name on it, some of the lead still in his leg. His gang includes Lee Van Cleef, Elisha Cook Jr., and Adam Williams. Robert Middleton has a strong, key supporting part as Ben Ryerson, a former member of Wade's gang, now riding with him trying to put the boy on the right track.  There's also a quick part for Claude Akins, a former gang member looking for some "help" with John Doucette riding by his side. Even look for Denver Pyle in an early appearance as a sheriff who knows Wade's reputation.

There's some issues here, but nothing huge. The story is a tad slow, even at 88 minutes dragging in bits and pieces. The subplot with Elaine Aiken's Ada, a saloon girl who rode with Wade and wanted to settle down with him, doesn't develop as much as it could have. When Perkins' Riley shows some interest, I'd had about enough with that part of the story. For the most part though, things work and they work well. A somber, soft score permeates the emotionally-charged family story, and the locations in the Alabama Hills in California are a gorgeous backdrop to the developments across the board. It isn't a perfect western, but it is a really good one that genre fans will definitely enjoy. You pretty much know where it's building early on, but getting to the finale was part of the fun. An easy western to recommend.

The Lonely Man (1957): ***/****

The Badlanders

Released in 1950 and based off a novel by writer W.R. Burnett, The Asphalt Jungle has withstood the test of time and still remains one of the best examples of a film noir ever released. It is a classic that deserves its reputation built up over the years. Just eight years later, the successful noir was back in theaters with a little twist, it was now a western, the movie 1958's The Badlanders.

Having served a majority of his sentence, Peter van Hoek (Alan Ladd), better known as 'the Dutchman,' is released early from the Yuma territorial prison. A mining engineer, Dutchman maintains that he was framed for a robbery of a gold shipment, still claiming his innocence. He's got a plan to get back at those who set him up, robbing a supposedly useless mine that never produced any gold, or so it seemed. Dutchman enlists the help of McBain (Ernest Borgnine), another recently released prisoner, and Vincente (Nehemiah Persoff), a dynamite specialist, to help in the plan which will require split second timing. The plan seems perfect, but one never knows what might come up when so much gold is involved.

I've never hidden the fact that I'm not a fan of remakes, especially remakes of movies like The Asphalt Jungle that didn't need to be touched. On the other hand, if you're going to do a remake, add something new, a unique feature or departure from the original, much like director Delmer Daves did here. Transplanting the team of crooks, robbers and specialists to the dusty desert of the wild west is an inspired choice. 'Badlanders' was filmed in Old Tucson, Arizona, a filming location western fans will be especially familiar with. The lonely western town surrounded by mountains is a great backdrop to the heist story. As a fan of both westerns and heist flicks, I couldn't help but like this one. How often do we actually see western heists? Few and far between.

The cast is streamlined some, certain characters tweaked or completely dropped from 'Asphalt.' The focus is on Ladd's Dutchman and Borgnine's McBain. Ladd's quiet, easy-going and understated acting style works here, even if a little more visible revenge-seeking would have helped. His background is never fully explained, but we know he wants some revenge, and he's had years to think about it. Playing his partner in crime, Borgnine shows a different side of his acting ability. He isn't the loud, aggressive thug he played so often in the 1950s as he built up a name for himself. His McBain was sent to prison on a manslaughter charge and then saw his land and home pulled out from under him. He too wants revenge but doesn't know where to start until the Dutchman approaches him with a plan. A subplot with McBain and Anita (Katy Jurado), a prostitute in town, helps develop the character as well.

Having two very solid leads in those roles is both good and bad. The good is obvious; it's fun to see Ladd and Borgnine working together on this heist. The bad in an 85-minute movie? The focus is on them, but little else gets dealt with. We hear about both Dutchman and McBain's predicament, their background in getting sent to the Yuma prison, but that's all. We hear, but there's little in the way of details. When Dutchman sets up the plan, are the higher-ups in town the ones who set him up? Does he intend to get them back or just earn himself some money? Not even breaking the 90-minute mark, things feel rushed, like key scenes and explanations were left in the editing room. The villains aren't developed, subplots that are there feel forced and/or pointless, and all the sudden the movie's over. It's an enjoyable ride along the way, but it could have been much better.

Throwing so many different elements into an 85-minute long movie is unfortunate because there's just too much going on. Jurado's Anita is a bright spot, making the most of her time with Borgnine's McBain as the heist plan comes together, but Persoff doesn't come across as well as the Mexican dynamite expert. As mentioned though, the villains are weak and poorly developed. Kent Smith is Lounsberry, the town hot-shot who will serve as a fence for the stolen gold, Robert Emhardt playing Sample, a partner in the coming double-cross. Claire Kelly is Ada (sexy name, huh?), Lounsberry's girlfriend literally locked away in a hotel room until she's needed, there because Ladd's Dutchman needs a love interest. Supporting player in the original 'Asphalt,' Anthony Caruso is Comanche, one of Sample's gunhands while Adam Williams does what he did best, playing a possibly unhinged, highly dangerous gunfighter, albeit a deputy named Leslie.

Like a lot of movies, this one had the potential to be an above average, pretty memorable western, but it never quite gets there. Where 'Asphalt' reveled in its darkness and cynicism, 'Badlanders' refuses to go there, especially in its ending which is just too nice and tidy when it could have been incredibly dark and surprising. It's still a good movie with some solid performances, but it isn't as good as it could have been.

The Badlanders <---TCM trailer (1958): ** 1/2 /****

The Glory Guys

For over two years, I've been a Netflix member and have caught up with a lot of movies that were either impossible to find or I just wasn't willing to buy to actually see them.  Over the two years, Netflix has added many features but maybe none better than the ability to watch a long list of movies instantly through your computer or even by downloading through your TV.  There are some hidden gems among these many movies, but you've just got to find them.  I stumbled across a western today I've long wanted to see, 1965's The Glory Guys.

I don't know how many years back, but I caught the last 10 or 15 minutes of this on TCM when I got home from school.  Because it looked good and I was interested in seeing it again, it obviously hasn't been on TCM and of course is not available in any format.  Thank you, Netflix, for making it available.  With a screenplay by infamous director Sam Peckinpah, this western is a thinly veiled version of the massacre at the Little Big Horn when George Armstrong Custer and the 7th Cavalry were wiped out by a huge grouping of plains Indians. TV director Arnold Laven is listed as the movie's director, but rumors persist that Peckinpah handled some of the directing duties.  For a western that is long forgotten, it has too many positives to be left behind as it is.

After fighting the Apaches in the southwest, Captain Demas Harrod (Tom Tryon) is transferred to Fort Doniphan by the orders of famed Indian fighter General Frederick McCabe (Andrew Duggan).  He is assigned a company in the renowned 3rd Cavalry, but the men are a motley group of misfits with little experience with horses or firearms.  With the help of his company sergeant, Gregory (Slim Pickens), Harrod goes about whipping the men into shape for the coming campaign. Harrod also finds himself in a fight for the hand of widowed gunslinger Lisa Woodard (the always lovely Senta Berger) against Army scout Sol Rogers (Harve Presnell). All their problems aside though, the 3rd Cavalry is part of a huge campaign meant to control the plains Indians for good, and Gen. McCabe is looking for glory in the process, no matter the cost in men.

Part of the reason this western has been forgotten over the last 45 years is the casting of the leads, Tryon and Presnell.  Neither actor was a big star coming into 'Glory Guys' and neither would be afterward.  They're the type of roles you can see much bigger names taking over, but for me I thought the two did solid jobs.  Tryon can be a tad wooden at times, and Presnell's character is underwritten and underused, but they have a good chemistry together as they fight for Berger (and who'd blame them?). The unnecessary love triangle isn't as awful as it could have been thankfully, and besides a few scenes that kill momentum in the middle is left by the wayside.

More than a few things here reminded me of Peckinpah's other 1965 western, Major Dundee.  The big ones are obvious, a cavalry story fighting Indians serving as the basis for both movies' story.  But then there's the location filming in Durango, Mexico for both, and the casting of Berger, Pickens, and Michael Anderson Jr. in an eerily similar role to the one he played in Major Dundee. Whoever ended up directing more of 'Glory Guys,' there is the distinct feel of a Peckinpah movie whether it's seeing the same locations or just the dynamic among male characters.  Peckinpah had a knack for tough, hard-edged male characters who fight and fight only to side with each other when the chips are down.  There is a code among men like these, and they tend to live by it no matter the end result.  So yes, it may be an average western, but it's elements like this that help lift it up a notch or two.

What works best when the story isn't focusing on the love triangle is the training and development of Harrod's D Company as they arrive at the fort only to turn into highly competent cavalry soldiers.  Pickens is perfectly cast as tough Sgt. Gregory with Anderson Jr., a very young James Caan as brawling Irishman Anthony Duggan (the accent is must-hear), Adam Williams, and Erik Holland rounding out the recognizable faces in the company.  Peckinpah's screenplay is at its best when dealing with the training and the camaraderie that develops among these men.  The characters lean to outlines more than red-blooded characters, but Cann especially stands out, as does Anderson Jr.  Tryon's Harrod pushes his men because he's seen Gen. McCabe's dangerous battlefield tactics and knows the better prepared his men are, the more likely they'll make it through alive.  I wish more time could have been spent with D Company, but what's here is quality.

Now onto one of my self-named elements of movies I love, the sense of doom.  With a story about an eventual massacre, you know where everything's going to end up.  The last 45 minutes are dripping with tension as the 3rd Cavalry unknowingly rides to their doom.  The actual battle is a spectacle to behold, hundreds of cavalry and Indians on horseback going toe to toe.  Clearly some serious money was spent on the finale, an epic, well choreographed and constructed battle that would preview similar scenes in Major Dundee and The Wild Bunch.  If you're a Netflix member, I recommend checking this one out, and if not, keep an eye out for it.  How hard is it to find? I couldn't even find a trailer or a video clip.

The Glory Guys (1965): ***/****

Darby's Rangers

Released in 1955 to waiting audiences, Battle Cry ruined author Leon Uris' source novel.  I read the book and loved it, going into the movie with high expectations just because the book was that good.  Well, the movie ruined one of the best books I've read in years.  Sappy, overdone romances, and battle sequences that unceremoniously killed off characters (sometimes even offscreen).  Released three years later in 1958, Darby's Rangers used the tagline 'Nothing Like it Since Battle Cry!' and somehow found a way to make a similar but much, much worse movie.

It is based on the true story of the founding of the 1st Ranger Battalion, an American commando unit from WWII fashioned after British commando units that ended up taking part in France, North Africa, Sicily and Italy.  The story sounded like an easy home run for a studio, and a young, impressive cast was assembled to fill out the important roles.  Just last week I reviewed The Devil's Brigade, a prime example of the 'unit picture,' and I had high hopes for this one.  But instead of telling a hard-hitting, realistic look at this fighting unit, director William Wellman turns in a soap opera-ish story that almost completely disregards the actual development and fighting history of the battalion for a handful of wasted falling in love subplots.  In other words, an unofficial companion piece to 1955's Battle Cry.

Early in 1942, Army captain William Darby (James Garner) is chosen to lead a new American fighting force, the 1st Ranger Battalion, where regular Army soldiers can volunteer to be trained similar to British commandos.  Their job will be to lead beachheads and often work behind enemy lines, causing whatever havoc they can.  The volunteers go through arduous training in England and by the end only 600 of the 1,500 remain.  Their training is completed, and it's not long before the Battalion is shipping out to help join the war effort, including missions and fighting in North Africa, Sicily and Italy.

For several years, I've tried to track this movie down, one, because of the subject matter, and two, the casting.  Along with James Garner, there's Jack Warden as the tough sergeant, Edd Byrnes as a lieutenant fresh out of West Point, and enlisted men that include Stuart Whitman, Peter Brown, Murray Hamilton, and Adam Williams.  First off, Garner is almost a secondary character even though Darby is the commander and has his name in the title!  Right in the middle of his TV success with Maverick, Garner is completely wasted here, making an occasional speech or address to his men before disappearing off-screen.  Too bad because his scenes with loyal sergeant Jack Warden provide the few positive moments this movie actually has.

The cast does what they can with their characters, but they're hamstrung by the movie's inability to pick a tone.  Instead, it bounces all around from slapstick, broad, physical comedy to steamy romance to hard-edged battle scenes.  Pick one and go with it, but don't bounce among all three.  Byrnes, Whitman and Brown are all given romantic subplots -- the same way the platoon in Battle Cry did -- that grind the story to a halt, especially Whitman's and Byrnes' stories.  A quick 2-3 minute firefight is shown, then Warden's narration, then a 20-minute interlude as Whitman woos a British girl and Byrnes falls for an Italian girl he mistakes as a hooker...oops!  Repeat this several times, and you've got a 122-minute movie about soldiers falling in love.

Then there's the comedy angle which would have been more appropriate in a Marx Brothers movie or a Three Stooges short.  One character is introduced in a comedic fistfight full of over the top stunts and over exaggeration with funny sound effects and all.  Then there's a running gag with one private -- played by the director's son, William Wellman Jr. -- who always fall asleep on the go and falls off the back of the troop truck and has to run to catch up.  Pretty hilarious, huh?  Wellman Jr. also gets one of the most overdone theatrical deaths I've ever seen.  And on a non-comedic rant, there's also a drawling, ladies man of a private (played by Corey Allen) who is billeted with an English family, seduces the wife, forces himself on her, convinces her to leave her husband and then dies in a training exercise.  It's a despicable character who is dispatched quickly -- thankfully -- and serves no real purpose for even being there.

The one saving grace I figured could be the actual scenes of the Battalion forming and then going into battle.  The training sequences are handled well enough with a few nice montages, but the battle scenes are hampered by some very obvious indoor work.  Wellman showed with 1949's Battleground that indoor battles can work very effectively, but it doesn't click here.  Epic sequences of a battalion under attack is an actor or two with a few extras getting shot alongside them.  SPOILERS The battalion is all but wiped out in Italy, but we never see more than a handful of Rangers and the two or three German machine gun pits firing down on them.  END OF SPOILERS  Disappointed in the scale and lack of emotion brought up in these scenes.  What scenes do work are those of the battalion bonding, the quiet moments as they rest and recuperate, but they are few and far between.

After years of being unable to find this movie, the Warner Archive has made it available to purchase through a made-to order DVD.  It's a great system offering over 500 previously unreleased movies, but Darby's Rangers is a good example of doing your research before you buy.  Thankfully, I didn't buy this one.  It had a lot of potential but wastes a good cast and never makes up it's mind as to what type of war movie it wants to be.  A disappointing negative review for sure.

Darby's Rangers <----TCM clips (1958: */****