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): ***/****

Nevada Smith

Just a few weeks ago, I watched and reviewed 1964's The Carpetbaggers, the story of a business mogul expanding his empire in the 1920s and 1930s. A minor character in the story? An aging cowboy turned western movie star, Nevada Smith. His backstory is explained but not shown. That's for a prequel made two years later, 1966's Nevada Smith.

Working at his father's played-out mine that has recently produced some gold deposits, a young half-breed Max Sand (Steve McQueen) is away from the house when three outlaws (Karl Malden, Arthur Kennedy, Martin Landau) ride up looking for that gold. Max is too late to help though, arriving at the house to find the tortured, mutilated corpses of his parents. The outlaws are nowhere to be found, but their trail is easy enough to follow. Max's biggest problem though? He's capable of caring for himself on the trail, but he has little money and no real experience with guns, especially when it comes to actually using a pistol or rifle on a human being. Desperate and with no supplies left, Max tries to rob a man on the trail. Instead, the man, Jonas Cord (Brian Keith), an experienced trailsman and capable shot, teaches Max all he can in his quest for revenge. His biggest advice though? Abandon his quest for revenge and move on with his life, but Max isn't hearing it.

It had been years since I watched this 1966 western from director Henry Hathaway (a solid western director, True Grit, Sons of Katie Elder). My biggest takeaway? It isn't as good as I remembered. Still good, still enjoyable, but not as good. There's still positives to take away though. 'Nevada' was filmed on-location in Inyo National Forest and the Owens Valley in the Sierra Mountains. Visually, it is a stunningly good-looking film with the mountains as a backdrop to the revenge story. The score from composer Alfred Newman is solid -- especially the main theme -- but isn't necessarily used enough. The best thing going is the revenge motive, a pretty gruesome story at times. Not graphic, just really violent because we know what's happening. Stabbings, drownings, choking, beating, systematic shooting of an unarmed man. It can be pretty rough at times.

So if you watch this 1966 western and come away a little confused, there's a good reason. The Max Sand character is young, really young. I'm assuming a teenager, maybe approaching 20. When the movie was made in 1965, McQueen was...35. And he's a half-breed with a white father and Kiowa mother. So yeah, he doesn't really look like a teenage half-breed (with his blonde hair too) in a pretty obvious case of miscasting. Still, McQueen makes the most of it. With the revenge motive, it is a fascinating character. Max -- later dubbing himself Nevada Smith -- becomes obsessed with killing his parents' murderers no matter what the cost on those who are helping him. McQueen does a good job in a physically demanding part, doing his own stunts while also adding a dimension of pure physicality to the performance. It's not often spoken words, just a sad look here, a drop of his shoulders there. Not ideal casting, but McQueen makes the most of it.

But the rest of the cast? The rest of the cast?!? It's pretty great. Brian Keith has always been one of my favorites, but I think this is one of his bests. His Jonas Cord is only in the movie for about 20-25 minutes but steals every scene he's in. His chemistry with McQueen is pretty perfect, and their scenes together crackle, an experienced hand with a gun trying to teach the younger Max all he can through good and bad. The Jonas/Max dynamic has always been my favorite, the movie's strongest point. With the episodic story, Malden, Kennedy and Landau make the most of their screentime, three particularly nasty villains you can't wait to see get their due. Raf Vallone is good too as Father Zaacardi, a priest who comes across Max and helps him in a time of need. Also look for familiar western faces Gene Evans, Paul Fix, Pat Hingle, John Doucette, Lyle Bettger, Howard Da Silva and Strother Martin in supporting parts.

Where does 'Nevada' go a little off the tracks then? At 130 minutes, it drifts too much with some extremely slow portions involving the episodic story. There just isn't a ton of energy at times. Two semi-love interests are added, Janet Margolin as an Indian dance hall girl and Suzanne Pleshette as a Cajun girl, are meant to show Max's obsession over a possible future with either, but they become repetitive and tedious. Just not a ton happens. The performances are good, the locations cool, but it's missing that special something. Good but not great.

Also worth mentioning is a western nerd moment. Any western fan who's seen any number of 1960s westerns will recognize Chuck Roberson, Chuck Hayward and Jerry Gatlin as background players and supporting parts. 'Nevada' takes that to new levels. Watch closely and you see them all playing multiple parts. In one scene, Roberson is part of Malden's gang, and the next he's Paul Fix's deputy. It's a little much and a little lazy, something Hathaway also did in Sons of Katie Elder. Thus ends this rant.

Nevada Smith (1966): ** 1/2 /****

Guns of the Timberland

I guess I only have myself to blame. I should have learned with 1952's The Big Trees that logging and cutting down trees just isn't exciting as it sounds. Just the same, when 1960's Guns of the Timberland popped up on Turner Classic Movie's schedule, I wanted to give it a shot. It comes from a novel by an author I like a lot, and the cast sounded pretty capable. Yeah, I was wrong. It's now 0-for-2 when it comes to logging movies.

Traveling by train, Jim Hadley (Alan Ladd) and Monty Walker (Gilbert Roland) are heading into the mountains to finish out a contract they've signed. It's 1895 somewhere in the Pacific Northwest, and Jim, Monty and their crew of lumberjacks have been contracted to provide limber for a new railroad line. They've invested much of their own money to help get the job and desperately need it to come through for them. They think the job will be easy...until they get there. The area they're supposed to clear is dominated by ranches that need the trees to provide a watershed for the land. No trees, no ability to hold water in the land. One ranchowner, Laura Rileyy (Jeanne Crain), is at the forefront of the effort to stop them, and the whole town is behind her. Both sides stand to lose everything should the other side succeed. Who will cave and buckle first?

When I see based on a story/novel from western writer Louis L'Amour, I'm always psyched. I grew up reading his stories and still read them today. I haven't read this source story, but it sounds like the movie script switched up the focus of the novel. In the movie, we follow Jim and Monty in their efforts to clear the land. In the book, it sure sounds like it's the other way around as we see from the rancher's perspective. Ultimately, I felt like that went a long way toward dooming the picture. It's hard to support and/or hate either side here. Both sides are doing what they need to do to survive. Yes, it's at the expense of the other side. So really....are there good guys and bad guys? It's hard to judge either side too harshly. Too bad because with that said, all the natural conflict goes out the window. We don't really want either side to win if that makes sense.

I did like the cast even if they are given little to do. I like Ladd depending on the role, and he's decent here because he's paired with the fiery, always fun Roland. Thankfully, Roland avoids the stereotypical 'Ay, chihuahua!' moments he so often resorted to. Ladd seems a little off, some of his lines stepping on other actor's lines, maybe off a second or two as to when he should have said something. I don't know what was going on, but Ladd even looks a little uncomfortable in most of his scenes. Also joining the crew of boisterous, roughneck, fun-loving lumberjacks is Noah Beery Jr., Henry Kulky, and Johnny Seven, some there for comic relief, others for intimidation factors.

On the other side of the line is a really dull crew of quasi-bad guys who aren't so bad. Crain is okay as tough female rancher Riley, but even she falls for Ladd's Jim at the drop of a hat. The most villainous is Lyle Bettger as Clay Bell, Riley's foreman who isn't below some rather nasty methods to get the lumberjacks out of town. Frankie Avalon plays Bert, a young man working on the Riley ranch who finds himself caught between the ranch and the appealing freedom of the lumberjacks. It's actually a pretty good part for Avalon, even if the script finds two opportunities to let him sing. The rest of the townspeople don't make much of an impression, just a sea of passive-aggressive, cackling maroons who revel in all the stunts pulled against the lumberjacks. Mostly, you just want to see them get punched in the face a couple times.

If there is a positive to take away here, it's the on-location shooting. Director Robert D. Webb filmed his movie in Blairsden and Graeagle, California up in the mountains. It may be one big old dull story, but it's nice to look at while you're being bored. That's the biggest issue. The tension is there, but it's just never that interesting. You don't care how things end up, and the finale is a big old cop-out. I didn't have high expectations to begin with, but even those weren't worth it.

Guns of the Timberland (1960): * 1/2 /****

Impasse

One of the biggest stars of the 1970s, Burt Reynolds was the Man, plain and simple. He was the breakout star in 1972's Deliverance, made the fan-favorite Smokey and the Bandit in 1977 and parlayed his success into the even bigger 1980s with all its bad sequels and awful flicks in general. Before he was a known star though, Reynolds worked his way up the ladder in the 1960s with some starring TV roles and a handful of leading roles in films, like 1969's Impasse.

So I've mentioned before there's nothing wrong with a B-movie, right? There really isn't.  Think of a low-budget movie made without any hopes of turning out a classic finished product.  The cast will almost certainly feature some big names, and some other names of actors you might not know but you'll certainly recognize them from other supporting roles. Throw in a mix of humor, action and sex, and there you go. You've got your B-movie.  All those elements are there with Impasse, but I didn't end up enjoying the movie anywhere near what I thought I would.

Heading his salvage business in the Philippines, Pat Morrison (Reynolds) has possibly stumbled onto the biggest find of his career. He has found out the location of a hidden cache of World War II gold on the island of Corregidor where retreating US forces in 1942 hid anything they couldn't ship out. The only problem? Pat has the general location, but four army vets all hold the clues to the exact location. He's spent months assembling the group (Lyle Bettger, Rodolfo Acosta, Clarke Gordon, and Vic Diaz) and now stands poised to get his hands on the gold if he can get just get past a ring of Filipino security on Corregidor which is easier said than done. His plan becomes murkier when Pat meets, Bobby (Anne Francis), the daughter of one of his crew.

My head kept going back to the same thing repeatedly as I watched this movie. It should have been better. It just should have. A B-movie about a heist of long-forgotten WWII gold in the Philippines sounds like the perfect schlock of a story. And Burt Reynolds is starring in it?!? Oh, count me in.  But in turning that story into a feature length movie, director Richard Benedict instead opts to add all these disparate elements that don't work together.  In a movie that isn't particularly long at just 100 minutes, but with all these wide-ranging subplots, I'm guessing maybe 30 minutes is actually spent on the gold heist.

So let's have some fun with all these pointless asides the story takes, shall we?  Let's start with Reynolds and Francis who have little chemistry together.  Francis looks confused in general, seemingly questioning how she ended up in a movie like this.  Then there's Penny (Joanne Dalsass), a young lesbian hippie who stalks Francis's Bobby. She's really nice about it though so don't worry. Bobby is a pro tennis player, and Penny follows her around spouting hippie mumbo-jumbo. Bobby's father (Gordon) is kidnapped so Reynold's Pat has to track him down from evil "journalist" (<---you read that right), Wombat (Jeff Corey). Oh, right, the gold heist. There's gold hidden in artillery shells in a maze of underground bunkers, and each of these vets knows part of the location. The heist ends up feeling like a forgotten piece of the story, and then the movie ends in about as anti-climactic fashion as is possible. Yeah, good times.

A known name if not quite a star yet, Burt Reynolds is a bright spot here.  He certainly shows off the potential he had to play a leading role, especially in an action movie with some comedy here and there. His Pat Morrison is that conniving rogue you can't help but like, doing whatever he can to make some cash. The anti-climactic ending is somewhat funny because of Reynold's reaction, but only to a point. As for the crew, all-around reliable bad guy Bettger is the racist Hansen, Acosta is the stereotypical Apache, Draco, spouting 'Ay Chihuahua' whenever possible, and Diaz is the sniveling black market dealer, Jesus, who does nothing when he finds out Pat is sleeping with his wife, Mariko (Miko Mayama). Corey I suppose qualifies as a straight bad guy, looking to be having some fun as Wombat, a shady fella who is up to no good in whatever he's doing.

While this is by no means a classic, the movie isn't all bad.  In all the departures and asides from the story at hand, the movie is set in the Philippines and thankfully was filmed there instead of a Hollywood backlot.  So the story may drift too much for my liking, but it's nice to look at. The Philippines are beautiful. That's something, right? About midway through the movie, there is a very long chase sequence -- just a foot race basically -- between Reynolds and one of Wombat's henchmen. There's nothing fancy about it, just two guys going absolutely nuts running through the back alleys and dingy Manilla streets. Reynolds also does most if not all of his own stunts the whole movie, adding to his badass quota.

The movie is a stinker, if a moderately entertaining stinker. Just don't expect a classic. Sorry, I couldn't find a trailer or clip of any kind.

Impasse (1969): **/****

Drums Across the River

Thanks to a release of a recent DVD collection of four Audie Murphy movies, Turner Classic Movies did a service to western fans with a night devoted to the World War II hero turned movie star.  Only one of the films shown is actually in the collection, but three Murphy westerns dotted the schedule, and not necessarily his more well-known flicks. In other words, expect a couple reviews over the next couple days of Murphy films, starting with 1953’s Drums Across the River.

I go back and forth on 1950s westerns, but when done right and not handled in a glossy whitewash, they can be a lot of fun. Just look to the Anthony Mann and Budd Boetticher westerns. With wave after wave of westerns made on a small scale hitting theaters, these movies needed bad guys, and the 1950s produced a lot of them. They aren’t instantly recognizable names now over 60 years later, but for a decade they parlayed their bad guy look into a long list of movies. One of the best at playing bad was Lyle Bettger, chief baddie in ‘Drums’ and Murphy’s main rival.

Working with his father (Walter Brennan) running a freight company in Crown City, a western mining town, Frank Brannon (Murphy) agrees to take on a job transporting goods to a mine that needs supplies. Along for the ride is a handful of cowboys looking to help out, including a man named Walker (Bettger), who has some other plans. Walker intends to start a war with the peaceful Ute Indians in the territory, all with hopes of getting a chance at mining gold out of the hills and mountains promised to the Indians. Brannin manages to negotiate a peace with the Utes after Walker’s failed attempt, but this fight is far from over.

I’ve been a fan of Audie Murphy since I first saw him in the autobiographical film To Hell and Back, the story of his exploits in World War II that earned him worldwide fame. Not always remembered with the John Waynes, Randolph Scotts and Clint Eastwoods, Murphy is nonetheless one of the all-time best western stars. As an actor, he didn’t have the greatest range, but as a western hero, he was strong, loyal, honest, trustworthy and tough as nails. You just know with a Murphy character that he’s not going to take any crap from the bad guys, and in the end, he’s going to win out and get the girl. As the western hero, he’s able to stay in that comfort zone as an actor, and as was the case here, he rarely disappoints.

What is cool about Murphy – and a few other action heroes – is that he does a majority of his stunts whether it be riding his horse at full speed chasing the bad guys or taking part in a knock down, drag ‘em out fistfight. That’s what works here with Drums. Starting with Murphy in the lead, this movie has a nasty streak right up its back, impressive stuff considering it was released in the early 1950s. Two fistfights are absolutely brutal affairs that don’t feel choreographed or overly staged, just two guys beating the hell out of each other. Murphy’s Brannin later dispatches a gunslinger by whipping him across the face and then shooting him twice in the stomach. You don’t see that too often in many pre-1960 westerns.

More than just the honest look at the brutality of the western life, this is a fun western, and one I enjoyed a lot surprisingly enough. Director Nathan Juran films his story on location for the most part in the hills and mountains of Red Rock Canyon State Park in California. It is a beautiful movie that features some familiar locations and some new ones. The story also treats Indians as human beings too, not just mindless savage killing machines. Later gaining fame as Tonto in The Lone Ranger, Jay Silverheels plays Taos, a Ute chief who strikes a deal with Murphy’s Brannin. With some twists and turns as to what everyone is up to, the story keeps you guessing enough to make it always entertaining, not easily settling for the typical route.

In one of his many 1950s western bad guy roles, Bettger is a gem as he so often was. These westerns weren’t interested in villains and shades of gray. There was black and white with nothing in between. So because of that, these bad guys are bad news with absolutely no redeeming qualities. Bettger revels in these roles, slimy, smooth villains who will no doubt meet a nasty fate in the end. As for the rest of the cast, screen veteran Brennan has a good chemistry with Murphy even if his part doesn’t require much after about half the movie. Lisa Gaye plays Jennie, the love interest with Mara Corday playing Sue, the saloon girl in cahoots with Bettger’s Walker. Hugh O'Brian plays Morgan, a hired gun who would like nothing more than a shot at Murphy in another part that has some fun with the over the top bad guy. It’s a fun western though, one that rises above so many average westerns from the 1950s. Well worth looking into.

Drums Across the River (1953): ***/****