The Gunfighter.

Review #2223: The Gunfighter.

Cast: 

Gregory Peck (Jimmy Ringo), Helen Westcott (Peggy Walsh), Millard Mitchell (Marshal Mark Strett), Jean Parker (Molly), Karl Malden (Mac), Skip Homeier (Hunt Bromley), Anthony Ross (Deputy Charlie Norris), Verna Felton (Mrs. August Pennyfeather), Ellen Corby (Mrs. Devlin), and Richard Jaeckel (Eddie) Directed by Henry King (#1687 - O Henry's Full House)

Review: 

On July 14, 1882, a body was found in the Arizona Territory with a gunshot in the head. It was revealed to be an outlaw associated with various cowboys in Cochise County along with Tombstone and people such as Wyatt Earp. It was none other than Johnny Ringo. The real Ringo was a pretty cut-rate killer, but the Ringo for this film is vastly different, and for good reason. The film was written by playwright/sometimes screenwriter William Bowers and William Sellers, as based on a story by Bowers and Andre de Toth (a steady director in his own right, such as Westerns), albeit with uncredited contributions by producer Nunnally Johnson (a playwright in addition to producing and writing films, most notably The Grapes of Wrath [1940]) and apparently Roger Corman. Corman, who worked as a messenger at Fox, was so annoyed at his suggestions being used without getting credit, soon left Fox for study at the University of Oxford. Anyway, this was the first film done in the 1950s for its director King, who had been working consistently since 1915 in a variety of genres that spanned from the original Stella Dallas (1925) to Twelve O'Clock High (1949). Fans of the Western will recognize parts of The Shootist (1976) that sure seem to have been inspired by this film (an old, famed outlaw coming into a town and seeing familiar faces). John Wayne, who starred in that film, apparently had a motivation to want the lead part for that film because of the fact that he had rejected starring in this film because of its initial starting point being at Columbia Pictures (as headlined by an executive he hated). Incidentally, Bowers stated that he had wrote the film with Wayne in mind but when approached by Wayne, he rejected selling it to him in favor of shipping it elsewhere (which resulted in more money but also the enmity of Wayne). 

There are plenty of Westerns about people with the hands to match with anyone when it comes to gunfighting, but you don't get as many in terms of interesting looks at the people who wish the attention would just end. It starts, interestingly enough, with a gunfighter shooting someone in defense in which we don't see their hands when it comes to that fateful gunshot. It is an efficient 85-minute movie that feels like it is occurring in real time when it comes to the tension that lies within trying to stay in town when others only a tool of confrontation. The choices matter most of all in this Western rather than grand landscapes or big towns when one man arriving into town is an event on itself. Sure, one could wonder what the film would be with Wayne, but Peck (drabbed in a period-looking moustache and all) erases those doubts with an efficient performance that is imposing to go along with a semblance of pity that reminds one of seeing an old alley cat; it may not surprise you to know that this was one of six films Peck did with King. He does so well with the film that he sells that fateful final scene (establishing just who really shot who to death) with all of the punch it is worth in expressing the "known gunfighter". Mitchell provides the ideal side of the coin in terms of reformed men with just as much dignity when matched with Peck for a solidly reliable performance. The rest of the cast is pretty good, with Malden being the most enjoyable in terms of character presence (he was in the original Broadway production of A Streetcar Named Desire), although Homeier's smarmy dandy presence is a suitable antithesis to Peck when it comes to opportunism that can be slapped away just as easily. The tension comes not in wondering if you are going to get some sort of, well, gunfight but instead comes from the tension of wondering just what will happen to our lead in his quest for some sort of fulfillment that doesn't involve a gun. It sure is packed with elements that make one seemed as trapped in a manner that might make you think you were in a noir. In the end, there is plenty to enjoy in terms of a solid cast and atmosphere that executes on a level worth every moment in the art of choices made through a gun in a frontier starved for attention. 

Overall, I give it 9 out of 10 stars.

Phone Call from a Stranger.

Review #1380: Phone Call from a Stranger.

Cast: 
Gary Merrill (David Trask), Shelley Winters (Binky Gay), Michael Rennie (Dr. Robert Fortness), Keenan Wynn (Eddie Hoke), Evelyn Varden (Sally Carr), Warren Stevens (Marty Nelson), Beatrice Straight (Claire Fortness), Ted Donaldson (Jerry Fortness), Craig Stevens (Mike Carr), Bette Davis (Marie Hoke), and Helen Westcott (Jane Trask) Directed by Jean Negulesco.

Review: 
Have you ever felt a connection with a human being that you didn't see coming? It happens every day, often in unexpected places all around the world, whether one is at home or not, so it only makes sense to have a film about strangers becoming fast friends at an airport, complete with name actors to try and spruce up interest for moments required to fill 105 minutes. It should figure that the responsibility to direct such name actors fell to Jean Negulesco. Although he isn't a particular household name for directors, the Romanian-born painter-turned-filmmaker directed his first feature film at the ripe age of 36. with Crash Donovan (1936). He had started in Hollywood as a sketch artist and technical advisor for The Story of Temple Drake (1933), and he would soon move up to second-unit director to associate to eventually directing shorts, which he would do for over a decade (even after moving his way to features). He had a few notable standout films, such as The Mask of Dimitrios (1944), Johnny Belinda (1948), where he received a nomination for Best Director at the Academy Awards while directing his leading lady Jane Wyman to a Best Actress award, and How to Marry a Millionaire (1953), the first feature to be entirely filmed in CinemaScope. In total, Negulesco directed films in five decades before his death in 1993 at the age of 93.

The film was written by journalist-turned-writer/director Nunnally Johnson and writer I. A. R. Wylie (who had thirty of her works turned into films in her lifetime). The end product is a casual yarn, appropriate for a rainy day as the random choice in the pile of drama/noir-ish movies that will prove adequate for entertainment. Merrill leads the film with a relaxed presence, one will a by-the-numbers plotline to follow with seeming like an observer in his own feature, since one will get to know the actors around him with more than a batted eye. After all, each of the main three besides him had distinguished careers, such as the bombshell-turned character actress star in Winters or the dignified British-turned-Hollywood star in Rennie or the character player-in-demand talent of Wynn, and each get a sliver for themselves to express themselves, which works out mostly for Rennie, although Wynn does deliver a clownish chuckle and Winters proves diverting. The supporting cast is headlined by Davis, who shows up in the last twenty minutes (having asked for the role since she felt it was a good part to play) and is just as sturdy a presence as she ever was, supporting role or not. One knows what they are in for after the film eliminates three of its main four it had focused on, where it now becomes a series of vignettes about each of the departed's home life before leading up to the inevitable conclusion (departing your wife and kids for an unstated reason? Take one guess of how that plays out) that will leave the crowd pleased if not shrugging their shoulders in saying how it may be average, but it's their kind of average film to go to, where you can find something in yourself with at least one of these four strangers and find yourself satisfied in the long run.

Overall, I give it 7 out of 10 stars.