Post by kijii on Feb 11, 2019 14:51:30 GMT
a solid western from MARTIN RITT, based on an ELMORE LEONARD novel.
a white man (newman) who was brought up by the native indians inherits land. he has to travel in a stagecoach filled with people who hate him to reach the land. when some bandits try to rob the money held by one of the passengers, the apache white man swings into action to save the people who hate him.
no prizes for guessing where LEONARD's sympathies lie. this story is a scathing indictment of the weak and the middle class. and a celebration of the marginalized (newman) and men with raw strength (richard boone's bully character). boone has one of the best scenes in the film when he bullies another passenger out of a ticket at the waiting room.
the scenes inside the stagecoach have great dialog as the characters each other up. the characters are quite well fleshed out. though its a shame that a great actor like MARTIN BALSAM had to play such a weak second fiddle to NEWMAN. DIANE CILENTO plays a matronly but attractive woman who has different ideological face offs with NEWMAN's character. BARBARA RUSH is a racist dissatisfied wife to a cowardly scholar. MARGARET BYE is the femme fatale. the characters are quite well fleshed out for a film that is a little more than 90 minutes long.
the final tense face off with the coach passengers hiding in a shack on a hill and the bandits down below is the film's highlight.
(8/10)
Great flick...I found it interesting while going through my Martin Ritt phase.
Great flick...I found it interesting while going through my Martin Ritt phase.