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Post by Doghouse6 on Aug 19, 2018 1:45:33 GMT
5 Card Stud (1968) Henry Hathaway's piquant marriage of sun-drenched western and shadowy whodunit, set to one of Maurice Jarre's discordant, meter-hopping, minor-key scores, is executed (pun intended) by a colorful cast, as the players in a poker game that resulted in a lynching are picked off one by one. Dean Martin, a confident and unflappable itinerant gambler: Robert Mitchum, a somewhat calmer country cousin of Night Of the Hunter's Harry Powell*: Roddy McDowall, the town's obnoxious bad boy: Soft-hearted madam Inger Stevens: Loyal and concerned friend Yaphet Kotto: And a collection of reliable character players: John Anderson; Denver Pyle (as McDowall's father, no less; how does that happen?); Whit Bissell; Ted de Corsia; Roy Jenson. The final revelation may surprise few, but with its gear-switching atmospherics, it often looks, sounds and feels quite unlike any other western. Martin and Mitchum (offscreen here, between shots) had both appeared in 1964's What A Way To Go!, but in separate segments with no common scenes. Why didn't these two work together more? Just too much "cool" for one movie? *EDIT FOR CORRECTION: Warm thanks to a neighbor we all know and love, but who is too modest and gallant to take credit, for pointing out my slip that changed Harry Powell into Harry Palmer. Where would we be without the board's Billion Dollar Brains?
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Post by petrolino on Aug 19, 2018 1:56:06 GMT
5 Card Stud (1968) " ... set to one of Maurice Jarre's discordant, meter-hopping, minor-key scores ..." Sounds awesome. I'm gonna look out for it in my local tv listings, thanks.
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Post by london777 on Aug 21, 2018 4:15:30 GMT
McCrea made another gem the year before -- the Noirish Western RAMROD. He's reunited with SULLIVAN'S TRAVELS co-star Veronica Lake who plays a frontier femme fatale (her husband Andre De Toth directed). The real find is the performance of Don DeFore who rises above his usual lightweight, genial and good-natured characters to play Joel's tough, morally conflicted pal 'Bill Schell.' Watched this last night on your recommendation and quite enjoyed it. Take one totally banal western recipe: -- sheep farmers v cattle ranchers -- bland Boy Scout hero -- range boss intimidates town -- impotent sheriff Then throw in two characters straight out of Film Noir who have no business in westerns. The hero's best friend who is a closet sadist, and an initially sympathetic heroine who becomes progressively more evil when cornered by events. This was good for a western (though only adequate compared to a real movie) but it could have been a great one if the Veronica Lake character had been the central character instead of wishy-washy McCrea. Her moral degradation was interesting, but too abrupt. I would have liked to have seen her seducing the various guys she used for her purposes. Even better if the boring McCrea character was written out altogether and his actions shared between the interesting DeFore and Donald Crisp characters. **** SPOILERS **** Can anyone explain to me: 1) How she got the money to buy her herd if she inherited a sheep farm 2) What she was proposing to live off after what she did to her own property
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Post by mattgarth on Aug 21, 2018 4:24:24 GMT
I am glad to learn that you enjoyed RAMROD, London. Thanks for letting me know.
Gee, imagine what you would have posted had you NOT liked the movie.
Oh, and Joel prefers to spell it 'McCrea.' (aahh, I see you corrected that -- good lad)
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Post by london777 on Aug 21, 2018 4:39:55 GMT
I am glad to learn that you enjoyed RAMROD, London. Thanks for letting me know. That is the value of this board to me. Provoking interest in movies of which I have never heard or would have ignored.
Gee, imagine what you would posted had you NOT liked the movie. Had I not liked it I would have written nothing, as was the case with another western recommended in this thread. I am an exquisitely tactful person and hate to hurt people's feelings.Oh, and Joel prefers to spell it 'McCrea.' Thanks. Careless of me. Now corrected.
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Post by hitchcockthelegend on Jan 9, 2019 1:23:48 GMT
... being an ornery cuss (as they say out West) I shall start this thread for reviews and comments on decent minor westerns that may not merit a thread on their own, so no High Noons or Shanes here. Feel free to post your own additions. Just watched Decision at Sundown (1957) directed by Budd Boetticher in his usual brisk, no-nonsense style (it's all over in 77 minutes). Never much liked Randolph Scott (my father used to call him "Old Creakin' Joints"). He was 59 when he made this, and looks every year of it. He looks stiff and seriously saddle sore. Nor was I impressed with John Carroll (a new name to me) as the baddie. I don't care for plump, oily, moustached baddies in frilly shirts, though this one amazingly did not appear to run a saloon as such types usually do. I did like Noah Beery, Jr, who has more chance than usual to show his acting skills. And I lusted after Valerie French, who had a sparse career in genre movies. She was English born and educated and married into the Pertwee acting clan. What I mainly liked about this movie was the story, which had an unusual resolution, without being contrived, riffing on western tropes, and altering our perception of the main characters. Purgatory (1999) - www.imdb.com/review/rw3052983/?ref_=tt_urv 10/10
Canyon Passage (1946) - www.imdb.com/review/rw2203741/?ref_=tt_urv 9/10
The Last Hunt (1956) - www.imdb.com/review/rw2707853/?ref_=tt_urv 9/10
Ulzana's Raid (1972) - www.imdb.com/review/rw1919221/?ref_=tt_urv 9/10
Wild Rovers (1971) - www.imdb.com/review/rw3402215/?ref_=tt_urv 9/10
The Raid (1954) - www.imdb.com/review/rw2083779/?ref_=tt_urv 9/10
Devil's Doorway (1950) - www.imdb.com/review/rw2233484/?ref_=tt_urv 9/10
The Culpepper Cattle Co. (1972) - www.imdb.com/review/rw3216959/?ref_=tt_urv 9/10
Colorado Territory (1949) - www.imdb.com/review/rw3274842/?ref_=tt_urv 9/10
Warlock (1959) - www.imdb.com/review/rw2007058/?ref_=tt_urv 9/10
Silver Lode (1954) - www.imdb.com/review/rw2707854/?ref_=tt_urv 8.5/10
The Mercenary (1968) - www.imdb.com/review/rw3813194/?ref_=tt_urv 8.5/10
Valdez the Halfbreed (1973) - www.imdb.com/review/rw2963433/?ref_=tt_urv 8/10
Rimfire (1949) - www.imdb.com/review/rw2689894/?ref_=tt_urv 8/10
Coroner Creek (1948) - www.imdb.com/review/rw2144876/?ref_=tt_urv 8/10
Flaming Star (1960) - www.imdb.com/review/rw2719921/?ref_=tt_urv 8/10
The 5-Man Army (1969) - www.imdb.com/review/rw3376690/?ref_=tt_urv 8/10
Rio Conchos (1964) - www.imdb.com/review/rw2434495/?ref_=tt_urv 8/10
No Name on the Bullet (1959) - www.imdb.com/review/rw1958742/?ref_=tt_urv 8/10
Dawn at Socorro (1954) - www.imdb.com/review/rw3410032/?ref_=tt_urv 8/10
Gunpoint! (1955) - www.imdb.com/review/rw2228335/?ref_=tt_urv 8/10
The Last Sunset (1961) - www.imdb.com/review/rw2378267/?ref_=tt_urv 8/10
The Plunderers (1960) - www.imdb.com/review/rw3051722/?ref_=tt_urv 8/10
The Man from Colorado (1949) - www.imdb.com/review/rw2137993/?ref_=tt_urv 8/10
The Fastest Gun Alive (1956) - www.imdb.com/review/rw2424376/?ref_=tt_urv 8/10
The Last Wagon (1956) - www.imdb.com/review/rw2063366/?ref_=tt_urv 8/10
The Desperado (1954) - www.imdb.com/review/rw3298471/?ref_=tt_urv 8/10
Bad Company (1972) - www.imdb.com/review/rw4269648/?ref_=tt_urv 8/10
Rocky Mountain (1950) - www.imdb.com/review/rw4293033/?ref_=tt_urv 8/10
Lawman (1971) - www.imdb.com/review/rw2919171/?ref_=tt_urv 8/10
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Post by pimpinainteasy on Jan 9, 2019 2:18:15 GMT
everything after the word but is bullshit.
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Post by koskiewicz on Jan 12, 2019 20:20:05 GMT
...in no certain order:
The Gunfighter
Last Train From Gun Hill
The Proposition
El Grande Silencio (The Great Silence)
El Topo
The Professionals (early 20th century)
Duck You Sucker
The Hired Hand
The Terror of Tinytown (just kidding with this one)
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