Post by petrolino on Oct 1, 2017 1:14:26 GMT
The western 'Santa Fe' deals with societal tensions during the aftermath of the American Civil War. Britt Canfield (Randolph Scott), Tom Canfield (Peter Thompson), Terry Canfield (Jerome Courtland) and Clint Canfield (John Archer) are former Confederate soldiers who've left Virginia to find work in northern Missouri. They encounter hostility and rage so three of the brothers choose to join up with thief Cole Saunders (Roy Roberts) and his men. Britt pledges allegiance to the flag and takes a job with a railroad company whose magnate Dave Baxter (Warner Anderson) is intent upon building a line through Kansas and Colorado that can reach Santa Fe, New Mexico.
'Santa Fe' is a gentle character western that takes its time observing life for mixed communities after the Civil War. Integration isn't easy but people come together over shared values and common practises. It's based on the book 'Santa Fe, The Railroad That Built An Empire' by James Vance Marshall who's apparently the same author behind the novel adapted by Nicolas Roeg into 'Walkabout' (1971). There are some unusual fight scenes in 'Santa Fe' including a funny stand-off involving a wheelbarrow. The director Irving Pichel appears in the movie.
'The Far Country' is an expansive western set in 1896. When outlaw Jeff Webster (James Stewart) and cattle trader Ben Tatem (Walter Brennan) drive their herd through mountain territory they're dogged by corrupt politician Judge Gannon (John McIntire) every step of the way. If they can't sell the herd, they can't make their money.
The filmmaker Anthony Mann made some of the finest psychological westerns of the 1950s and this is one of them. With the assistance of ace cinematographer William Daniels, Mann pushes through mountainous regions of spectacular natural beauty, filming in Alberta, Canada (the home of Fay Wray). Regular leading man James Stewart rides through snowcapped peaks, freckled fields and frosted forests on his way towards man's ultimate prize, wary of the onset of a harsh winter. Jeff Webster's courted by two fine ladies, saloon owner Ronda Castle (Ruth Roman) and saloon singer Renee Vallon (Corinne Calvet), but his mind is on survival. Stewart's nuanced performance is so good he interacts differently with everyone he meets and builds a personal connection instantly, even with his enemies. An old work colleague of mine who frequented London theatres for decades told me Stewart was the greatest performer he ever saw on stage.
'The Far Country' is a brilliantly made film in every regard. The screenplay by Borden Chase pulses with incandescent dialogue and the characters lay their emotions bare. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good western.
"A tall, blonde beauty who could be glacially haughty or stylishly witty, Janis Carter was a welcome presence in films of the Forties, whether starring as duplicitous seductresses in 'B' thrillers or vamping the hero as the 'other woman' of major melodramas and comedies. Her cool, high-toned composure, suggesting darker passions under the surface, made her an ideal film noir actress, and among her finer roles were those in William Castle's Mark of the Whistler (1945), a doom-laden tale based on a Cornell Woolrich story, and Richard Wallace's Framed (1947, called Paula in Britain), in which she used her seductive charms in a plot to have the innocent drifter Glenn Ford take the blame for murder and larceny. In Douglas Sirk's Slightly French (1949), an amusing comedy which starred Dorothy Lamour as a honky-tonk performer being passed off as a Parisian belle, Carter displayed such flair as a wise-cracking socialite that it is a pity this aspect of her talent remained under-used. Born Janis Dremann in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1913, she studied opera in New York but after failing an audition at the Metropolitan turned to the musical stage. She was a showgirl in two Cole Porter musicals, Dubarry was a Lady (1939) and Panama Hattie (1940), both produced by the composer Buddy DeSylva, who became a constant escort during this period. She also became a successful model, and when John Robert Powers formed his agency she was one of the original 10 Powers Girls."
- Tom Vallance, The Independent
- Tom Vallance, The Independent
Scotty Beckett & Allene Roberts
'Santa Fe' is a gentle character western that takes its time observing life for mixed communities after the Civil War. Integration isn't easy but people come together over shared values and common practises. It's based on the book 'Santa Fe, The Railroad That Built An Empire' by James Vance Marshall who's apparently the same author behind the novel adapted by Nicolas Roeg into 'Walkabout' (1971). There are some unusual fight scenes in 'Santa Fe' including a funny stand-off involving a wheelbarrow. The director Irving Pichel appears in the movie.
'Fuel To The Flame' - Dolly Parton
'The Far Country' is an expansive western set in 1896. When outlaw Jeff Webster (James Stewart) and cattle trader Ben Tatem (Walter Brennan) drive their herd through mountain territory they're dogged by corrupt politician Judge Gannon (John McIntire) every step of the way. If they can't sell the herd, they can't make their money.
"It is in the western where Mann achieved what is arguably his most celebrated and artistically mature work, and his five collaborations with James Stewart and one with Gary Cooper are now considered among the top films of a genre once thought to be the exclusive domain of John Ford and Raoul Walsh. Mann produced ten major westerns during the 50’s, and taken as a whole this was the most critically and commercially successful period of his career. This new genre afforded him some wide ranging possibilities for which to express the character complexity that was limited with some of the earlier work. And with the expansive settings Mann was able to achieve universality in theme. Jean-Luc Godard once wrote to this focus: “Mann’s westerns presented both beautiful landscapes and the explanation of this beauty, both mystery of firearms and the secret of this mystery, both art and the theory of art.” Mann’s westerns are generally seen to exist on three levels: the literal, the internal (or psychological) and the emotional, the latter of which is achieved by the shift in landscape, story and character development. The psychological state of the characters are of course exclusive to Mann in this genre, and for the audience the most fascinating aspect. The change in the landscapes reflect the state of mind for the characters."
- Sam Juliano, 'The Many Faces Of Anthony Mann'
- Sam Juliano, 'The Many Faces Of Anthony Mann'
The filmmaker Anthony Mann made some of the finest psychological westerns of the 1950s and this is one of them. With the assistance of ace cinematographer William Daniels, Mann pushes through mountainous regions of spectacular natural beauty, filming in Alberta, Canada (the home of Fay Wray). Regular leading man James Stewart rides through snowcapped peaks, freckled fields and frosted forests on his way towards man's ultimate prize, wary of the onset of a harsh winter. Jeff Webster's courted by two fine ladies, saloon owner Ronda Castle (Ruth Roman) and saloon singer Renee Vallon (Corinne Calvet), but his mind is on survival. Stewart's nuanced performance is so good he interacts differently with everyone he meets and builds a personal connection instantly, even with his enemies. An old work colleague of mine who frequented London theatres for decades told me Stewart was the greatest performer he ever saw on stage.
'Baby, Obey Me' - Corinne Calvet & Dean Martino
'The Far Country' is a brilliantly made film in every regard. The screenplay by Borden Chase pulses with incandescent dialogue and the characters lay their emotions bare. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good western.
