lyle-12 Reviews

The Alamo (1960)

A slightly flawed epic

[8/10 · 12 September 2006]

Probably the first John Wayne movie I ever saw, I was 8 when this hit theaters in 1960. There are numerous criticisms of this movie for being "corny," "reactionary," "racist," etc. But I have to disagree. I think it has to be acknowledged that, for a first time director, and certainly the first time he had starred in, produced and directed a film, John Wayne was quite successful in putting his personal vision on the screen. In the first half of the film we are introduced to characters we come to know, to like, and to care about. Crockett's humor, his hidden intellect, his passion for the Texian's cause, Bowie's recklessness, his short temper, and his conflict over command and strategy with Travis, Laurence Harvey's pompous martinet, Travis, who, nevertheless, displays great courage and nerve, and, ultimately, a plan. The Tennessee volunteers, Bowie's men, Dickinson, Bonham are all well-defined characters, people we come to identify with. In the second half of the movie, the battle scenes are handled with great expertise. They are exciting, chaotic, inspiring, violent-terrific, especially for a first-time director. It is rumored John Ford helped with these scenes, but it is also said that John Ford was sent out to film scenes that were not used, to keep him out of the way. This was going to be Wayne's film, for better or worse. The only scene that truly was a misstep is the birthday scene featuring Wayne's daughter, Aissa. This is truly a corny scene and disturbs the flow of the film. It can only be seen in the director's cut of the film, which is the only version one should see, but should never have been included. Still, even John Ford's masterpiece The Searchers contains moderately corny scenes, and holds up brilliantly. A small flaw like this in The Alamo can easily be forgiven. Is this an epic on the scale of Ben Hur or Spartacus? No, it is not. I wish, for The Duke's sake it was. I know that's what he wanted. But with Dimitri Tiomkin's truly epic, Oscar-worthy film score, a competent script, and some memorable acting, I think John Wayne succeeded in creating his own epic, the one he wanted to make, and one that reflected his vision, his values. Taken in context, this makes The Alamo a successful epic film, and one worth watching more than once. It has always been one of my favorites.

Cutter's Trail (1970 TV Movie)

Good standard western

[6/10 · 11 July 2006]

John Gavin, while not exactly dynamic, does a good job with this story of a lawman going into Mexico to deal with Mexican bandits, an American outlaw and his brother, and in the process finding himself helping a young Mexican boy and his mother escape the grip of a local bully. Although apparently an idea for a Gunsmoke-like TV show, this is actually a remake of an actual "Gunsmoke" episode from the 14th season, broadcast on October 7, 1968, and called "Zavala." Even the young boy, Manuel Padilla, Jr., plays Paco, just as he does in the original "Gunsmoke." Cutter's Trail contains a slightly different ending, but the two stories are essentially the same, with the author, Paul Savage, and the director, Vincent McEveety repeating. Not a classic, but enjoyable, and, at times, pretty exciting.

The Reivers (1969)

An obscure gem from Steve McQueen

[12 March 2004]

I personally rank this film, based on William Faulkner's last novel, among my favorites. Not that I would rank it as a "great" film, but it's a lot of fun. It's true that McQueen may have been in fact older than his character was supposed to be, but his attitude and style seems to bring it off. Mitch Vogel, as the young boy Lucius, who is lured into stealing his grandfather's (Will Geer) new Winton Flyer automobile for a wild weekend in Memphis by Boone Hoggenbeck (McQueen) is completely believable as a kid who wants the adventure, but has to be drawn into it because he respects his grandfather so much. Rupert Crosse as McQueen's other reiver (thief) in this caper adds an extra comic relief as the one who gets them into a real fix in Memphis. Ordinarily I hate movies with running narration, but the narration in this by Burgess Meredith as the grown old Lucius, remembering his exciting weekend in Memphis, adds a real touch of poignancy to this tale of youth lost. Additionally, Sharon Farrell as McQueen's prostitute girlfriend, Clifton James as a vicious southern sheriff, and Juano Hernandez as a kindly old black farmer add real dimension to the film. Throw in a beautiful score by John Williams (his first film score) and you've got the makings of a warm, charming story, accurately drawn, from the turn of the century. The scene at the film's end, where the grandfather has a heart-to-heart talk with the boy, is wonderful, and very "authentic." The director, Mark Rydell, did a terrific job. I've seen this movie many times, and it never fails to entertain me.

Bandolero! (1968)

Names of 3 characters in this movie re-used in Lonesome Dove

[26 June 2003]

This is a pretty entertaining movie - not one of the best westerns any of these actors ever made, but it's always fun to watch Jimmy Stewart and George Kennedy do their thing. Dean Martin isn't bad, Raquel Welch looks great, but at this point she still needed to expand her talent. Entertaining plot, decent action, but the thing I think is most interesting are the names of three of the characters: The sheriff is July Johnson and his deputy's name is Roscoe, and the main villain's name is Dee, all names used in the same way in the great TV movie Lonesome Dove.