Great cast and stunning direction makes this an offbeat classic. Funny interpretation of gender roles in America -- Crawford as the emasculated nihilistic prostitute/businesswoman, and Hayden (in PERFECT casting) as a slightly pretty-boy gunslinger, a role in which he is as passive to Crawford as a typical film heroine to her hero. All bit parts are memorable, particularly the venomous McCambridge (one of her best characterizations -- it makes my skin crawl every time I see her face light up as they burn the casino) and John Carradine's memorably pathetic death scene.
A lot of people have said a lot of things about this movie. I was glad to see from glancing through the postings on IMDB that there is also some healthy discussion of the movie on here -- how much it means, how little it means. I don't think it was designed to save the world from its madness, nor do I think it's a lesbian love story (although there is some strange element in McCambridge's obsessive hatred of Crawford), but I do think there's something going on beneath the surface of this film that's hard to explain. Somehow, it ended up being much much better than it should have been. One thing is, I think Nick Ray and Phil Yordan decided the story was so ridiculous that they would just concentrate on the emotional elements, also bringing out the pure fantasy (going behind the waterfall to find a hidden fortress, the heroine running from the fire in her white satin dress, etc.) that is the best element of all great film. But it's really hard to pin down any one element that makes it great, so I'll have to stand pat and just say it's a combination of elements that are operating on conscious and subconscious levels to bring about a fantastic movie experience -- to those who are able to surrender to it.
One other element worthy of comment -- the wonderful opening sequence where Hayden rides through a hillside covered in explosions. I really think that the quality of a good movie, and especially a western, can be seen most of the time in how well the director handles an opening sequence. He/she should capitalize on the viewer's total lack of knowledge about the film's situation to create moments of suspense or drama that couldn't possibly occur once the story is set in motion. He should also use this suspense to create tension that will carry the movie forward. Nicholas Ray has done an excellent job of this here; we see Hayden riding through the explosions and wonder what's going on, and then we see (through his eyes) the bank holdup, which he is doing nothing to stop. We don't know if he's a part of the robbery, we can't really see who's doing the robbing, etc. etc. -- it just brings up a lot of questions that keep the audience wanting to see more.
An excellent production, one of Republic's best.
A lot of people have said a lot of things about this movie. I was glad to see from glancing through the postings on IMDB that there is also some healthy discussion of the movie on here -- how much it means, how little it means. I don't think it was designed to save the world from its madness, nor do I think it's a lesbian love story (although there is some strange element in McCambridge's obsessive hatred of Crawford), but I do think there's something going on beneath the surface of this film that's hard to explain. Somehow, it ended up being much much better than it should have been. One thing is, I think Nick Ray and Phil Yordan decided the story was so ridiculous that they would just concentrate on the emotional elements, also bringing out the pure fantasy (going behind the waterfall to find a hidden fortress, the heroine running from the fire in her white satin dress, etc.) that is the best element of all great film. But it's really hard to pin down any one element that makes it great, so I'll have to stand pat and just say it's a combination of elements that are operating on conscious and subconscious levels to bring about a fantastic movie experience -- to those who are able to surrender to it.
One other element worthy of comment -- the wonderful opening sequence where Hayden rides through a hillside covered in explosions. I really think that the quality of a good movie, and especially a western, can be seen most of the time in how well the director handles an opening sequence. He/she should capitalize on the viewer's total lack of knowledge about the film's situation to create moments of suspense or drama that couldn't possibly occur once the story is set in motion. He should also use this suspense to create tension that will carry the movie forward. Nicholas Ray has done an excellent job of this here; we see Hayden riding through the explosions and wonder what's going on, and then we see (through his eyes) the bank holdup, which he is doing nothing to stop. We don't know if he's a part of the robbery, we can't really see who's doing the robbing, etc. etc. -- it just brings up a lot of questions that keep the audience wanting to see more.
An excellent production, one of Republic's best.