skjam

Angel and the Badman (1947) dir. James Edward Grant

Quirt Evans (John Wayne) may be a top hand with a gun, but he's got his limits, and this time he was severely outnumbered, so rode away. Badly wounded, he collapses in front of Quaker woman Penelope Worth (Gail Russell) and her father Thomas (John Halloran). They get him to the telegraph office where Quirt makes a land claim, then collapses again.

The kindly Quaker family nurses Quirt back to health, despite warnings from Dr. Mangram (Tom Powers) that this could lead to trouble for them. (His opinion doesn't stop the doctor from doing his job properly.) As Quirt recovers, he and Penelope take a shine to each other. Quirt is bemused by Quaker beliefs and customs, but comes to see the value in them.

Too bad the rest of the world is still wicked! This is especially true in the case of Quirt's old "work colleague" and enemy Laredo Stevens (Bruce Cabot). Can Quirt stay alive without killing?

This was the debut of John Wayne's production company, and the director also wrote the script. It was also a rare movie where Mr. Wayne's character is a criminal rather than a lawman or other law-abiding sort. We do learn that Quirt's been a lawman for a short time before...bad things happened. He's had a difficult life. But for a crook, he's a relatively decent sort, and can still be reached with kindness and reason. He grows from someone who literally cannot sleep without a gun in his hand to someone who can leave his gun in the dust at the end of the story.

The romance is much better developed here than in many John Wayne movies I've seen. I could see what both characters saw in each other, and the difficulties Quirt has in living up to Penny's expectations.

But there's also exciting action, including a cattle stampede and a bar brawl. This is a Western, after all.

Other bits I liked: The friendship between faithful Thomas Worth and atheist Dr. Mangram, which is respectful to both of them. The pointed reminder that sections of the Bible are rather violent themselves. Quirt learning that solving problems without violence feels good and leads to good, while when he briefly returns to his old life of crime and indulgence, it is stale and unfulfilling. Reasonable but suspicious lawman Marshal Wistful McClintock (Harry Carey).

There's a bit of a cheat at the end so that the Laredo situation is solved without Quirt having to soil his hands, but it's followed by a very satisfying last scene.

Content note: lethal gun violence, no gore. Some other violence. Quirt is heavily implied to have had extramarital sex. Quirt is briefly shirtless. Alcohol abuse. Younger children should have adult guidance.

This is a very good John Wayne movie, and highly recommended to Western fans and people who liked Witness with Harrison Ford (which has a lot of similarities.)

The Searchers (1956) dir. John Ford

Texas, 1868: Ethan Edwards (John Wayne) finally returns to his childhood home, three years after the end of the American Civil War. He evades questions about where he's been, though he was emphatically not in California. Ethan gets reacquainted with his brother Aaron's family: wife Martha, eldest daughter Lucy, near-teen son Ben, and Debbie (Lana Wood), who was born shortly after Ethan left eight years ago. Uncle Ethan takes a shine to Debbie, gifting her a medal. He isn't as pleased by Aaron's adopted son Martin Hawley (Jeffrey Hunter) whose 1/8th Cherokee ancestry is clearly visible, even though he himself had saved the boy from a Comanche attack that orphaned him years ago.

The next morning, a posse led by Texas Ranger (and Reverend) Samuel Johnston Clayton (Ward Bond) arrives at the ranch. It seems that rustlers hit the nearby Jorgensen ranch and they need all the searchers they can get. Also in the party are the eccentric Mose Harper (Hank Worden), aging Lars Jorgensen (John Qualen) and his son Brad (Harry Carey Jr.) who is Lucy's sweetheart. Ethan volunteers himself for Aaron's place, despite some skepticism from Captain Clayton. Martin joins, thinking it a way to prove himself to "Uncle Ethan."

Just as Martin is voicing his suspicions about the rustlers' trail some hours later, the posse comes across cattle killed without their meat being taken. They realize that this was a distraction, the Comanche intend to strike as a war party at one of the unprotected sites. It's too late. By the time they get back, Aaron, Ben and Martha are dead, and Lucy and Debbie have been abducted.

The men set out in search of the warband, and soon enough find what's left of Lucy. Brad soon follows her into the grave.

Although it seems a lost cause to find Debbie before she dies or suffers a worse fate, Ethan vows to keep searching until he finds her, and Martin supports him. It will be years before the pair reach the end of this trail.

This is considered one of the great Western movies. starting with the wonderful scenery of Monument Valley filling in for the flatland of West Texas.

Ethan Edwards is an unusual role for John Wayne. He's a man with a murky past, and an unregenerate Confederate, still wearing pieces of his Johnny Reb uniform three years later. He very much did not surrender his sword, and presumably still fully supports the cause of slavery. Ethan refuses to discuss what he did after the war, but it's implied to be at least shady if not illegal. The medal he gives Debbie is conspicuously neither Union or Confederate. (Out of universe, it's Serbian.) Ethan is openly racist towards people of Native American descent (other people are less open about it.) He has no compunction about ambushing opponents and shooting them in the back, desecrates a corpse out of cussedness, and kills more buffalo than he needs for food just to deny them to the natives.

By the end of the movie, it's clear that Martin is the actual hero, wanting to still rescue Debbie (now played by Natalie Wood) while Ethan thinks it will be more merciful to kill her immediately.

Eventually, the searchers learn that Debbie was last seen with "Chief Scar" (Henry Brandon), a Comanche who constantly keeps on the move with his band and often lies about where he's going next to evade trackers. He has his reasons for hating the white men, and seems to be Ethan's opposite number.

There's a subplot about Martin's sweetheart Laurie Jorgensen (Vera Miles) being courted by the rather crass Charlie McCorry (Ken Curtis) while he's gone. It's understandable that she is tempted, given that Martin writes only one letter in five years, and mentions his short-lived accidental marriage to Comanche maiden Look (Beulah Archuletta) during the course of the missive. The comedy here can be a bit grating.

Speaking of comedy, Look's part in the story is treated as hilarious by everyone who hears about it, since Martin doesn't speak Comanche, Ethan didn't bother warning him about the customs, and she is treated poorly by Martin as a result. And then her part ends tragically.

At least she's played by a Native American, unlike the other major parts which had white actors in tan makeup. And the Comanche extras were played by Navajo making the background chatter hilarious if you understand that language. Hollywood's gotten a little better at appropriate casting over the years. A little better.

The ending is particularly striking. Most of the surviving characters find at least some happiness, but Ethan realizes that he can never truly join them, and the door closes with him still outside.

Content notes: Violence, often ending in death. Several corpses are implied to be particularly gruesome, but we never see them. Death of children, rape is implied. Some rescued white captives are traumatized (or retraumatized by the "rescue") into seeming insanity. Racism. Martin kicks Look when she tries to sleep near him. Animals are killed.

There are parts of this movie that haven't aged well, or are a bit grating, but overall it's one of the greats and well worth watching (especially since the acknowledgement of racism was very rare in Westerns of the time period, especially by protagonists.) Parents of younger viewers may want to screen the movie first to see if their kids are up to it.

Fort Apache (1948) dir. John Ford

Lieutenant Colonel Owen Thursday (Henry Fonda) was a general during the American Civil War. He showed his brilliance in a particular battle, at the cost of his friend Sam Collingwood's (George O'Brien) career (that man is now a captain.) After the war, Thursday lost his brevet rank like many other career military men, and was assigned to duties in Europe. And now Lt. Col. Thursday has been assigned to Fort Apache, a remote outpost in the middle of the most desolate and hostile territory imaginable, the Bronx Arizona. He considers it a dead end post with no chance for glory and advancement, but his daughter Philadelphia Thursday (Shirley Temple) is just glad to be spending time with her father again.

Also arriving at Fort Apache is 2nd Lieutenant Michael Shannon O'Rourke (John Agar), freshly graduated from West Point. For him, it's something of a homecoming, because his father Sergeant Major Michael O'Rourke (Ward Bond) is top kick for the regiment stationed there, and the other veterans know him well. He and Philadelphia hit it off and the O'Rourke family helps the girl adapt to life at the fort, as do the Collingwoods.

Lt. Col. Thursday has a harder time of it. He's a stiff-backed man, and appalled by the lack of attention to uniform code and discipline at the fort. He makes a bad impression on his officers, including veteran Captain Kirby York (John Wayne), who knows the local native people well, including the Apache themselves. He's not good at taking advice or correction (it doesn't help that he's bad with names), and he's class-conscious enough to dislike Lt. O'Rourke's interest in his daughter.

Lt. Col. Thursday perks up when he learns that Capt. York has a plan to convince Cochise (Miguel Inclan) to return his renegade Apache to the reservation peacefully. Although Thursday has learned that Mr. Silas Meacham (Grant Withers), the "Indian Agent" for the reservation, is a corrupt criminal whose abuses drove Cochise and his people from that land, he deliberately brings Meacham to the negotiations and refuses to remove him in order to provoke a battle. A battle that Capt. York and all the soldiers know will doom them, but Colonel Thursday is convinced that his brilliant strategy will allow him to win.

This is one of the all-time great Westerns, with outstanding direction, a strong cast, and Monument Valley as a backdrop. Special film was used that really makes the scenery pop, and the outdoors scenes are a delight to the eye.

Fonda and Wayne are excellent in their respective roles, as is Ward Bond. Temple and Agar (married in real life at the time) are okay, but their parts have less range to work with. Comic relief is provided by four sergeants, of whom the most important is Sergeant Beaufort (Pedro Armindariz), a Hispanic man who previously served in the Confederate Army. York uses Beaufort as a translator to Cochise as his Apache is limited, but Cochise is fluent in Spanish.

While the story is loosely inspired by the Battle of the Little Big Horn, Colonel Thursday is depicted as the villain of the piece. He tricks Captain York into breaking his word to Cochise, and deliberately taunts the Apache to ensure they'll fight despite their peaceful intentions. Because of his actions, his troops are needlessly slaughtered, and the U.S. Cavalry has to keep fighting the Apache when Geronimo comes to the fore. And in a nod to genuine history, the American government and media twist the story to make Thursday a hero. His tragic flaws of pride and glory-seeking are swept under the rug. Note however that the cavalry as a whole are depicted as relatively decent people.

There's a good soundtrack, much of it based on songs from the time period.

Content note: A lot of shooting, often fatal but bloodless. Abuse of alcohol is frequent (most frequently by the four sergeants.) Captain Collingwood is hinted to be an alcoholic, but those same scenes show him being very careful not to let it interfere with his duty. Meacham abuses the natives under his care while uttering pious sentiments (a box of "Bibles" contains rotgut whiskey.) Colonel Thursday is racist, classist, overly controlling towards his daughter, and is not good at apologizing for any of those.

A must see for Western and John Wayne fans, but also a fine movie in its own right.