Blowing Wild (1953)

Jeff Dawson (Gary Cooper) and Dutch Peterson (Ward Bond) are wildcatters in South America.  They have sunk all their funds into a patch of land where they hope to discover oil.  However, bandits arrive.  The bandits - led by El Gavilan (Juan Garcia) - demand money for 'protection.'  Jeff and Dutch have no money, so the bandits blow up the well and steal their only horse.  The pair hike back to town with plans of getting a job.  Hungry, Dutch attempts to steal just enough money from a random man to pay for a meal.  The man proves to be Paco (Anthony Quinn), an old friend of Jeff and Dutch.  He gladly pays for them to have dinner and arranges for rooms.  In fact, he offers them a job.

Jeff, Dutch, and Paco had been in business previously, but Jeff left suddenly and Dutch left with him.  It soon becomes apparent that Jeff left on account of Paco's wife, Marina (Barbara Stanwyck).  Her relationship with Paco is difficult, all the more so now that Jeff is back in the picture.  Clearly, she has a thing for Jeff.  If Jeff wasn't in such a financial pickle, he would hightail it immediately.  To make matters worse, Paco is also having difficulties with the banditos.

Gary Cooper plays his usual stalwart, do-right fellow despite his poverty.  Jeff Dawson proves to be a highly skilled oilman who should have been turning down job offers rather than desperate for the first one to come along.  He is a paragon of virtue whose only flaw is repeated bad luck.

Barbara Stanwyck plays the bad girl.  She has a husband who loves her and provides well, but she doesn't reciprocate.  She could tolerate him well enough when it was just the two of them, but Jeff's return has rekindled her desire to find another man.  Her efforts in that direction grow in intensity as the story unfolds.

Anthony Quinn is more talk than action.  He's constantly boasting and is often oblivious to the feelings of those around him.  He repeatedly forces himself on his wife while Jeff is in the room, he presses to give Jeff money while ignoring Jeff's pride against handouts.  Constantly with the big talk, but when it comes to saving one of his wells, it is Jeff who risks himself rather than Paco.  Was it Jeff who set Paco's operation on the path to great success before he fled from Marina?  It looks that way.

Ward Bond plays his usual sidekick character.  Dutch is amiable but lacks Jeff's rectitude.  He reads the room well and makes an excellent friend.  There are none of the rough edges that are typically a feature of his characters.  He figures prominently in the first act but is sidelined after an encounter with the banditos.

Ruth Roman plays Sal Donnelly, an American woman stranded in South America.  She initially approached Jeff with hopes he might pay her way back to the States.  When it turned out he was flat broke, she practically sneered.  However, despite that, he offered to pay her way once he came into money.  His repeated concern for her welfare sparked interest.  Plus, she looks quite good in an evening gown.  Marina is openly hostile to Sal.

The movie is not clear on what it wants to be.  There is the love triangle of Jeff-Marina-Paco.  There is another love triangle of Marina-Jeff-Sal.  Then there is the repeated bandito trouble that always leads to gun fights and explosions.  In the opening, it felt very like Treasure of the Sierra Madre with Ward Bond begging a fellow American to front him a meal.  Then, Jeff and Dutch get a job where they get stiffed on pay.  Happily, it diverges from there.

Just okay.

The Westerner (1940)

In west Texas, the cattle ranchers and the homesteaders clash.  During the clash, a homesteader returns fire at some attacking ranchers but kills a cow.  Soon, he is brought before Judge Roy Bean (Walter Brennan) who sentences him to hang.  Soon after, Cole Harden (Gary Cooper) is brought before Judge Bean as an accused horse thief.  His prospects look dim but he notes the many posters of Lily Langtry about the bar and, while the jury deliberates, he tells Judge Bean that he knows Miss Langtry.  Judge Bean soon views Cole as a friend and, when the verdict comes back guilty, he passes a suspended sentence, much to the surprise of the jurors and the mortician.  Cole claimed to have a lock of Miss Langtry's hair and Judge Bean means to have it.

Cole just wants to get out of the area - he has vague plans of riding to California - and save his neck.  However, he stops for the night at the Matthews' homestead.  Jane Ellen (Doris Davenport) lays on the charm to get him to stay on and work the farm.  Thanks to the rancher attacks, it has been difficult to retain workers.  Seeing the state of the homesteaders and having already gauged the ranchers, Cole attempts to play peacemaker through his 'friendship' with Judge Bean.  There's plenty of land for everyone.

The only historical figures in the movie are Judge Bean and Lily Langtry (Lilian Bond).  There is a lot to commended regarding the portrayal of Bean.  He did have trouble with his neck on account of having been hanged.  He was known to fine people based on the amount of money they had in their pockets.  Any fines he levied, he kept.  His saloon doubled as a courtroom.  He did indeed fight in the Civil War as a Confederate.  Brennan is terrific in the role, making Bean amiable, ruthless, and lovestruck.  On the other hand, the climax sees Bean getting killed in a gunfight in Fort Davis.  In fact, Roy Bean died in his bed in 1903 at the age of 77.  As for Lily Langtry, she and Bean never met; his pining for her was unrequited.

Good popcorn fun!

Along Came Jones (1945)

A robber (Dan Duryea) is hidden on the side of the road as a stagecoach approaches.  He shoots one of the horses in the leg which cascades into a tremendous crash.  As he moves in to seize the bag of money he is after, the man riding shotgun threatens.  The robber shoots him.  After the driver hands over the money, the robber gallops away.  However, the mortally injured man shoots the robber.  The robber drops his rifle, which has his named etched on it: Monte Jarrad.

Meanwhile, Melody Jones (Gary Cooper) and George Fury (William Demarest) riding south in search of work.  Melody is singing a song, which consists of silly verses and a 'round and a round' chorus.  George thinks Melody has hit his head one too many times.  They arrive in Paynesville where a local notes the MJ initials on Melody's saddle.  Monte Jarrad is said to be a tall slim fellow who travels with his Uncle Roscoe.  Soon, the whole town has jumped to the conclusion that Monte Jarrad has arrived in Paynesville.  Melody is loving all the respect and deference that the townsfolk are giving him, thinking his squinting eyes and standoffish demeanor explain all.  Not until Cherry de Longpre (Loretta Young) calls him Monte and escorts him out of town does he realize it was a case of mistaken identity.  Now he feels the fool but he is also attracted to Cherry.  Not so dull-witted as George things, Melody returns to the Longpre farm to discover why Cherry opted to call him Monte rather than just clear up the misunderstanding with the townsfolk.

Here is an unusual combination of Western, comedy, and romance.  The villain, Jarrad, is a straightforward coldblooded killer who would fit just fine in a more serious movie.  By contrast, Melody can't draw a gun to save his life.  He is more likely to fling it into the dirt than successfully get it out of his holster.  This is who they are talking about when they accuse someone of not being able to hit the broadside of a barn.  However, he does prove to have a keen mind, deducing what is happening behind the scenes on several occasions.  Though Demerest is good in the role, I kept seeing Uncle Charley from My Three Sons providing sage advice to Melody.

This feels like a movie that couldn't decide what it wanted to be.  Just okay.

Fighting Caravans (1931)

Clint Belmet (Gary Cooper) is a scout on the frontier during the Civil War. He is something of a hellion and the sheriff of Independence, Missouri plans to put him in jail for a month. His mentors, Bill Jackson and Jim Bridger, spin a yarn about how he was just married and it would be wrong to jail him now that he is reforming his wild ways. They trick Felice (Lili Damita), a French woman bound for Sacramento, to pose as his new wife. The sheriff relents and Clint escapes Independence with Bill, Jim, and Felice. No sooner has the caravan left for California than Clint and Felice breakup when the trick played on her is exposed. Throughout the long journey, Clint and Felice are repeatedly drawn together and then split. Bill and Jim engineer most of the breakups, fearing that they might lose their young apprentice to a domestic life. Added to the stresses of the trail, it is clear that a combined band of Kiowa and Comanche are trailing the caravan and will certainly attack at some point. This is especially threatening because most of the US Cavalry stationed in the West has been recalled for service in the Civil War.

Adapted from a Zane Grey novel, the story is by the numbers and rather predictable. Ernest Torrence is a standout as Bill Jackson, the grizzled scout with a gift for gab. Tully Marshall as Jim Bridger fades into the background, though he has the more stereotypical mountain man appearance. There is a famous Jim Bridger who was a mountain man and scout, but he was in military service during the Civil War. The best thing about the movie are the scenes of the caravan crossing vast prairies, snowy mountains, and wide rivers. The setting is far more impressive than the story.

Good popcorn fun.

A Farewell to Arms (1932)

Frederic (Gary Cooper) is an American in Italy during the Great War.  He is an ambulance driver.  Upon returning from his recent stint at the front with many wounded in his ambulance, he meets his good friend, Rinaldi (Adolphe Menjou).  Rinaldi has great plans to go out drinking and meeting the ladies, but asks for some money first.  The pair meet some nurses.  Frederic finds he is attracted to the one that Rinaldi has chosen, Catherine (Helen Hayes).  He steals her from him, causing some hard feelings.  In a flash, Frederic and Cahterine are in love, but he has to go back to the front.  Seeing as Catherine is ruining his friendship with Frederic, Rinaldi has her reassigned to Milan.  Meanwhile, on the front, Frederic has been wounded.  After patching him up, Rinaldi sends him to Milan for recovery; clearly, he feels guilty now that his friend is injured.

The movie feels incomplete and disjointed.  There are some things that the viewer must figure out for himself.  Frederic and Catherine are lovers and she is pregnant.  Nope, can't have that in a movie.  There are multiple flash-cuts, that clearly show something is missing.  Often, I wasn't quite certain what was going on and why some of the characters were helping Frederic.  Checking on IMDb, it shows that censors snipped some of the film and Hemingway was very unhappy with the results.  However, he was impressed with Gary Cooper and suggested him for For Whom the Bell Tolls.

Cooper portrays the hunky American well and Menjou is great as Rinaldi.  I loved how he kept calling Frederic 'Baby.'  He was a very likeable Italian doctor.  Helen Hayes was miscast.  Her American accent didn't go with playing an English nurse.  Also, the 5 foot tall Hayes was positively dwarfed by the 6'3" Cooper.  I could see her attraction to him, but not his to her.

Mediocre.

Return to Paradise (1953)

In the late 1920s, the South Pacific island of Upolu is ruled by a strict pastor, the son of the previous pastor.  Pastor Cobbett (Barry Jones) has regimented the people of the island, using a band of thugs called wardens to enforce his code.  It is for the good of the people that he punishes sin.  On a random day, Mr. Morgan (Gary Cooper) the American lands on the beach and decides to call Matareva home.  Cobbett is adamantly opposed but Morgan enforces his desire to stay.  Unlike the natives, Morgan does not bow to Cobbett's regimentation and is more than willing to stand against the wardens.  Soon, the island is in rebellion and Cobbett's power is gone.  Nonetheless, the folk still attend his church.

Among the islanders, Maeva (Roberta Hayes) pursues Morgan and he relents.  However, he is restless.  He has repeatedly explained how he trusts no one and would have left Cobbett to his despotism if the pastor hadn't interfered with him.  He's a wanderer and plots his departure.  But Maeva is pregnant.  Soon after Turia is born, he leaves the island.

Years later, he returns.  World War II is being fought.  Turia is a young woman and eager to spend time with her famous father, whom the islanders view as a George Washington-like figure.  Morgan is torn between a desire to stay with his daughter and the constant pull of wanderlust.  In a twist of karma, Morgan finds his daughter being romanced by a young American pilot who has crashed on the island.  The parallels between the pilot and Turia to Morgan and Maeva cannot be missed.  Cobbett voices that uncomfortable truth.

This is an unusual role for Cooper, who is usually - in my experience - a paragon of virtue.  Such is not the case for Morgan.  He's rough around the edges and hard on his companions.  Maeva was giving and undemanding, but Morgan couldn't accept her.  He didn't want the commitment.  Always he would hint at his plans to move on.

Cobbett has the most dramatic story arc.  He goes from a strict disciplinarian to a kindly old pastor.  Where he was easy to hate in the early part of the film, he is a beloved member of the island family in the end.  He was never a bad man, just misguided in the way he taught the faith.  Being humbled by Morgan did him a world of good.

Just okay.

Vera Cruz (1954)

It is 1866 and many Americans have traveled across the Rio Grande to become mercenaries in the Franco-Mexican War.  Colonel Benjamin Trane (Gary Cooper) of Louisianna is one of those.  Unfortunately, his horse has broken a leg.  However, he encounters Joe Erin (Burt Lancaster) who has a horse for sale.  It is not a particularly good horse and the price is steep.  Trane accepts.  No sooner has he purchased the horse than a column of troops approach and give chase.  Trane is perplexed by this until Erin reveals that the horse he just purchased belongs to them.  Despite their difficult start, Ben finds himself joining with Joe and his band of mercenaries, an impressive crew that included Pittsburgh (Charles Bronson), Tex (Jack Elam), and Donnegan (Ernest Borgnine).  They are hired by Marquis Henri de Labordere (Cesar Romero) to escort the Countess Marie Duvarre (Denise Darcel) from Mexico City to Vera Cruz, where she will set sail for France.  Of course, there is something more valuable than the countess in the wagon - 3 million in gold - and Joe has notions of getting his hands on it.  The road to Vera Cruz is crowded with Juaristas, who seek to unseat Maximillian I and want that money to fund their efforts.

Joe Erin is a black hat to the core.  He never misses an opportunity to cheat or steal.  When offered the commission from the Marquis, a couple of men decline the offer so he shoots them.  Nice.  I'll bet that does wonders for morale.  He repeatedly makes plans that don't include his cohorts and is then startled when they turn on him.  When his goal is in sight, he gladly abandons allies or even shoots them.  There's very little nuance to him.

Ben Trane is mostly a white hat.  Sure, he shows a willingness to abscond with the gold, but decides that's not the right thing.  He's always rescuing ladies from Erin's band of brutes, showing his noble attitudes, proving to have culture and grace, and helping anyone in need, even Joe Erin.  For a guy who made a living by owning a plantation full of slaves and fought to keep that state of affairs, he's a pretty cool guy.  Despite being the good guy, Lancaster scene-chewing overshadows Cooper's subdued performance.

There is plenty of action, usually in the form of an ambush on the road to Vera Cruz.  The incompetence of the Marquis by riding down narrow defiles that have not been scouted is embarrassing.  In the final battle, it was dumbfounding how easily Ben and Joe were able to flank and take out a key gun emplacement, showing a catastrophic - and obvious - hole in the Marquis' defense.  Don't let our heroes win because the bad guys are abysmally stupid.  It would have been nice if Joe weren't quite so bad and Ben wasn't quite so good.

As for the history, it's pretty weak.  Vera Cruz was the entry point for Spain, France, and England during the 1861-1867 Mexican Adventure.  This was the main port for all support and the port where France made its exit.  It was not captured by Juaristas in a mass attack in 1866.  By 1866, the United States was providing arms to the Juaristas and was intent on kicking the French out of Mexico, per the Monroe Doctrine.  Also, the Gatlin gun that appears in the final battle is not yet in service.  Many of the guns seen were not yet available in 1866.  Maximillian I was only 34 at the time of the film, but is portrayed by the 54 year old George Macready.

Entertaining and fast-paced, but too predictable.  Good popcorn fun.

The Real Glory (1939)

It is 1906 and the United States Army is withdrawing troops from the Philippines.  The decision has been made that the native forces - The Philippines Constabulary - must learn to defend the country.  However, a batch of American military advisors will be provided to the town of Mysang on the island of Mindanao.  Lt. Bill Canavan (Gary Cooper) arrives at Mysang where he is greeted by Lt. McCool (David Niven) and Lt. Larsen (Broderick Crawford).  Colonel Hatch is in command.  The last of the Americans are Captain Manning and Captain Hartley.

The Moros (Muslim ethnic group in southern islands of the Philippines) are determined to wipe out the forces of Mysang and resume control of the island.  Currently, they hide in the jungles where they are safe.  In fact, they want the Philippines Constabulary to attack them in the jungle where they will have an advantage.  To do this, Alipang, leader of the Moros, sends juramentados (suicidal assassins) to kill commanding officers and trigger a reprisal.

Canavan is a doctor with the assignment of keeping the town healthy.  He gets the opportunity to treat wounds, address a cholera outbreak, and practice psychology.  Of course, like most doctors, he also gets the chance to blaze away with a pistol, blow up a damn, toss sticks of dynamite at charging Moros, raft through rapids, trek through a trap-laden jungle, and romance Linda, the commanding officer's daughter.

Niven is miscast as he is clearly not an American soldier.  No explanation is made for his English accent.  He plays a good friend as well as a potential rival for Linda's affections.  Crawford plays an amiable fellow obsessed with orchids.  Andrea Leeds plays Linda Hartley in one of her last roles.  Despite her father's wish for her to leave for her safety, she insists on staying.  She's no damsel in distress.  During the cholera outbreak, she becomes Canavan's assistant.  During a siege, she provides ammunition and even orders the Constabulary back to their posts.

Though not based on any specific incident in the Moro Rebellion (1899-1913), it does hit the highlights.  The Moros used suicide assassins, tended to be armed with spears and blades, and struck from the jungles.  Cholera was a major issue through the islands in the era, killing an estimated 200,000 people.  Actual combat only resulted in 18,000 to 26,000 deaths.  The US involvement in the Philippines was very similar to Vietnam, with many of the same issues in both conflicts.  Where Vietnam had the My Lai Massacre, the Moro Rebellion had Bud Dajo, which saw many more dead.  It is not a laudable conflict, which is probably why there have been few movies on the subject.

Good popcorn fun.  Recommended.

Distant Drums (1951)

It is 1840 and Lt. Richard Tufts (Richard Webb) of the US Navy has been selected for a special mission with Captain Wyatt Quincy (Gary Cooper) of the US Army.  The assignment is to sail across Lake Okeechobee and destroy the fort of gunrunners who supply weapons to the Seminoles.  The joint operation is hugely successful and also saw the rescue of captives, among whom is Judy Beckett (Mari Aldon).  While waiting for the boat to come get them, a band of Seminoles arrive.  The heavy fire prevents the boat from coming to shore so Wyatt's company must flee into the everglades to avoid being overrun.  Now they must trek 150 miles through dangerous swamps while evading the Seminole pursuit.  The high stress flight is the perfect setting for romance between Wyatt and Judy.

Much like Seminole, this one is terrible on history.  The soldiers are wearing uniforms from the Spanish-American War (1898) rather than the Second Seminole War.  Though the Patterson revolver was available by now, the Peacemaker that Wyatt carries is decades in the future.  Nobody seems to be using muskets, which is the weapon of the day.  However, it does show some knowledge of the era.  Wyatt declares himself to be a Georgia Cracker and picks out Judy as one too.  The Seminoles are mostly played by Seminoles.  The navy and army did have joint operations and saw a crossing of the Everglades from the Atlantic to the Gulf of Mexico.  The Seminoles were armed with rifles that were supplied by Spanish smugglers from Cuba.

The plot is good but the execution has much to be desired.  Like the love triangle in Seminole, this one is equally unsatisfying.  Judy has chosen Wyatt right out the gate and Tufts spends most of his time as a tag along character.  Why didn't he stay with his boat?  Of particular note, this is the movie that had the original Wilhelm Scream when a soldier was eaten by a crocodile, which has proven to be the most enduring part.  Unfortunately, sounds from an African jungle are played to set the mood.

Zachary Taylor, who gained his promotion to brigadier general thanks to the Battle of Okeechobee in 1837, is the commanding general here.  Yes, he really was the commanding general from 1838 to 1840, so this is accurate.  He earned his nickname of 'Old Rough and Ready' during his tenure in Florida.

As mindless popcorn fun, the movie is fine but don't think you have learned anything when the credits roll.