Ten Gentlemen from West Point (1942)

In the Senate, Henry Clay argues in favor of funding the military academy at West Point while others, notably John Randolph of Roanoke, argued against.  Though the bill was passed, Major Samuel Carter was placed in command of West Point with the task of getting all the cadets to resign, thus defeating the academy by other means.  Among the first batch of cadets were Joe Dawson of Kentucky (George Montgomery) and Howard Shelton of New York (John Sutton).  Carolyn Bainbridge (Maureen O'Hara) was both Shelton's fiancée and an important lobbyist in favor of West Point.  She followed Shelton to West Point to be near him and offer assistance to the cadets.  The cadets must overcome the regular soldiers who dislike them, the machinations of Major Carter, and often each other.  Will the US Military Academy survive?

The story is campy nonsense, an ahistorical mess that doesn't know when it happens, where it happens, or who was involved.  Thomas Jefferson established West Point shortly after becoming president in 1801.  However, the battle in which this inaugural cohort of cadets fights took place in 1811.  Interesting tinkering with the timeline.  Of course, Henry Clay served several stints in the Senate, the first being from 1806 to 1807 then again from 1810 to 1811.  On the other hand, John Randolph of Roanoke spent his career almost entirely in the House of Representatives.  He spent two years in the Senate from 1825 to 1827.  However, he did have a habit of bringing his dog into the house chambers, which was a nice touch in the movie.

The battle against Tecumseh is complete fiction.  During the campaign, General William Henry Harrison marched his army north from Vincennes and established Fort Harrison at what is now Terre Haute, Indiana.  After some training of his troops, he marched north to the battle that made him famous: Tippecanoe.  His forces battled Tecumseh's brother, Tenskwatawa.  Tecumseh was somewhere in the South, recruiting more tribes for the eventual fight against the Americans in the War of 1812.  This telling has the Ten Gentlemen left at Fort Harrison when Harrison (Douglass Dumbrille) marched north.  No sooner is Harrison gone than Tecumseh (Noble Johnson) moves against the fort.  Can our cadets use their hard-earned military knowledge to save the day?  Of course they can.  They can use the fictional account of the Battle of Tours (732 AD) to defeat Tecumseh.

George Montgomery lays on the Southern charm, a poor country boy from Kentucky with homespun grammar and a can-do attitude.  John Sutton plays the cultured New Yorker with deep pockets and a haughty disposition.  Each have opportunities to shine, though George is clearly the more likeable of the two.  Maureen O'Hara outshines the rest of the cast.  Of course, she is the object of everyone's affection and the keystone of a love triangle.  Who will win her heart: the Kentuckian or the New Yorker?

Though a nonsensical and silly film, there are several noteworthy aspects.  The director, Henry Hathaway, would go on to far better films, notably the original True Grit (1969) with John Wayne.  The screenwriter, Richard Maibaum, went on to become the primary writer for the Bond series from 1962 to 1989.  Ward Bond plays Sergeant Scully, the leader of the enlisted men who dislike the cadets.  Stanley Andrews, who would go on to play the Old Ranger in Death Valley Days, plays Captain Sloane.

Mediocre.  Skip.

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.