FILM REVIEW OF ''THE HALLELUJAH TRAIL" (1965)

In his well-researched landmark biography of John Sturges, film critic Glenn Lovall points out the failure of “The Hallelujah Trail” at the box office forced John Sturges back into being a contract director. Unfortunately, this ambitious, $ 7 million dollar, two-hour and forty-five minute western extravaganza did prove to be Sturges’ undoing.  Sadly, according to Wikipedia, this United Artists’ release generated only $4 million during its initial release. Nevertheless, I’ve always thought it was an incredibly hilarious and splendidly staged western comedy.  The closest that Sturges had come to making a comedy was the Frank Sinatra & Dean Martin western “Sergeants Three,” but “The Hallelujah Trail” (*** OUT OF ****) was far from anything that “The Magnificent Seven” helmer had ever undertaken.  Sturges assembled a first-rate cast.  Burt Lancaster, who starred in Sturges’ first big western “Gunfight at the O.K. Corral,” took top billing as Colonel Thaddeus Gearhart.  Gearhart was a traditional, straight-laced U.S. Calvary commander who is in charge of a frontier fort who has a beautiful daughter, Louise Gearhart (Pamela Tiffin of “One, Two, Three”), who is hopelessly in love with an officer, Captain Paul Slater (Jim Hutton of “Major Dundee”), who serves under Gearhart at the fort.  At one point, Gearhart finds Slater and his daughter rolling around on his bear skin rug.  The hugely funny western takes advantage of the usual elements of most standard-issue oaters.  There is the inevitable clash between the U.S. Calvary and the Native Americans.  Similarly, the alcoholic frontiersmen ruffle the feathers of the Ladies of the Temperance Movement.  This sprawling, ‘battle of the sexes’ western brings together all these parties for an incredible finale in a swamp.

John Gay’s complicated screenplay based on William Gulick’s entertaining western novel concerns the efforts of desperate Denver merchants inspired by 'Oracle' Jones (Donald Pleasence of “The Great Escape”) to get a wagon train of liquor to them before they exhaust their supplies for the winter.  Signs indicate that the winter will be the worst in years, and the merchants refuse to run out of suds.  Moreover, a citizens’ committee shares the merchant’s anxiety.  Meantime, beer merchant Frank Wallingham (Brian Keith of “The Wind and the Lion”) organizes an emergency shipment of booze to Denver. However, he must contend with some obnoxious Irish teamsters, led by Kevin O'Flaherty (Tom Stern of “Clay Pigeon”), who feel he is exploiting them.  O'Flaherty constantly addresses Wallingham as “your lordship,” and Wallingham grumbles about it the entire time.  Of course, when the Indians learn about this huge shipment of liquor, they decide to help themselves to it.  Walllingham demands that Gearhart provide an escort to safeguard his booze from Chief Walks-Stooped-Over (Martin Landau of “Impossible Impossible”) as well as Chief Five Barrels (Robert J. Wilke of “The Magnificent Seven”) and they bring along their respective tribes.  If contending with Indians armed with Winchester repeating rifles weren’t enough of a challenge, Wallingham faces opposition from a well-known Temperance champion, Miss Cora Templeton Massingale (Lee Remick of “The Omen”), who just happens to be holding meetings at Gearhart’s fort.  Massingale decides to intercept the shipment of suds and destroy the cargo, and Gearhart’s daughter joins her. Naturally, an upset Colonel Gearhart decides Sergeant Buell (John Anderson of “The Satan Bug”) and he must provide an escort for these dames to keep them out of harm’s way.

Lancaster is absolutely brilliant as the square-jawed, Calvary colonel who must supervise everything in this massive sagebrusher. His comic timing is impeccable.  The scenes he has with Lee Remick will keep you in stitches as she manipulates him skillfully throughout the narrative. The contempt these two characters have for each other inevitably brings them together in the long run. The dialogue is crisp and smirk inducing, especially when Gearhart reprimands his top sergeant to his lack of Army strategy.  Sturges doesn’t slight anybody, and he gives some rather unusual parts to actors who had never done anything like these roles. Martin Landau is terrifically amusing as Chief Who Walks Stooped Over, and British actor Donald Pleasence, who eventually played villain in “Will Penny,” is cast as a barfly.  Crowning all these wonderful performances is Elmer Bernstein’s impressive orchestral score and “Satan Bug” lenser Robert Surtee’s radiant widescreen photography. In addition to “The Hallelujah Trail,” Surtees photographed not only “Escape from Fort Bravo,” but also “The Law and Jake Wade” for Sturges.  If you enjoy happily-ever-after comedies where the performers behave as if they were is a serious dramatic saga, “The Hallelujah Trail” qualifies as ideal entertainment.

FILM REVIEW ON ''VENGEANCE VALLEY'' (1951)

"Desperate Courage" director Richard Thorpe’s adult-themed western “Vengeance Valley” (*** out ****) concerns life on a cattle ranch and the conflict between two men.  This isn’t a trigger-happy gunslinger shoot’em up.  Virtually every character in this tautly-made 83-minute melodrama is involved in either the cattle business or clashes with the cowboys themselves. The characters in Irving Ravetch’s screenplay, based on Luke Short’s novel, emerge as either completely good or really evil. Meanwhile, Thorpe stages this steer opera against striking, snow-swept scenery, and Robert Walker’s villain is a truly treacherous dastard.  He is prepared to swindle his father out of money and land and kill the man who has shown him everything that he knows about ranching.  Furthermore, he has no qualms about having unshielded sex with single women.  In his first and only MGM production, Burt Lancaster delivers a strong performance as the stalwart hero.  "Vengeance Valley" was Lancaster's first time in the saddle, and he looks comfortable astride a horse. Tough-guy John Ireland is a gunman searching for trouble.  Interestingly, co-stars John Ireland and Joanne Dru were reunited on this trail herd western after starring in director Howard Hawks’ seminal cattle drive western. 

This 'Cain versus Abel' film unfolds with the following narration from the perspective of Hewie, one of the cowhands: “I got a story to tell - a yarn about cow country, cow punchers and men. I was workin' for the Strobie Ranch, a trade of worn leather and saddle blisters and brandin' irons. A trade with some song, some fun and some luck. It was as good a job as a man could ask for. Lonely sometimes and cold - so much distance you'd have thought you'd never get back - but for me, a young kid, it was a fine time. Memories are mostly good. You're up on top of the world where the air is clean and thin - the only sound is the wind in the pines. When Colorado ranch foreman Owen Daybright (Burt Lancaster of “Brute Force”) and foster brother Lee Strobie (Robert Walker of “Strangers on a Train”) ride back into town from watching over Arch Strobie’s cattle in the winter, they run into the local doctor at the saloon.  The doctor tells them that an unmarried woman Lily Fasken (Sally Forrest of “Mystery Street”) has had a baby boy. Actually, Lee had an affair with Lily, a former restaurant waitress, but he wants nobody to know about it, particularly his new wife. Owen visits Lily's house on behalf of Lee and brings $500 as well as a bag of provisions.  Later, Lee tells his father he lost the money playing poker.  Not only does Owen find Lee's wife Jen (Joanne Dru of “Red River”) at Lily’s place but also Lily’s pugnacious rifle-toting brother Dick (Hugh O’Brien of “The Shootist”) who is itching to plug the gent who got Lily pregnant.  Dick wants to know the identity of the father, but Owen refers him to Lily.  Dick believes Owen is the dad, but Jen tells him to leave Own alone.   

Later, Dick confronts Owen at the saloon.  Sheriff Con Alvis (Jim Hayward of “Bitter Creek”) gets the drop on Dick.  Owen warns Dick, “You scared me twice tonight. Next time you point a gun at me, shoot it.”   Owen and Lee ride back to the Strobie ranch and confer with Lee’s invalid father, Arch (Ray Collins of “Citizen Kane”), who is elated to see the two men.  Lee leaves them alone to see his wife Jen.  After Lee’s departure, Owen threatens to leave and start out on his own. Arch persuades Owen to stay. During their conversation, we learn that Arch befriended Owen about 15 years ago. Arch has relied on Owen to train Lee to take over operation of the ranch.  Moreover, Arch has relied on Owen to help him.

About a week later, Sheriff Alvis watches as Dick’s brother Hub Fasken (John Ireland of “River River”) gets off the train at the depot.  Hub informs Alvis he has come to kill a man.  A widow woman, Mrs. Burke (Grayce Mills of “Harvey”), takes Lily in to work at her small ranch.  Hub checks in with his younger sister, but she tells him that she doesn't need him. "We're this kind of family," Hub reminds her. "We don't waste any love on each other. We've fought amongst ourselves.  We've even shot at each other.  We got one tie.  You're blood relations."  Not long afterward, Owen and Hewie (Carleton Carpenter of “Summer Stock”) show up at Mrs. Burke's place to round up her cattle for the big drive. Meantime, Dick and Hub get the drop on Hewie, and catch Owen when he leaves the house. Hub and Owen swap blows, but Mrs. Burke intervenes with her shotgun.  The next time Owen sees Dick and Hub, the two are sweating it out in the hoosegow.  Eventually, Jen discovers in a round-about way that Lee is the father of Lily’s baby boy.  This kind of infidelity had to be treated with caution in the 1950s because it was still consider unsavory subject matter by the Production Code Administration.  Indeed, the doctor in the saloon refused to deliver the baby because the father wasn’t present. When Lee confronts Jen about the affair, he finds her nursing a battered Owen who has just slugged it out with Hub. Like Owen, Jen is prepared to leave the Strobie ranch, but Owen dissuades her. 

Owen warns Lee about Dick and Hub. He suggests Lee vamoose with Jen, but Lee insists Owen simply wants the entire ranch for himself.  The bad blood between the two men only worsens.  Lee persuades his father he can handle the ranch and asks to be half-owner.  An overjoyed Arch agrees.  Nevertheless, he mentions that he plans to let Owen have the other half after his death. Hewie informs Owen and Lee that somebody has stolen some of their cattle and horses.  The trail leads them to Herb Backett's place.  Naturally, Backett (Ted de Corsia of “The Killing”) lies that he knows nothing about rustled cattle. Owen beats the truth out of him, during a brief but bloody fight.  Lee tries to smooth over the fracas with Backett.  He agrees to buy back the cattle. Secretly, Lee is concocting a plan to kill Owen and he uses Backett.  Once again Lee accuses Owen of cheating on him with Jen, but he recants those words before the big cattle drive.  Lee makes friends with Backett because he needs him to help him.  He wants Backett to provide Dick and Hub with the necessary authorization to join the big drive without Owen finding out anything. 

Later, Lee sells his father’s herd of 3000 head to a Texas cattleman, Dave Allard (Glen Strange of “House of Dracula”), and this move surprises Owen. As it turns out, Owen suspects that Lee is determined to cheat his father out of money.  After the two herds are merged, Hewie warns Owen that the Fashen brothers are among Lee's crew.  Lee changes his mind about the sale to Allard and requests that Owen accompany him so he can inform Allard that the deal is off.  What Lee plans to do is set up Owen so the Fashen can ambush Owen.  They bushwack Oren, but help arrives not long after the villains Owen pinned down with rifle fire. Hewie forms a posse after they hear rifle fire.  Owen suffer from a nick on the sleeve.  Hewie and the others thunder onto the scene and blast the two brothers. Owen pursues Lee on horseback. Lee’s horse caves in under him and he tumbles into the river.  Owen challenges Lee to draw.  Owen is faster and kills Lee. When he returns to the ranch, Owen explains to Arch what happened, but Arch already knew what Lee was worthless. When Arch wants to tell Jen, Owen intervenes and says he wants will break the news to Jen himself.

“Vengeance Valley” is a sturdy, atmospheric western with Lancaster as the hero and Walker as a slimy villain.

FILM REVIEW OF ''SHERLOCK HOLMES: A GAME OF SHADOWS" (2011)

According to The Guinness World Records, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s illustrious literary detective Sherlock Holmes ranks as “the most portrayed movie character” in cinematic history. Indeed, Hollywood has been shooting movies about Sherlock Holmes since the initial one-reeler, “Sherlock Holmes Baffled,” appeared in 1900, as a 30-second silent epic. Since then a number of actors have taken up residence at 221 B Baker Street, ranging from the most vintage, Basil Rathbone during the 1940s, to the most bohemian, Robert Downey, Jr., who received a Golden Globe for his performance in director Guy Ritchie’s “Sherlock Holmes” (2009). Mind you, the Holmes character has made an enviable reputation for himself on television, too. Actor Jeremy Britt took top honors with the definitive interpretation of the notable consulting detective throughout 41 episodes of the Granada Television series. Most recently, the BBC-TV revived Doyle’s gumshoe for the contemporary series “Sherlock” with Benedict Cumberbatch making his deductions amid a modern-day London. Clearly, with as many as 211 movies featuring him, Sherlock Holmes qualifies as an enduring protagonist whose eternal popularity has not diminished in over a century.

Meanwhile, “Lethal Weapon” producer Joel Silver and Ritchie have brought back Holmes for a superior sequel, “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows” (**** out of ****), and “Paper Man” scenarists Michele and Kieran Mulroney have pitted him against his most diabolical nemesis, that Napoleon of Crime, Professor James Moriarty. Nothing less than the fate of Western civilization hangs in the balance during this taut 129 minute melodrama which sends Dr. Watson with our eponymous protagonist globetrotting across Europe after “Sherlock Holmes” had confined them to London. Although Lord Blackwood proved an audacious adversary in “Sherlock Holmes,” Moriarty emerges as a far more stimulating opponent in a sequel that surpasses its predecessor. This Moriarty may be the best in any Holmes adventure. Ritchie and the Mulroneys have put the Victorian Era sleuth through the paces with several exciting sequences, including a bullet-riddled shoot-out on a railway train to a challenging chess match in a scenic castle in Switzerland posed on a waterfall. Happily, “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows” preserves the formula of its predecessor in every detail and character, not only replaying the ingenious Holmes-O-Vision fisticuffs scenes but also ushering in new characters, such as Holmes’ brilliant elder brother Mycroft. My only complaint about this otherwise tour-de-force mystery thriller is the short shrift given to Holmes’ love interest, Irene Adler, who doesn’t garner her share of screen time.

“Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows” takes place in the year 1891 as anarchy threatens to engulf Europe and ignite war between France and Germany. The press speculates either nationalists or anarchists are behind the violence, but Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey, Jr. of “Iron Man”) believes Moriarty is to blame. Indeed, Moriarty is to blame! No sooner do his unwitting henchmen carry out a piece of his elaborate puzzle of murder and mayhem than a dishonorably discharged British sniper, Colonel Sebastian Moran (Paul Anderson of “A Lonely Place to Die”), kills them with extreme prejudice. Essentially, the sequel picks up where its predecessor more or less off as Dr. Watson is poised to wed Mary (Kelly Reilly of “Pride & Prejudice”) despite Holmes’ indefatigable efforts to derail matrimony. Holmes and Watson visit a London night club where Holmes was supposed to throw Watson’s stag party. Instead, Holmes runs into his brother Mycroft (Stephen Fry of “St. Trinian's”) and leaves a disgruntled Watson to gamble while he meets a gypsy woman, Madam Simza Heron (Noomi Rapace of the Swedish film “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”), who has been searching for her long lost brother named Rene. No sooner does Holmes read her fortune than a smelly Cossack warrior attacks them in an exhilarating scene. Later, after they escape, Holmes meets Moriarty at the university where he teaches mathematics. This is Holmes’ first encounter with Moriarty, and Moriarty tells him he plans to kill both Watson and his wife Mary on their honeymoon. Naturally, Holmes sets out to thwart him and all hell breaks loose.

Oscar-nominated actor Robert Downey, Jr., has another field day playing Sherlock Holmes. Some of his disguises make him virtually invisible. What may irritate die-hard Baker Street regulars are Downey’s undignified antics, particularly when he appears in drag to thwart the villains on the railroad out to murder Watson and his wife. Downey’s funniest scene has Holmes straddling a Shetland pony to the hilarious strains of Ennio Morricone’s music from the Clint Eastwood & Shirley MacLaine oater “Two Mules for Sister Sara.” Undoubtedly, Downey’s best dramatic scene occurs when he crosses analytical swords with Jared Harris’ Machiavellian Professor Moriarty. Mind you, Downey displays more personality than Harris. Nevertheless, Harris makes an undeniably menacing impression with a grand scheme to start a war. Jude Law reprises his role as Dr. Watson, and the chemistry between Law and Downey is still as charismatic as ever. Watson isn’t the bumbling oaf that Nigel Bruce was in the memorable Basil Rathbone outings in the 1940s. The mustached Law is as sharp with his wardrobe as he is with his revolver. For that matter, he is pretty good with military artillery. As Watson’s future wife, Kelly Reilly acquires more screen time here. Other supporting characters from the original, such as Inspector Lestrade (Eddie Marsan) and Holmes’ landlady Mrs. Hudson (Geraldine James), are back. One of producer Joel Silver’s better characteristics is his predilection for retaining the same characters as well as actors as he did in his quartet of “Lethal Weapon” blockbusters.

As usual, despite his revisionist handling of Holmes as a knuckle-smashing action hero, Ritchie makes sure that this lavishly produced thriller never wears out its welcome. Holmes and Watson find themselves up to their respective necks in danger. Happily, Ritchie and the Mulroney never fall back on the formulaic endangered woman plot with regard to Madam Simza and her part in the action. Unlike the first Ritchie “Holmes,” the sequel boasts a couple of tragic moments, but they don’t slow down the pace. Thanks to a lot of gorgeous computer-generated imagery and “Sommersby” lenser Philippe Rousselot photography, everything looks convincingly Victorian. Nothing about “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows” is merely elementary, but everything is wholly entertaining.