I never read the story, but The Man Who Would Be King is one of my absolute favorite movies. Just on paper, it sounds fantastic (Connery and Caine playing roguish adventurers - sold!), and it fully lives up to its potential.

I'll keep the name Newman in mind next time I go to the library.

The US has long lagged behind the rest of the world in its appreciation of what we call soccer; but most of the rest of the world calls football. To us, football means hulking bruisers in helmets and pads doing their best to cripple one another, while they try to move a badly shaped "ball" down a field or kick it between the two posts of a big "Y". Or is that just me?

Soccer picked up interest in the mid-late 70s, as there was big interest in the 1966 World Cup. Two leagues were started up in 1967 and then merged at the end of the year to become the North American Soccer League. Through the end of the 60s and the first half of the 70s, it was mostly a semi-pro league, without a ton of sponsorship or support. That all changed in 1975. That change was the result of one name: Pele. Pele was the Brazilian star who had led his team to World Cup victories and had amazed crowds with his revolutionary "bicyckle kick.



Pele's acquisition by the New York Cosmos meant massive media attention on the team and the league. CBS Sports had broadcast a couple of games in 1975; but ABC Sports ended up broadcasting much of the league. There was a big interest in the league from about 1977-1980/81, thanks to Pele. Part of that led to this film, titled Escape to Victory; but, marketed and listed as Victory, in US theaters.



In 1942, at a German POW camp, Wehrmacht Major Karl von Steiner, a former player on the German National Team, recognizes one of the POWs as John Colby, a former player for West Ham United and member of the British team. They talk for a bit and Steiner suggests a match between a Wehrmacht and the POWs. Colby at first rejects the idea, but is eventually persuaded. However, it turns into a propaganda stunt for the Germans, to show German superiority to the occupied peoples, in front of a stadium crowd in Paris. The senior British officers try to force Colby to pull out; but, when Steiner agrees to send other former professional-level Allied players to the camp, for the team, the state of the Poles and Russians convince them they need to play, if only to save those men.

Meanwhile, Hatch, an American, serving in the Canadian Army, is looking to escape and has a plan to escape from the camp. It seems to be sound and he is given approval by the Escape Committee. While he waits for the proper documents, travel clothes and other necessities, he tries to join in with the play; but, can't separate "American Football" from the form played in the rest of the world. His constant arguing and rough style puts him at odds with Colby and he doesn't play for the team. However, the lax guards he has noted and are necessary for his escape plan are reassigned to guard the team. He now has to get on the team, to make his escape. He is rebuffed because of his selfishness and animosity, but ends up becoming the trainer. He finally is in a position to make his escape, when the Committee approach him about making contact with the Resistance to pass on a message about the came and to formulate a plan to somehow sabotage the game. Hatch succeeds in escaping and passes on the message and a plan is formulated to get the team out of the locker room, during halftime, by tunneling into it from the sewer system. However, the Resistance need cooperation from the POWs and Hatch has to get himself captured and returned to relay the information. Reluctantly, he does so. he is put in the "cooler," and the Committee must pressure Colby to demand his release as a team member, claiming he is the goalie. They set up an injury for their regular goalie and the Germans relent and give them Hatch. he then has to train hard to play in goal, while they work out the plan to get the team out.

The team is brought to the Paris stadium for the match and the German team is loaded with professionals, in peak condition, while the Allies have been on reduced rations or outright starvation (the eastern European players) and have mostly never played together. Still, their spirit helps them achieve in the game, despite rough, almost violent play from the Germans and outright cheating by the officials. Despite this, the team is able to get into a decent position at half time, when the Resistance break through to get them out. The team refuses to leave and wants to finish the game and beat the Germans. they succeed in tying it and a leading goal is denied. Ultimately, it comes down to a face-off between the captain of the German team and Hatch, with the crowd singing La Marseillaise and chanting "Victoire!"

Okay; so, basically, this is The Great Escape, with soccer thrown in the middle. The inspiration for the match was a series of games in the Ukraine, between a factory team, several members of which had played professionally, in Kiev, against a German team. They won the matches and several players were eventually arrested by the Gestapo. A myth built up that they played and won one game and them were executed by the Gestapo. The Soviets played up this version of the story as propaganda, which was eventually discredited after the fall of the Soviet Union. A Hungarian film (Two Half-Times in Hell) was made about the matches, in 1962 and the script was partially based on that film, with other plot elements swiped from the Great escape. What elevated it, though, was in attracting John Huston, as director, who helped focus on the characters and shoot the game in a stylish fashion, with key moments in slo-motion, as well as repeated shots of Pele's bicycle kick, which looks stunning on the screen. It also helps that the British actors are top notch, starting with Michael Caine, as Colby. Equalling him, as von Steiner, is Max Von Sydow, who plays Steiner as someone who truly loves the game and respects the players, but has his own masters to obey. However, that doesn't stop him from leaping to his feat and applauding Pele's kick, not top mention his unease at the obviously rigged officiating. And then there is Sylvester Stallone.

Stallone was relatively fresh off Rocky (and Rocky II) and was starting to become a big box office attraction, though FIST and Paradise Alley didn't exactly move that along (Nighthawks did good box office and First Blood would follow this, to cement Stallone as a top attraction). He is Stallone, with the Canadian angle to explain why he is imprisoned with British soldiers in 1942. His lines are delivered in his usual method, though less addled than in Rocky ("Absolutely!"). He is a bit charming, when he is placed with a French woman and her son, while the Resistance prepare his next contact on the escape route. Of course, they get down to business; and, of course, she and the child are at the game (the boy passes a message from the resistance to Hatch). He wasn't going to win an Oscar; but he was much better than he would be in the late 80s and into the 90s, in his action films. At this point, he hadn't become a Stallone caricature.

Pele choreographed the soccer scenes and the game is exciting and tells a story, as the POWs have to fight against illegal play and crooked officials to finally score and eventually narrow the gap. Huston conveys the emotion throughout, with shots of the players and/or people in the crowd, including Steiner, the senior POW officers (who are forced to watch) and the French civilians. The crowd cheers the team; and, borrowing from Casablanca, sing La Marseillaise in defiance of the Nazis. Their chanting of "Victoire!" over and over gets your heart pumping for the finale and the film earns a rather ludicrous finish, because the emotion is real.

You can do a lot worse than this film. It's a fantasy, but done by experts and it is thoroughly enjoyable and pulls you in. That used to be enough for film goers, back in the days when good characters, good story and good actors made for great movie experiences, before special effects and box office formulas became the end-all, be-all.

Next time, a look at a more famous escape, one based a bit more firmly in reality, though no less filled with colorful characters. Come on back to take a look at The Great Escape. Bring your baseball and glove.

There are some people who have criticized anything that tries to set a comedy during WW2 or other wars, saying it makes light of a serious subject. Hogan's Heroes was attacked as making fun of the Holocaust, though it was set in a POW camp, as was its inspiration, Stalag 17, which had plenty of humor, to go along with the drama (and the original playwright's experiences as a POW led to the creation of the work). Satire is okay, when it attacks those in power; but, making jokes about fighting is not olay. Hooey. Anyone who has served in the military or a war knws there are plenty of laughs, if only to distract yourself from the killing and dying. Some damn good comedies have been set in wartime and we will look at one of them: Blake Edwards' Operation Petticoat...



The film stars Cary Grant as CDR Sherman, skipper of the USS Sea Tiger, a submarine in the Philippines. On Dec 10, 1941, it is hit in the Japanese air attack and partially sunk. Sherman and his men are able to salvage it, but, supplies are short-handed and much of his crew have been dispersed. he gets whatever replacements can be scrounged. This turns out to be an admiral's aid, LT (JG) Nick Holden, who has played a series of cons to get cushy assignments. He has never been to sea; but, soon earns his place by demonstrating that he is an excellent scrounger. The sub is able to sail to Darwin, in Australia, but is ordered not to engage the enemy. Along the way, they are forced to take about a group of Army nurses that were stranded during an air raid. The presence of the women upset an already stressful situation, though Holden has eyes for a certain Army lieutenant, while an accident prone nurse causes all kinds of problems for Sherman. Along their journey, the crew create a casino to obtain necessary parts for the sub, aid in the birth of children from the wives of a couple of the casino dealers, steal a pig for Christmas dinner, sink a truck, and are forced to pain their sub pink, because they have only partial quantities of red and white lead undercoat. A raid prevents them painting the hull grey and cause the Allies to think the sub is a Japanese ruse, and attack the sub with depth charges, until Holden hits on the right kind of debris to send up through the torpedo tubes to get them to stop (about a D cup).

The film is a hilarious romp through the early days of the war, that never feels like it undersells the danger. It works on the strength of the characters, a smart script and terrific actors. Tony Curtis' Nick Holden was born poor, but wants to end up rich and saw a naval uniform as the ticket to it...



His conniving sensibilities prove valuable in scrounging and outright stealing the things that the Sea Tiger needs to make repairs and get under way. This also allows for a bit of satire of typical military bureaucracy...



The irony of Holden being a neophyte is that Tony Curtis served aboard a sub tender, the USS Proteus, during WW2, joining the sub force after seeing the submarine picture Destination Tokyo, starring Cary Grant.

The presence of the women causes major issues, starting with the lack of accomodations for them and the rather tight quarters of a submarine...



After witnessing a string of sailors walking down a corridor opposite Lt Crandall, the skipper gives an order that she is to be given complete passage through all compartments (she's the woman in the shower and eventual owner of the impressive bra that is sent up through a torpedo tube).

Also at the heart of this are a couple (three, actually) warm romances. Holden finds himself infatuated with Lt Barbara Duran, played by Dina Merrill, who falls for him, despite his many flaws. Holden finds himself starting not to care about the right side of the tracks, which is scaring him. Meanwhile, Lt Crandall's mishaps with the captain only serve to bring them closer and closer. There is also a side battle between the major in charge of the nurses, and the chief machinists mate, who deplores a woman in his engine room. he has had to cobble together assorted non-regulation equipment to get the ship underway (golf club heads for valve levers, a refrigeration pump from a freezer, etc). He has trouble with adapting a refrigeration pump, because he has no valve spring and the major cobbles together an improvised one from a girdle! The chief is livid but it works. Later, at a Christmas luau, the chief is seen falling for the major, when she makes some innovative suggestions, as he appreciates her head for mechanical engineering (her father was an engineer) and they later get cozy, while taking measurements.

The cast is filled with great characters, like Gavin McLeod as Yeoman Hunkle, who was supposed to leave the Navy, but got drunk and got a tattoo, and promptly re-enlisted, too afraid for his girl to see the naked woman emblazoned on his chest. Bewitched's Darren No. 2, Dick Sargent, is Ens Stovall, Holden's new roommate. Gene Evans is the Chief Torpedoman and Chief of the Boat, who gets a few great lines, as well as conveys an old salt, adding to the believability of the crew. Child actor and rider Frankie Darro is Seaman Dooley, the pharmacists mate, who feigns illness when the nurses first come aboard. George Dunn is the Prophet of Doom, who strums a guitar and sings a sing with lyrics like, "You can't win...." Mrs C, herself, marion Ross, has a small role as one of the nurses, though she only gets a couple of lines and is mostly background. And, there is Cary Grant, who plays Sherman as a tough professional, natural leader, but slightly bemused and bewildered. However, he adapts to anything and you buy him as a seasoned sub driver.

The film is told as a flashback as Sherman, now an admiral and COMSUBPAC (Commander, Submarine Forces, Pacific) comes out early one morning to see the Sea Tiger be shipped off for decommissioning and scrap. He brings his old logbook and relives the early days of the Sea Tiger. At the tail end of the film, we learn the fate of some of the romances and characters, as he sees the ship off, saying goodbye to its last skipper and to deliver his new orders.

If you haven't seen this, please do; you won't regret it.

Next time, another Blake Edwards comedy, also set in WW2, in Sicily: What did You Do in the War , Daddy? See James Coburn, Dick Shawn, Aldo Ray and Sergio Fantoni fake a battle, to hide evidence of a big party held when the Americans took the town from the Italians, then have to band together to defeat the Germans. Also, watch Harry Morgan fall into a catacombs and slowly go insane, matching his genera, from MASH (pre-Sherman Potter).

The film proves that war can be hilarious, yet never makes a joke about the seriousness of the fighting, the danger they face, or the professionalism of the crew. The Navy thought so and provided assistance.

The movie inspired a short lived tv series, in 1977, starring John Astin, as CDR Sherman, Richard Gilliand as Lt(JG) Nick Holden, and Tony Curtis' daughter, Jamie Lee Curtis, as Lt Barbara Duran. There were two seasons, but, they only appeared in the first season, as the show was recast for a second, to poor effect. The best episodes were in the first season, with the pilot basically repeating events from the film.

This is a great film and you won't regret watching it.
Next time, another Blake Edwards WW2 film:  What Did You Do in the War, Daddy?  See James Coburn, Dick Shawn and Sergio Fantoni fake a battle to hide evidence of a big party, then team up to fight the Germans.  See Harry Morgan fall into a catacombs and go slowly insane (like his general, in MASH, before he was Col Potter).  All of that and Carrol O'Connor.

You know, you don't get many pure comedies from Paul Newman. Oh, sure, many of his films are filled with humor of have funny moments; but, very few pure comedies. So, it seems funny that one of the few he did was set in a war and it never really gets serious. The film is The Secret War of Harry Frigg...



In 1943, a group of 5 generals are relaxing at a turkish bath, when the Italians burst through, having taken the city. That's right, the Italians, in 1943. Well, Rommel did have a few good Italian units. Anyway, they can't believe their luck; 5 Allied generals, all of the rank of brigadier general. There are the British generals, Brigadiers Francis Mayhew (John Williams, the second Mr French)and Adrian Cox-Roberts (Charles Grey, the third on-screen Blofeld); the Americans Brig Gen Newton Armstrong (Andrew Duggan, who played Hot Lips' father, on MASH) and Roscoe Pennypacker (Tom "Howard Cunningham: Bosley), and French Brig Gen Andre Rochambeau (Jacques Roux, who appeared on several 60s tv shows and the movie Nighthawks). They are taken to Italy, where a special POW camp has been constructed in the villa of Contessa Francesca De Montafiore (Sylva Koscina), which is run by the former manager of the Ritz Excelsior Hotel, in Genoa, Col Enrico Ferruci (Vitto Scotti), along with a staff that includes one aid with a rather over-developed version of the English language, and another who is a con artist and black marketeer. The generals know it is their duty to escape; but, the prison is very comfortable, with a charming hostess, and they are all of equal rank and all have their own plan. No one will support any plan of his own and their captivity drags on.

The Allied command is embarrassed by this situation and a morale problem develops. They turn to the one man who can get these generals out: Private Harry frigg, a chronic disciplinary problem and serial escaper from the stockade. Frigg is offered a promotion to sergeant, after the mission, and his freedom, in exchange for getting the generals out of Italy. he is reluctant; but, the gig comes with temporary promotion to major general (2 stars), so that he will outrank the others. He agrees and receives his commission and is parachuted behind the lines and captured. He is then brought to the camp and introduced to the other generals, with his youth being explained away by being in the USAAF, which was noted for fast wartime promotion. He then meets the Contessa and is stunned, though his common ways betray his origins. He discovers a secret passage from the villa to the guest house, where the contessa lives and then spends time talking to her, learning that she married the count but was not of the aristocracy and teaches Frigg how to be a true gentleman, regardless of birth. Harry falls in love with her and is reluctant to leave, until he realizes they must. However, the Colonel has been promoted to general, effective at midninght, for having no escapes from his camp and the generals don't have the heart to leave before he gets his promotion. They have a party and his stars are pinned on at midnight, where they are joined by a German major, who also announces the Italian surrender to the Allies and that they are all now his prisoners. They are taken to a German high security POW camp, for interrogation. Frigg has had enough and confesses the truth and is moved off to an NCO camp. he then turns up in German uniform to help the others get out.

The plot is pure silliness and it doesn't pretend to take the war seriously; but, it is well written, filmed and acted, with a grew of some of the best character actors around, including Paul Newman. Everyone just throws themselves into their role and their sincerity elevates what could have been fairly average material. In the hands of someone like Blake Edwards, this would have been a riotous farce; but, here, it is a sweet romance and a fine character comedy. Everything is built out of the characters, with supporting roles from such greats as James Gregory (the Matt Helm films, Beneath the POTA, Barney Miller), Norman Fell (Three's Company) and Buck Henry (Get Smart writer and regular SNL host and advisor, as well as screenwriter of The Graduate), plus German character actor Werner Peters, who appeared in Fritz Lang's The 1,000 Eyes of Dr Mabuse (and subsequent non-Lang Mabuse films).

Newman and Koscina sell the romantic angle well and little of it is played for laughs. That is saved for authority and the generals, as this was done in 1968, when anti-authoritarianism was in the air, globally. It's a pleasant little film that is worth a view and can be seen on Youtube. I first caught it on WTBS and enjoyed the heck out of it; so I ended up buying it on home video. It was later part of Universal's print-on-demand service, along with a few other favorites of WTBS.

Now, a shift from war material to a "modern" western. It's not exactly something that fits the theme of comic book storytelling; but, it does have much in common with late 80s and 90s "modern" western stories, like Rio, the Lansdale & Truman Jonah Hex, and similar things. The movie is Bite the Bullet, starring Gene Hackman and James Coburn.



So, why this one? because it is a great character-driven film, with great character-oriented actors. It's well written, beautifully shot, and grabs your attention for each segment. It's episodic and filled with all kinds of little stories, like an anthology, with the race mostly serving as a linking device, bringing the characters together to tell their stories, more than to tell how they progress through the race (though there is that story going on, too). Also, Richard Brooks was a master of a more modern take on the western, having filmed the classic The Professionals, a film I will talk about next time (which has a bit more in common with comic book tropes).

Gene Hackman is Sam Clayton, a cowhand working for JB Parker, a wealthy magnate who has a thoroughbred Arabian horse entered in the race, which Clayton is transporting from a ranch to the railway pick-up site. He is delayed along the way by a wild foal, that has lost its mother to human cruelty. Hackman puts the mother out of her misery and then carries the foal to a farm, where he hands it over to a young boy to raise as his own. Clayton can't abide cruelty to an animal and has little use for most people. James Coburn is Luke Matthews, an old Army buddy of Sam's, a gambler who has made a side bet with Parker that he will beat Parker's horse and rider. Hearing about the bet, Clayton says, "All you need to do is beat JB Parker's champeen horse, and JB Parker's champeen rider and JB Parker's champeen disposition." However, the bet states Matthews has to win the whole thing and that includes beating his friend Sam, who is a better horseman. The pair of them served with the Rough Riders, in Cuba, during the Spanish-American War, where Clayton fell in love with a Cuban woman. Clayton & Matthews are part of a "lost generation," though Clayton seems to be the one who recognizes that they don't seem to fit in with anyone, though more him than Matthews.

Dabney Coleman is Parker's son, who runs things and spouts off left and right about the West and everything he knows for certain, while his father just likes winning. Ian Bannen is Sir Harry Norfolk, a wealthy English sportsman who has come to take in America, attending the Kentucky Derby, a prize fight and is now competing in the race for the sheer sport of it. To him, life is just a big lark and adventure, with few consequences. he is in awe at the size and wildness of America, even as it is losing some of that. He is in awe of the cowboys, like Clayton and Matthews. Ben Johnson is an old cowboy, who fught for the Confederacy, in the Civil War. He has been on the losing side of life, drifting from job to job, never making his mark in life. He is after one last chance of glory. Jan Michael Vincent is at the other end of the spectrum, a young punk in search of a reputation. He's cocky and obnoxious and earns the wrath of Hackman, which wakes him up to the realities of life. Candace Bergen is the lone female entry, who wants to win the money to start a new life for her and her convict husband, a failed bank robber. As the film progresses, we learn that she has other plans for a future with her husband than spending the race prize money. Mario Arteaga is The Mexican, a tough vaquero who leaves behind his wife and child to try to win the money, to give them a lift out of poverty. He faces constant prejudice, except at the hands of Clayton, who pulls others into his circle. He earns their respect and admiration, with his honesty, his devotion, and his manners. He is far more a gentleman than the whites who sneer down at him.

Robert Donner is the Reporter, covering the race for the Western Press, the sponsors, and also acting as the race official, briefing the riders on the rules, the resources available and such. He follows on the train chartered by the paper, while riding up close in a new-fangled motorcycle, with sidecar (well, chair, really). Jean Wiles is Rosie, a madame, saloonkeeper, and bookie, who is running the book on the race, while selling liquor and prostitutes to the participants and spectators. Miss Jones (Bergen) used to work for her, in Kansas City and not as a barmaid.

The film establishes each actor well, with their own introductory scenes, which establish their characters. We see Sam rescue the foal and see he cares deeply about animals. He is shown to be quick thinking and competent, as he frees the horses from wire and lariats that have them trapped, then quickly disposes of the wounded mare. You can't feel pity for the animals and anger at the people who trapped them and killed the mare, all for a glue factory. Matthews and Norfolk are part of a high stakes poker game with JB Parker and the publisher of the Western Press. There we see his gambling acumen, which leads to his bet with Parker. Norfolk displays his sporting spirit, as he laughs and watches with bright eyes at everything in the West. The Old Man comes across a peddler, on the road and asks how much for his medals; but, upon recognizing that they are Confederate, tells him that no one is interested in the losing side, no offense mister. Johnson understands, thanks him and rides along. Just once, he wants to win. The Mexican, who has a bad toothache and abscess, must kiss his wife and child goodbye and ride to the rendezvous point, only to be treated worse than the horses. The dentist won't treat him and he speaks no English. Sam translates for him, to a barmaid/hooker, who gives him opium pills, for the pain. As you can bet, this will lead to trouble. Before the card game, as they wait for the train, Coburn goes to ask a sleepy figure, sitting on the ground, when the train is due and kicks his boot to wake him, and is greeted by Vincent and a gun, threatening to kill him if he touches him again. Matthews says nothing and moves away. Miss Jones is introduced by the Reporter, who interviews her, then Rosie, who gets the real reason for her entry out of her, alerting us to her past as a prostitute and her luckless bank robber of a husband.

A great scene brings the characters together, as Clayton intercedes when The Kid (Vincent) abuses a mule, which leads to a brawl and little touches from each character.







Everything you need to know is right there: Sam & Luke's friendship, their capabilities, the Kid looking for a reputation, the Englishman's sporting attitude, the wisdom of the Old man, the woman who thinks they are all little boys playing a game, and Sam's hatred of cruelty to another.

The race sees them take off at speed, like a typical horse race, then we start to see the dreamers drop out, as it becomes tougher. They ride across treacherous, hilly gorund, then hit the desert. Miss Jones finds herself a captive and nearly raped. She gets help from Sam & the Mexican. They, along with Luke, help him with his tooth, after he nearly ODs on the pills. She heats a pocket knife and cuts the abscess, to squeeze out the pus and infection, then Sam cuts down a rifle cartridge casing to make a cap, for the exposed nerve of the cracked tooth. He does this while the rest ride off for the next leg of the race, because, to him, it is more important.

In the desert, he comes again to the aid of Miss Jones, as he stops her from making herself sick by guzzling water, at the water station, and gives her salt, to help replentish what she has sweated away, and retain more water. She makes it through, thanks to his aid. Along the way, they build a friendship. While crossing a river, on a ferry, The Kid starts berating her when her horse acts up because it is spooked. Sam grabs him and chokes him after he calls her a "criminey whore," at snarls "Don't," until Miss Jones yells for him to stop, that she isn't bothered by the words. Sam tells her it isn't about her and walks away from them. Luke tells the Kid that Sam married a "whore." Later, Miss Jones asks him about his wife, and he tells her about Paula, a Cuban insurrecto , who was captured and tied like a sandbag to the wall of a church, where the Sapnish had an artillery piece hidden, along with other revolutionaries. The men were too scared to attack, and the women cried out, "Asalto Cubanos, asalto!" with Paula leading the cry. She was shot dead by the Spanish and the others took up the cry. The men attacked and killed the Spanish in revenge. Sam tells Miss Jones he wasn't worth Paula's spit.

In the desert, the Kid rides his horse to death, as it drops in exhaustion and dies. He strips off the saddle and starts walking, leaving it to bake in the sun until it is eaten by buzzards. Sam finds it and chases the Kid down, whipping him with his reins. He tells him to go back and bury the horse. The Reporter comes along and he tells him to see that he does it and rides off. The Reporter helps the kid up and gets him going and the Kid asks if it is so important and the Reporter replies, "Must be; he said it twice." The Kid grows up a bit and is far more humble the next time we see him.

One of the center pieces is the reason Miss Jones is in the race, which draws in several characters and set up the finale. Before that, we see Sam find the Old Man, who has a heart attack, after being dropped in a freezing river (though he started having it before). Sam makes him comfortable and talks with him, hearing his story, until the man dies and that is all that is left of him. Sam quietly says, "I didn't even know your name, mister."

There are just so many little moments like those, expertly played by brilliant actors, in something that must have been a dream for them. It's also a sort of eulogy for the mythic "Old West," as it was disappearing then, and was long gone when the film was made. The western was dying in film and television and this film, along with John Wayne's The Shootist, act as a kind of closing chapter on that era of filmmaking (since Heaven's Gate was a colossal failure). That very thing prevented it from being a hit; but, it enjoyed a fine life on tv and on home video, where you can see a masterclass in acting, writing and filmmaking. Some critics poo-pooed it as presenting nothing new; but they missed the point. It shows craftsmen at work and tells a great story, several of them, which is what movies are really about; not box office, not showy performances or epic scenes. It's storytelling at its finest.

Next time, Brooks' classic turn-of-the-century western action film, The Professionals, with Lee Marvin and Burt Lancaster.

Time for another Richard Brooks western, also from the turn of the century (in setting), The Professionals.



The films stars Lee Marvin, Burt Lancaster, Ralph Bellamy, Robert Ryan, Woody Strode, Jack Palance, and Claudia Cardianle. Bellamy is a wealthy man who hires Marvin, Lancaster, Strode and Ryan, all specialists in their field, to ride into Mexico, locate the bandit Jesus Raza (Palance) and rescue his kidnapped wife (Cardinale) from him. Marvion is an ex soldier and weapons and tactics expert, first seen demonstrating the Browning machine gun to the Army. Lancaster is the demolitions expert and a bit of a rogue. Ryan is the horse expert and Strode is an archer and Native American tracker (mixed race, though, if memory serves, they only refer to him as an Apache). Marvin and Lancaster fought with Pancho Villa and know Raza. They go down and scout the area, locate his camp and create a diversion so they can sneak in, grab Cardinale, and ride out. They blow up a water tower and Strode fires arrows, with sticks of dynamite attached, to make it sound like they are being shelled by the government forces. They find Cardinale int he arms of Raza and smell a rat. They knock them out and take Cardinale, but leave Palance alive. Palance pursues them and they fight a desperate running battle, before delivering Carinale and Palance to Bellamy, who shows his true colors, just as Cardinale told them, along the way.

The film is a bit more cynical than your average western, reflecting the time (1966), compared to those of the 40s and 50s. This is no myth of the Old West, but pure mercenary dirty business, where we see that revolutionaries aren't necessarily heroes and that mercenaries don't wear white hats. Both have shades of grey and each makes a case for their outlook. Brooks assembles both a great cast of actors and characters, writing the script (from the novel A Mule For the Marquesa), which makes this into something special. There weren't many films about the end of the Old West, but there are some good ones, like Bite the Bullet, this one, The Shootist, The Wild Bunch and a couple about Villa and Zapata. Heck, Pancho Villa actually appeared in early silent film, as later dramatized with Antonio Banderas.

The film is fileld with great action and great character moments. of course, Lancaster charms the lady; but, if you looked at Bellamy, Palance and Lancaster, which would you fall for?



Marvin, a Marine combat veteran, exudes professional soldier, which is why he was always so believable in these types of films. Lancaster is an ex-circus acrobat and always had a twinkle in his eye and the delivery of a carnival barker. Bellamy plays tough, important men, always with that authoritative voice and manner. Strode is there because of his exotic looks and physical presence, while poor Robert Ryan is stuck being the competent, if not flashy professional. He was primarily a character performer, usually also in authoritative roles; always good, rarely the lead.

This thing is like a western justice league, as each expert gets to strut his stuff, while the small band holds off an army. You could see DC doing this with Jonah Hex, Batt Lash and a few others, if they had a mind to (they teamed some of them up; but not for anything truly memorable).

This film shares a lot of elements with another favorite, the slightly more Right Wing mercenary film, The Wild Geese. I will get to that film, later. Both feature professional soldiers hired to do a job and double crossed, while their superior skills help them fight off a superior force. Both employ stereotypes, though the Professionals has the deeper characters (and Wild Geese swiped more than a little from The Dogs of War novel).

Cardinale ends up being the really interesting character and actor in all of this. She si there because of her beauty; but she was a damn good actress and she gets to show it here (even if her French accent makes no sense, coming from a Mexican character). On the surface, she is the beautiful damsel in distress, in need of rescuing by the Professionals. The posters and publicity shots play this up...







Once you meet her and she starts talking the truth, you see the depths to her. Her character, Maria, married Bellamy because her father ordered it, because the marriage would be advantageous; but, she loves Raza. She is a powerful force and she plays Lancaster. You can see that Raza was a tough soldier, but he was more, with her. Marvin and the others come to respect her.

From somebody who had an interest in weapons, in his adolescence (a by-product of being a history buff), it was interesting to see the authenticity in the film. Normally, regardless of the time frame, westerns have everyone carrying Colt Peacemakers and Winchester lever-action rifles. The armies of that era used bolt action rifles, once cartridges had been fully developed. Lever action rifles could be a bit more delicate than bolt action or other breech loaders. Also, this is the early 20th Century and revolvers had grown more sophisticated and automatics had appeared. Marvin's character is seen with an Army flap holster and Colt 1911 automatic, as well as a pump-action shotgun (far better at close range, like the assault on Raza's camp). Early on, he is seen demonstrating a Browning water cooled .30 cal machine gun, rather than a Gatling Gun, as would be the usual cliche. Several characters use double-action modern revolvers (for the period), rather then Colt or Remington single action pistols. Brooks did similar things in Bite the Bullet, as both Hackman and Coburn carried more updated pistols. The M1911 was first carried into battle in the US raid against Pancho Villa, with Blackjack Pershing and others. You can also see similar things in The Wild Bunch.

I tend to gravitate more to these "modern" westerns than some of the traditional, though I still love the good ones. There is just something about that transitional period, as we go from the Old West to the Modern World.

Next, a little more classic western fare, as we compare three different takes on the same historical figures and events: John Ford's My Darling Clementine, John Sturges' Gunfight at the OK Corral, and George P Cosmatos' Tombstone.

On October 26, 1881, a 30 second shootout occurred at a vacant lot, next to CS Fly's Photographic Studio, on Fremont St, in Tombstone, in the Arizona Territory. The participants in the brief exchange of gunfire were Billy Claiborne, Ike & Billy Clanton and Tom & Frank McLaury on one side, and town Marshall Virgil Earp his brothers Special Policemen Morgan and Wyatt, and Dr John Henry Holliday, DDS. It became the stuff of legends and the most famous exchange of gunfire in American history, with the possible exception of the Battle of Lexington, in the American Revolution. At the end, The McLaurys and Billy Clanton were dead. The story was popularized by Stuart Lake's "biography" Wyatt Earp, Frontier Marshal, which was published two years after Earp's death, and has since been debunked as mostly fantasy. Lake would revisit the story in his 1946 book My Darling Clementine. John Ford would buy the film rights, which would lead to our first movie, of the same title....



If Lake's book stretched the truth into fiction, Ford took it into pure fantasy.

The Earp brothers are driving their cattle to California, when they meet Old Man Clanton, who offers to buy them, but the Earps refuse. They leave younger brother James to watch their herd while Virgil, Morgan and Wyatt head into Tombstone. they return to find James murdered and their herd rustled. Wyatt takes the job of town marshal, in Tombstone, and looks for his brother's killers. Meanwhile, Doc Holliday has come to town and is with a singer, named Chuhuahua. An old flame, Clementine, arrives and stirs up trouble. Doc tells her to leave or he will. She stays so he heads to Tuscon. Wyatt begins courting Clementine and Chihuahua causes trouble. Wyatt notices James' silver cross around her neck and she claims Doc gave it to her. Wyatt goes to confront Doc and ends up shooting his pistol out of his hand. he denies the cross and Chihuahua eventually admits it came from Billy Clanton. Clantons shoots Chihuahua through a window and is wounded by Wyatt, who sends Virgil after him. he tracks him to the Clanton placewhere he dies and Old Man Clanton shoots Virgil in the back. Doc operates on Chihuahua but cannot save her. the Clantons dump Virgil's body on the street and say they will be waiting for the Earps at the OK Corral. Doc agrees to join the Earps and the Clantons and Doc are killed in the gunfight. Wyatt resigns and Morgan leaves town in a buggy. Wyatt says goodbye to Clementine and suggests he might return for her and rides off.

The film was a favorite of Col Sherman T Potter, US Army Medical Corps, 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital.

Henry Fonda stars as Wyatt Earp, with Tim Holt as Morgan and Ward Bond as Virgil Earp and Walter Brennan as Old Man Clanton. Victor Mature is Doc Holliday. Mature plays Holliday like a dime novel character, a notorious gunfighter and gambler, with a shady past. The film makes him a medical doctor, not a dentist, leading to the surgery scene. It also has Holliday first meet the Earps here and be at odds, when he actually knew Wyatt in dodge City, KS and was good friends with him and came to Tombstone at Wyatt's urging. James Earp was the oldest of the brothers, not the youngest and lived until 1926. Virgil was not killed in Tombstone, but was maimed in a later ambush and retired to California, where he started a dry goods business and did quite well. He was actually the town marshal at the time of the shootout, not Wyatt. He was also the more experienced law officer, as Wyatt had only been a deputy in Dodge City. Virgil was also a veteran of the Civil War. Old Man Clanton died about 2 years before the shootout. There was no Chihuahua (Linda Darnall) and Clemintine is an amalgam of Josephine Earp and "Big Nose" Kate Horony, Doc Holliday's mistress.

The film was shot in Monument Valley and Ford probably created the greatest western of them all, in most film historians eyes. It is a damn good film, filled with great characters and scenes and an excellent story, even if it isn't true. Of the three films, it is probably the best pure motion picture. Fonda's folksy manner fits the western hero image of Wyatt Earp perfectly and you will find no mention of Earp owning saloons and pimping prostitutes, as in real life, any more than film magazines of the period revealed what a cold father Fonda was to his children. This is the Old west they way we want ot believe it was, with virtuous heroes and evil villains, where men were men and women loved them and where the good guys won the gunfights fair and square. It also says a lot about the way Americans tend to view the history of this country, favoring a good yarn over the truth, and myth more than the more complex and often harsher reality.

The film is shot in black and white and Ford seems to have learned from the German expressionists, as light and shadow are well used to set mood to scenes.

This would stand as the public perception of the Gunfight at the OK Corral for a decade, until a new film came about.



Gunfight at the OK Corral is directed by John Sturges, with Burt Lancaster as Wyatt Earp, Kirk Douglas as Doc Holliday, Joh Ireland as Johnny Ringo, Rhonda Fleming as Laura Denbow, Joe Van Fleet as Kate Fisher, DeForest Kelly as Morgan Earp, John Hudson as Virgil Earp and Martin Milner as James Earp. Jack Elam is Tom McLowery (sic) and Lyle Bettger is Ike Clanton. Frankie Lane sank the theme song.

Doc Holliday is in Ft Griffin, Texas, when Ed Bailey comes looking for him to avenge the death of his brother, at Holliday's hands. Kate Fisher warns Doc and argues with him. Wyatt Earp rides into town, to pick up outlaws Ike Clanton and Johnny Ringo and finds that Sheriff Cotton Wilson has released them, despite outstanding warrants. Earp tries to recruit Holliday to help him locate them, but he refuses, due to a grudge against Morgan Earp. Bailey goes to shoot Holliday in the back and gets a knife in the chest for his trouble and dies. Holliday is arrested and Wyatt and Kate help him escape a lynch mob. Wyatt returns to Dodge City and Holliday and Kate later turn up. They claim they have no money, so Wyatt lets them stay, provided Doc causes no trouble. meanwhile, Laura Denbow is arrested for playing cards, as women are banned from playing cards in saloons. Wyatt is smitten and lets her play in the side rooms. Wyatt learns of the murder of a cashier and deputizes Doc to help catch the killers. The find the robbers, who try to ambush them but are killed by Doc and Wyatt. Kate leaves Doc for Johnny Ringo who taunts him, but Doc won't fight. Shanghai Pierce and his men come into town and wound deputy Charlie Bassett and atatck a dance hall, but Wyatt is able to defuse the situation. Ringo gets involved and Doc wounds him in the arm. kate is waiting for him in his room and he refuses to take her back and kicks her out, and she swears to see him dead, as he has an attack of TB. Wyatt falls for Laura and receives a letter from brother Virgil, asking him to come out and help clean up Tombstone. Laura refuses to go with him, but Doc follows. In Tombstone, Ike Clanton is trying to move stolen Mexican cattle and Cotton Wilson tries to bribe the Earps to let them use the rail line and is rebuffed. Ike arrests a drunken Billy Clanton and returns him to his mother and informs brother Ike that he is now a US Marshal and can follow Clanton anywhere. Clanton decides to set up an ambush but kills James Earp instead. The Earps and Doc Holliday go to face off against the Clantons, at the OK Corral and kill all 6 of the Clantons, with Virgil and Morgan wounded. Wyatt, afterward, shares a drink with Holliday then rides off to California to be with Laura.

This is a definite 50s western, though it does redress some of the fantasy of the Ford picture. Wyatt was a lawman in Dodge City, though he was the deputy to town marshal Charlie Bassett. He did meet Holliday in Ft Griffin, while looking for a criminal, who Holliday had played cards against. Holliday later saved Earp's life from an ambush in the Long Branhc Saloom (where was Marshal Dillon?). Kate Fisher is based on Big Nose Kate Horony, a prostitute who was Holliday's lover, while Denbow is loosely based on Josephine Earp, who is widely believed to have also been a prostitute, though she claimed to have been an actress and dancer, though no such records exist. Josephine Earp protected the Earp legend and hid her own past, threatening legal action when the truth was suggested. She helped bury the existence of Wyatt;s common law wife, Mattie Blaylock, who earp sent away from Tombstone to live with his family, because of opiate addiction. he fell in love with Josephine and married her, but several accounts refer to her as a "public woman," a euphemism for a prostitute. Josephine also tried to hide her relationship with Cochise County Sheriff John Behan, who is replaced as Cotton Wilson, here.

Lancaster and Douglas are a great pair and Lancaster exudes the heroic legend of Wyatt Earp, for a slightly more modern age. He is tough but fair, yet tender in the romantic scenes. Douglas plays up Holliday's TB, his temper and reputation as a gunfighter, though historical records can only validate 1-3 deaths of anyone by Holliday. Ringo is portrayed as a bit pathetic, besotted with Kate and jealous of Holliday. Kate plays one against the other, until Doc throws her aside and permanently rejects her.

The film is a bit long; but, is engaging and well done, with a great cast and the shootout is well staged, if completely inaccurate. Again, James Earp is killed, despite outliving Wyatt. Lancaster and Douglas make a fine contrast, which served them well later in the film Seven days in May, for Douglas' Bryna Pictures company.

DeForest Kelly would get to relive the gunfight in the Star Trek episode, "Spectre of the Gun," where the gunfight is staged much like the film, though Bones is placed into the role of Tom McLaury, as the Enterprise crew become the Cowboys. The episode is usually considered one of Star Trek's best.

This is very 1950s, as Wyatt is law and order and a redeemer of Doc Holliday, never any shades of grey. Weapons are all stereotypical and Wyatt is decked out like a tv sheriff (or marshal) rather than in the fancier fashion of the Earps of history (though Wyatt is in a suit, later in the film). The real Wyatt Earp tended to carry his pistol in his belt or in specially sewn pockets of his suitcoat. He pistol-whipped more enemies than he shot. Doc gets a bit more nuance and it plays up the TB, though he is never in direct conflict with Wyatt, as in My Darling Clementine. My darling Clemintine is the true classic of the two, though Gunfight is somewhat more accurate, or at least aims more in that direction.

Many years of legend in film and television (where Hugh O' Brian played Wyatt Earp) continued, before someone tried for more authenticity.



Tombstone was the baby of writer Kevin Jarre, who was supposed to direct, but was fired from the picture by produced Andrew Vajna and replaced with Rambo director George P Cosmatos. However, much of the film was actually directed by Kurt Rusell, who took charge of the production and helped focus it. It stars Russell as Wyatt Earp, Sam Elliot as Virgil Earp, Bill Paxton as Morgan, Dana Delaney as Josephine, Val Kilmer as Doc Holliday, Powers Boothe as Curly Bill Brocius and Michel Biehn as Johnny Ringo. Biehn was a close friend of Jarre and nearly quit the production, until convinced to stay. Russell and producer John Jacks pared down the film to focus more on the relationship between Doc and Wyatt.

The film opens with a narration by Robert Mitchum, establishing the reputation of the Cowboys, though they are not called The Cochise County Cowboys. It doesn't explain the derogatory use of "cowboy" in that period. The opening scenes find the Cowboys interrupting a Mexican wedding, where they kill the groom and others, in retaliation for killing two of their gang. They then sit down to the food that was laid out for the guests, while a priest condemns them and says Death rides a pale horse, quoting the Bible.

In Tombstone, The Earps and their wives arrive on a train to make their fortune. They go to a saloon, where an obnoxious faro dealer is killing business. Wyatt basically pushes him into insulting and threatening him then humiliates him, driving him away. The saloon owner gives the concession to the Earps and they go to celebrate and run into Doc Holliday and Big Nose Kate. The faro dealer tries to ambush Wyatt, but Holliday spots him and calls to him, mentioning the shotgun he holds. The bully sees the deadly Holliday and backs down and, at Holliday's insistence, leaves the shotgun. Hooliday also plays cards against the Cowboys and is accused of cheating until a derringer makes the man back down. Ringo tries to intimidate him with his fast draw and gun twirling, as Holliday introduces him to Kate. Holliday then mocks him by twirling his cup on his finger. , while the pair insult each other in Latin. Ringo with draws, the the town marshal's relief. He later meets the Earps and talks with them.

The marshal is killed by a drunken Curly Bill and Wyatt pistol whips him and arrests him. After seeing to many instances of wild behavior and terror, Virgil accepts the job of town marshal and makes Morgan a deputy, though Wyatt stays out of it. Virgil enacts a ban on weapons within town. Meanwhile, Josephine makes Wyatt's acquaintance, despite his wife, Mattie, who has a laudanum addiction. he rides with Josephine and falls in love with her. Virgil hears that Ike Clanton, in a drunken state, is carrying weapons in defiance of the orders, having already threatened the Earps and been pistol whipped by Virgil. Virgil deputizes Wyatt and Doc and the 4 men confront the Cowboys at the OK Corral. Billy Clanton panics and starts to draw and sets off the fight, which spills into the nearby photo studio where Josephine is being photographed. Ike Ckanton flees but Billy is killed, as are the McLaury's. The Cowboys swear vengeance. Morgan is shot in the back and dies and Virgil is ambushed and maimed. Wyatt sees them to the train station and tells Ringo its over, and he mocks them as they leave. he then sends a pair of cowboys to see them dead. Two cowboys, McMasters and Texas Jack Vermillion quit the Cowboys over their attack on the Earp's home and wives and are also joined by Turker Creek Jack Hohnson. Wyat surprises the Cowboys and guns them down, then shows a US Marshal badge and tells the survivor to relay to Ringo that he has brought down the thunder and he is coming after them and Hell is coming with them.



Wyatt and his posse hunt down the cowboys, while Sheriff Behan aids the cowboys. Wyatt corners Curly Bill and kills him in a desperate shootout and miraculously survives. Doc succumbs to his TB and is left at a friendly ranch, while Wyatt goes after Ringo, and appears to meet up with him, until he walks into the light and Doc Holliday faces off against Ringo and kills him. The end finds Wyatt visiting Doc in a hospital and playing cards, before heading to California with Josephine.

The film gets most of the basic elements correct, though it ignores the fact that Virgil came to Arizona to take a marshal job and Wyatt worked as a stagecoach messenger. James Earp is never mentioned, though he never worked in law enforcement and didn't settle in Tombstone long. It does address Mattie Blaylock, but makes it look like she was Earp's legal wife, not common law. Josephine is presented as part of an acting troupe and is shown to date Behan, though it is left up in the air if they have a sexual relationship. It is filled with great scenes and lines and Kilmer plays Holliday in a perpetual state of perspiration and imminent collapse. He uses a southern accent to match Holliday's roots in Georgia, as well as peppering Latin, from Holiday's classic education. There is no mention of Holliday's profession, though he had mostly given it up due to his TB affecting his business. Charlton Heston has a cameo as the sympathetic rancher, while Jason Priestly is a gay associate of Behan and the Cowboys who falls in love with an actor from the troupe, played by Billy Zane. Billy Bob Thornton is the faro dealer who Wyatt humiliates, in this scene...



Tombstone is an epic and great film. It plays Wyatt as a legend given flesh, but never quite the human being he was. It if perhaps too favorable to the public consciousness, but, filmgoers wouldn't accept anything else, as judged by the utter rejection of Kevin Costner's competing Wyatt Earp, which show Earp to have a checkered past (but still didn't show the Earps as pimps, in their saloons). That film is slow, bloated and dull, yet tries to throw more grey on Wyatt. Russell plays Wyatt as tough and capable, more human than in past, but still a true blue hero, if in a more modern vein. The film ignores the politics of Tombstone, which was at the heart of the shootout, more than law and order vs crime. It does address Behan's corruption in favor of the Cowboys, but ignores the Earp's in favor of their saloon interests and those of the town businesses. It also ignores Wyatt and Virgil's losses in elections and is rather murky about the law enforcement structure in the territory and county. Most of that doesn't matter to the average viewer and it delivers an exciting film with memorable lines and characters.

So, there you have the three main films about Wyatt Earp and the Gunfight at the OK Corral (which happened 6 doors down; but the Gunfight at the Vacant Lot Next To CS Fly's Photo Studio is a bit of a mouthful). John Ford crafted a Western masterpiece, which is a piece of cinematic history, though a total failure as a piece of history. Gunfight at the OK Corral is a good, if somewhat long updating of the story, with more historical detail, but just as much sanitizing and playing for a good yarn, with heavily fictionalized elements. Tombstone is the more accurate, though more simply shot, with a greater emphasis on memorable epic scenes and performances. All feature great actors doing their thing. Fonda's persona helps shape My darling Clementine and the public image of Wyatt Earp. Lancaster plays a more generic lawman who happens to be Wyatt Earp, with Doc Holliday the more interesting character. Tombstone is probably Kurt Russell's best performance in his career and probably the same for Val Kilmer. Michael Biehn outshines all of the past villains and presents a true psychotic, though Johnny Ringo was more temperamental than psychotic. My Darling Clementine is the film to watch if you want to see a director's signature on a film, while Tombstone is the film to watch if you want to watch character actors at work. Gunfight is more a look at stars playing historical characters, much as they would any other character, though Douglas is probably the more successful at creating a character than playing himself. Lancaster was a character, which carried him through many pictures, as he could charm you with his smile and wit or bowl you over with his powerful presence and words. All three are great films, in their own right.

Next time, another "modern" western, set in Australia.