louisgauthier

This movie contains some of the worse dialogue and direction I've seen in years. No one seems to know what the hell is going on. What's the point? The dialogue and acting is uncertain and the little photographic tricks like freezing the frame at the end of every scene is ridiculous. Who is Alan Alda's character suppose to represent and why is he torturing these people? Although his character has presence and conviction, his inane dialogue betrays him every step of the way. What are his motives? Anyone?? The movie starts out like a 1960's hippie comedy(check out the opening credits and music) but then goes straight downhill. It looks like it might have been an interesting story(great location- a nearly deserted beach) but someone forgot to write a coherent story. Too bad. What a terrible waste of a young, cute Blythe Danner(in a bikini for the most part) and a young Alan Alda just before MASH. The movie feels like it's trying to make a point. Wish I knew what it was.

Even though my Encyclopedia of movie Westerns recommends it(calls it underrated)I was a little surprised by how much I liked it. A well constructed story(by John Huston), well defined roles played by great character actors, some good dialogue(when you could make it out), and surprisingly good photography(specially in the bar scenes). So maybe the sound quality was lacking, but remember this movie's from 1932, only a couple of years into sound. Nevertheless,there's a neat little gimmick near the end when the good guys are gathering up all the guns from the townspeople. One of the town ladies goes to curse a blue streak at them and just as she's getting her words out, a stagecoach drives by, muffling her obscenities. The story unfolds in a very predictable manner, but the camera-work and the acting make almost every minute enjoyable. A surprising number of pan-shots and tracking shots for a film of this era, and the deep focus photography in the saloon shots really leave a lasting impression.