Sat 4 Jul 2009
Western movie review: RED MOUNTAIN (1951).
Posted by Steve under Reviews , Western movies[8] Comments
RED MOUNTAIN. Paramount, 1951. Alan Ladd, Lizabeth Scott, Arthur Kennedy, John Ireland, Jay Silverheels, Francis McDonald. Director: William Dieterle.
There’s no doubt in the world that Alan Ladd is the star of this movie. As soon as he first sets foot on screen, you get the feeling that the eyes of everyone in the theater are on him — or they would be if you were in a theater and not watching the film alone with a DVD and the TV set in your bedroom.
This is so, even with a co-star such as the beautifully sad-eyed Lizabeth Scott as Chris, the woman in the movie who’s torn between Lane Waldron (Arthur Kennedy), wanted for a murder he didn’t commit, and Captain Brett Sherwood (Alan Ladd), an officer of the Confederate Army about to join up with General William Quantrill (John Ireland), the man responsible for wiping out Chris’s parents back in Kansas.
So Brett Sherwood has a big job ahead of him, but as quiet-spoken as he is, and as conflicted as he is between what he sees as his duty (fighting for South) and what he recognizes as evil (Quantrill’s plans for taking over the entire western United States, with the aid of renegade Native American tribes), he’s up to the task.
Even Lane Waldron sees that attraction between Brett and the woman he was going to marry is futile, even over Chris’s protestations to the contrary.
The scenery is wonderful — a mountain standing almost vertically against an achingly blue sky — and in color, even more spectacular. (It’s a shame that the only images I can show you are in black and white.)
The story neither quite as wonderful or spectacular, even with a fast and furious final battle scene, with a rousing musical overture in the background as the Cavalry as usual comes riding in to the rescue. (Lane and Chris have been held prisoner, he with a broken leg, by Quantrill in a cave in what must be Red Mountain.)
But it’s the Quantrill end of the story that’s the less interesting. Watching (and listening to) Alan Ladd, as he allows Brett Sherwood grow as a character several ways at once, unable to deny his attraction to Chris while becoming more and more disenchanted with Quantrill, is worth the price of admission, as if — as I said earlier in the first paragraph these comments — there were any doubt.
The presence of Lizabeth Scott, a queen of noir films, if ever there was one, is only icing on the cake.
July 4th, 2009 at 6:01 pm
Saw this in the theater when I was a kid and fell in love with Lizabeth Scott on the spot.
July 4th, 2009 at 6:14 pm
I haven’t watched this one for a while, but your over all comments cement good memories in general about it. Ladd was always good in these, and if not a great actor (though he more than held his own with a great cast in Shane), a great screen presence who did the most with what he was given in any film.
And its rare to see one of these where Arthur Kennedy wasn’t the villain. And like you I remember being impressed by the technicolor on this one when I first saw it in color.
Another good one Ladd did from this period is 1950’s Branded with Mona Freeman and Charles Bickford, directed by Rudolph Mate. It’s based on one of Max Brand’s Montana novels written as Evan Evans and features a good performance by Ladd as a conflicted hero.
July 4th, 2009 at 6:27 pm
This movie sounds very interesting!
There’s a little article on my web site, about some other of Dieterle’s films:
http://mikegrost.com/dieterle.htm
July 4th, 2009 at 7:50 pm
Lizabeth Scott’s film career was far too short, in my opinion, but what there was, was always memorable. Bill, you weren’t the only film-goer who fell in love with her the first time they saw her.
She didn’t seem to have much chemistry with Alan Ladd in RED MOUNTAIN, though. It may have been that her character was trying to stay true to Arthur Kennedy, but she just doesn’t have the same “come hither” sound in her voice that she used in all the noir thrillers she was in — as the seductive femme fatale, naturally. In this movie, she’s trying more to resist than vice versa.
Arthur Kennedy, of course, was the odd man out in RED MOUNTAIN, but I can’t think of a better actor who’d play the role better than he did.
As for William Dieterle, I missed taping his FOG OVER FRISCO (1934) on TCM this past week. I’ve never seen it, and I was hoping to catch it this time around. Next time, for sure!
— Steve
July 5th, 2009 at 2:27 am
Dieterle directed several of my favorites including Omar Khayaam with Cornel Wilde, Debra Paget, Michael Rennie, Raymond Massey, and Sebastian Cabot and the serial-like Mistress of the World (Martha Heyer, Carlos Thompson, Lino Ventura), and the 1944 Ronald Colman, Marlene Dietrich Kismet.
As for Lizabeth Scott I think I fell for her The Strange Love of Martha Ivers. Barbara Stanwyck is the femme fatale in that one, but Liz is sexy as hell in a rare good girl role. And that voice …
Steve
By all means catch Fog Over Frisco, a fast moving mystery film with a fine cast (Bette Davis among them). It moves at a real pace and has a snappy almost serial style feel to it. Robert Barrat is good in a surprising role. If memory serves it was a Crime Club novel by George Dyer.
Good chases, suspense, plot twists, and action. To many mysteries of that era have a stagy claustrophobic feel to them, but Dieterle makes good use of some Frisco location shooting and gets this one out and keeps it moving. Because of that it feels more modern than some later pictures.
July 5th, 2009 at 3:22 am
Alan Ladd, a western – what’s not to like?
July 6th, 2009 at 6:31 am
Can’t believe I mentioned Dieterle films and didn’t mention The Devil and Daniel Webster (aka All That Money Can Buy), one of the best fantasy films ever made with an iconic Walter Huston as Mr. Scratch. Edward Arnold is wonderful in it, and even James Craig is good. But it’s Huston’s film, and that final scene is worth the sitting through the whole film for.
February 22nd, 2013 at 11:41 am
Lizabeth is ahead of the cross-dressing curve of feminists wearing then taking over menswear for themselves. she dons Alan Ladd’s extra-pair of cowboy jeans while out in the wilderness.