Thu 21 Jan 2016
A Western Movie Review by Jonathan Lewis: THE VIOLENT MEN (1955).
Posted by Steve under Reviews , Western movies[2] Comments
THE VIOLENT MEN. Columbia Pictures, 1955. Glenn Ford, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward G. Robinson, Dianne Foster, Brian Keith, May Wynn, Warner Anderson, Basil Ruysdael, Lita Milan, Richard Jaeckel, James Westerfield, Jack Kelly, Willis Bouchey, Harry Shannon. Based on the novel Smoky Valley by Donald Hamilton. Director: Rudolph Maté.
Sometimes the formula works. That’s what I thought when I finished watching The Violent Men, a taut, emotionally wrenching Western starring Glenn Ford, Barbara Stanwyck, and Edward G. Robinson.
The plot, a standard one about a range war, follows former Union soldier John Parrish (Ford) as he gradually becomes embroiled in one with local land baron and petty tyrant, Lew Wilkenson (Robinson). Parrish initially is more than willing to sell his land to Wilkenson and head East with his fiancée. But when he realizes just how thuggish Wilkenson’s brother, Cole (Brian Keith) is and the lengths to which the Wilkenson clan are willing to go in order to consolidate their power, Parrish shifts gears and decides to launch a violent confrontation with the brothers.
But behind these eponymous violent men there is a devious, scheming woman with blood as cold as ice: Martha Wilkenson (Barbara Stanwyck), Lew’s wife and Cole’s lover. Her duplicitousness and hidden contempt for her husband serve to fuel the fire that both literally and figuratively consumes Anchor, the family’s estate.
With its tragic underpinnings and intense focus on family drama, there is something operatic about The Violent Men. That may help explain why the movie makes such extensive use of its score in pivotal scenes, so much so that the music occasionally overwhelms the visual presentation.
This has the opposite effect of what the director likely intended, making scenes a bit too melodramatic for their own good. But with a solid cast and some beautiful outdoor scenery, this Western is something I imagine Tennessee Williams could have written, had he worked in the genre. It remains an above average film that, despite its forced upbeat ending, is well worth seeking out.
January 21st, 2016 at 10:51 pm
Like Randolph Scott and James Stewart, Ford was a master of the slow burn. He was usually the disinterested even mercenary guy who would just as soon avoid trouble but someone just couldn’t resist pushing him … and in his best films the result gave his heroes an extra edge.
Here he could easily get lost in the psycho sexual triangle and scenery chewing between Robertson, Keith, and Stanwyck, but somehow he holds it all together and saves the movie from going over the top when it tilts in that direction.
Ironically the contrast between the triangle with its psycho sexual underpinnings and Ford’s good man who happens to be an expert in violence, however reluctantly he uses it, gives the film its power and elevates it well above the usual big rancher vs the small rancher plot.
Ironically when the film is over you tend to forget the trite aspects and remember the tension between the characters. It doesn’t hurt either that thanks to Mate, the film looks great too.
January 22nd, 2016 at 5:28 am
Definitely worth your time, and in fact much more enjoyable than many more highly-regarded films.